Tweet

Initial Trust is Based on a Handfull of Cs

Guest post by: Robert Whipple

Article Overview: When we first meet someone, we decide rather quickly whether we are going to trust the person from the outset or wait for a lot of evidence before trusting him or her. The decision is based on five concepts that all begin with the letter C. This article gives tips on how to build trust rather quickly.

Initial Trust is Based on a Handfull of Cs

It has been said that trust takes years to kindle. You cannot trust another individual until he or she has had the opportunity to interface with you in a number of circumstances over an extended period of time. I disagree with this analysis. I think trust can kindle very quickly between two individuals. There is even a name for this, "swift trust," coined by Debra Meyerson. Beyond the initial flame of trust, the fire grows or shrinks based on the interactions (I call them transactions) that occur between the individuals over time.

Trust can be kindled in only a few minutes time, if the proper conditions are present. Trust rests on the relationship between two individuals. If I am going to trust you, I need to be personally convinced that you fulfill 5 conditions that all begin with the letter C. These items form the basis for trust to start, and they can be conveyed from one person to another in short order. The first two conditions I borrowed from Stephen M.R. Covey's bestselling book, The Speed of Trust. The rest of the list is from my personal experience and background. Here are the 5 C's on which initial trust is built:

Competence - I must be convinced that you know what you are doing to view you as credible. If I sense that you have the ability from a knowledge and skill set to deliver on your statements, then you pass the competence test. If I have doubts that you can deliver, then I will remain skeptical until I have an extended time period to test you.

Character - Do you have the integrity to do what is right? I need to feel that you are not duplicitous and that you will stand up for what you believe is right. It does not mean that we always need to agree on every point, but I need to see you as a person of high moral and ethical fiber before I am going to give you my trust.

Consistency - I need to be convinced that you will do what you say. This characteristic normally takes people a long time to test, but it doesn't need to take months for someone to convince me that he or she is consistent. I can discern the value of consistency through the way a person phrases intentions and even the body language he or she uses to chat with me. The ability to follow through with intended actions or at least get back to the other person if conditions change is easy to spot, just as it is easy to observe a blowhard who says nice things but has little fortitude to actually do them.

Congeniality - I am not going to trust someone who comes across as morose or stern. To gain my trust, I need to see a smile and know that it comes from the heart. One bit of body language to build trust when shaking hands is to show your teeth in a smile. According to Bill Acheson in his program on "Advanced Body Language," showing teeth at one time meant giving the other person the ability to quickly judge a person's social status. That is not usually the case today, but a genuine cordial facial expression when meeting a person for the first time is a prerequisite for trust to kindle. Putting on a false smile is the kiss of death, because it pegs you as someone who cannot be trusted at all.

Care - The final "C" in this handful is to project that you really do care about me. Again, people might say it takes years to know if someone else really does care about me. I disagree. Care can be displayed in hundreds of subconscious ways, just as selfishness can be worn like a suit of armor. Giving deference to the feelings of others is an important component of Emotional Intelligence. The interesting observation about this is that the people who have low Emotional Intelligence have the biggest blindspots, according to Daniel Goleman. Translated, if I come across as a phony in terms of really caring about other people, I will have little ability to detect this in myself, but others will see it instantly.

You cannot fake the 5 C's, but if your words, actions, tone, and body language are all consistent to demonstrate the 5 C's with respect to someone you have just met, trust (at least at a starting level) can be kindled in a matter of a few minutes. It is then up to you to remain consistent and keep building on that base.

Related Articles
  Profile of an Effective Manager
  A Tryst with Trust
  More diligence!
  The Smartest Man In The World
  Trust is a Story
  How To Connect With Your List Building Sustainable Success Converting High Quality Leads
  Love thy neighbor as thyself.
  One in a TRILLION!
  Create A Digital Product For Your Home Based Business
  How To Name Your Business, Website and/or Brand
  Using Facebook Marketplace to Advertise your Business
  The Pitfalls of Professionalism In Small Business Branding
  Dealing with price or cost objections
  10 Essentials for a Rockin Business Facebook Fan or Group Page
  Does Brand Strategy Take The Freedom Out Of Running Your Business?
  Great Ways to Acquire New Leads
  The Brand Profitability Cycle: How Your Brand Can Help You Make More Money and So Much More!
  What if you Have no Style?
  5 Ways to Get Your Business Found on Facebook
  Looking For a Financial Success Opportunity-Dont Look any Further

Article Tags: body language, caring, character, Competence, congeniality, consistency, Emotional Intelligence, swift trust, trust



Related Forum Posts
Re: Essential Leadership skills - Vigilance Trust An ability to DELEGATE
Re: Who Did You Learn Most From and Why? - Hi Martin, You missed out on the most essential community that helps you grow - Your Clients. Well, I believe that my Initial Clients have been the ones who have given me the moments of 'aha' in my business. They have stood by me even when I was a starter and that has helped me shape and build my stand. They have helped me grow as an entrepreneur, learn to have loads of patience and make the most of what comes across. They have also helped me to strengthen me as a person. btw, personally speaking, my Grandfather always kept me on track and lent me emotional support when I was down in any matter - be it business or otherwise.
Elevator Pitch in 10 Words - "Winning Business Design For Aspiring Entrepreneurs Based On Their Idea"
Re: Social financing solutions... - CFS can assist social landlords in coming up with practical solutions to combat financial exclusion among their tenants and the local communities where they operate. In the past 10 years, we have worked with a wide range of social landlords, including Trafford Housing Trust, Golden Gates Housing and Southern Housing Group. Based on our expertise in housing and financial inclusion, we offer a range of research and advisory services to social housing landlords: * Needs and gap mapping: We can map the nature and extent of financial exclusion among tenants to help social landlords direct resources where it is needed. * Service provision gap identification: We can map and identify gaps in the provision of financial services, and money and debt advice, and advise social housing landlords on how best to fill these gaps. * Assessing effectiveness of existing interventions: We can help landlords estimate costs of financial exclusion, in the form of evictions and lost rent income, calculate savings in implementing financial inlusion interventions and advise on how to improve existing interventions. * Solutions development: We can help social housing landlords develop practical solutions to problems such as over-indebtedness, arrears and financial exclusion. * Stakeholder engagement and management: We can advise on, facilitate and organise stakeholder engagement events to underpin financial inclusion interventions.............
Re: Bad credit guaranteed home loan? - Lending money to people with bad credit was one of the biggest things that put our economy under and many lenders out of business. I'd say if you have this opportunity take it now before it goes away. Trust me, if there are any of these programs left (and don't expect a low interest rate if your credit is bad) they won't be around for ever. At ANY interest rate.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

9 tips to increase ROI in PPC Campaigns

Are You Listening?

Business Coach Explains To You How To Add Value

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.