If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

I heard the greatest answer to this question a few months ago, and it wasn’t what you may have first thought of, such as the power of flight, superspeed or shapeshifting.

It was instead the power to make everyone else believe that they are invisible when they are not.

That is the kind of high IQ, left-field answer that you just have to applaud.

Anyways, sadly we are not the givers of such great superpowers. We can’t give you the ability to soar through the skies or to be completely undetectable to the human eye.

We can however, like the spider that took a bite out of Peter Parker, sink our fangs into your brain and transmit the great superpower of influence.

Now, it won’t result in you swinging freely between buildings above the heads of gasping bystanders, but it will give you the ability to affect the thinking and behaviours of other people.

Not in some evil Jedi mind trick kind of way, but in a way which is both beneficial to yourself and the recipient of your bamboozling ability to be influential… even without any power or influence over that person or people.

Why would you want this superpower though over one that makes it possible for you to high-five high-flying birds?

Well because firstly, this one is realistic.

And secondly, because having the ability to influence others will enable you to build incredibly strong relationships, enhance your leadership and management abilities and also boost your self-confidence, respect from others and chances of exciting new opportunities.

Nice, right?

So, here’s the situation, we have written three top tips for you here that will enable you to discover this ability within yourself, before heading out and unleashing it on the world!

Let’s start!

1- Seek to Understand Others and Level Up Your Connections

The inner emotions that come with either end of the spectrum of being understood and listened to are an indicator of why this is a top tip.

Two extremes.

The end of one side of that spectrum contains all that frustration, anger and helplessness that comes from feeling ignored and misunderstood.

We’ll be avoiding this side in the same way you would avoid covering yourself in blood before swimming with sharks.

Instead, we want to be giving people that incredible sensation of gratitude and connectivity that comes with a successful interaction and the feeling that somebody ‘gets’ you.

Active listening is just one part of this though. Another part is what you contribute to an interaction.

If you can both identify and be versatile to a person’s social preferences, and also spot their personal drives and motivations behind why they are interacting and what outcomes, they are looking for in the conversation, then you are always going to leave people feeling better after talking with you than before… which is important when it comes to influence.

You are on their wavelength and talking their language.

If you are looking to become more familiar with social preferences, then we wrote a blog which you can access here.

2- Build That Trust

Let’s talk about trust… because it is incredibly difficult to be influential without it.

Here’s an example and a really loose explanation of a method of income (It is not as boring as it sounds… I hope).

We now live in a time where people can be paid to be ‘influencers’.

A popular way in which you make money as an influencer is by promoting a sponsor to your audience.

This usually comes in the form of an affiliate link, which then means that for every person they recommend to use it, they receive a portion of the following transaction.

For many, this becomes a highly effective income method because of the sheer levels of trust they have built with their audience over time, meaning that their audience are more likely to act on their recommendations, and they will receive more money from their sponsor.

The influencer’s audience believe what they are saying to be true about what they are promoting, and they trust the opinion of the influencer enough to then do that thing that they are suggesting them to do.

If you took away all that trust the influencer has built overtime, it is incredibly doubtful that people would feel the urge to follow through with action.

Suddenly questions about the influencer’s motives and motivations will enter the audiences’ minds and create hesitancy which will block them from acting.

Now, as I mentioned many times above, trust can take time to build with people, in the same way that it may take you some time to fully trust someone else.

Great ways to begin to put together the building blocks though are to be authentic, helpful and consistent with others.

3- Leave People Feeling Good

I know! I have said this one already… but this is not me cheating.

I could not cover all of this point in tip number one, so it needs a section all of its own, because there are so many ways in which you can be a person that consistently delivers others with smiles.

We all like people that make us feel good.

So, you will see an incredible impact on your ability to influence if you can be the reason people have a skip in their step, or that their day becomes brighter, or whatever other beautiful cliché works here.

Examples of this include bringing huge positive energy, great vibes and excitement into interactions, showing an authentic, genuine interest in others and giving people recognition and appreciation.

Key word here though is authentic.

If you try and do this without being sincere, it could very much have the complete opposite effect.

Thanks!

Alex & The Excel Team

P.S. If you would like to discuss any of your learning & development challenges, call us on +44(0) 1628488 854.

About Excel Communications     

Excel Communications is a learning and development consultancy based near London in the U.K. For more than 30 years; we have been collaborating with clients across the globe. Partnering with Excel empowers you to evolve your people and business by fuelling a love for learning. We work with you to create unforgettably, customised learning experiences to achieve your vision of success and growth, with tangible results. View our case studies here.  We have a team of expert trainers delivering programmes across five continents in multiple languages. Call us now on +44 (0) 1628 488 854. 

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If you would like to watch our leadership masterclass recordings, you can access the latest leadership complimentary guide here.