Building your Influence: 3 common questions

Some of the questions I was asked in a recent webinar for the Association of Financial Advisers’ Inspire series focused on building your influence in conversations, relationship dynamics and using your personal brand.

Here are the specific questions and the tips I shared.

Rather than push for what you want to say, take advantage of your companion’s chatty nature by asking great questions that redirect the conversation to where you want to go. What would be useful for you to find out? What questions would lead to an opportunity for you to solve a problem for them?

Spend time getting clear on your values and boundaries – when you have clarity, you can be clear with others.
Then work on introducing those values and boundaries – but rather than being defensive, be calm and balanced in your communication. Try going gently at first if this represents a sudden change for the other person.
Embody who you want your manager to see you as – do you need to work on your non-verbal and verbal communication to sound more confident? Do you need to build your personal brand to highlight your strengths and show where you can lead?
Think ‘WIIFM” – what do they need in the exchange? And more broadly – How can reaching your goals help them reach theirs?

Real personal branding is highlighting what is already there, and maybe stretching a little into who you are becoming. Be truthful but be confident in communicating your strengths and achievements. If you want people to see you that way, you have to see yourself that way.
Try writing your bio in 3^rd person to get over the feeling of being self-promotional.