Friday, 11 July 2014
Thursday, 10 July 2014
7 Ways to Get People to Take You Seriously
If you're going to get anything done in business, you need people to respect you.
But when you're young for your position, new to an industry, or a woman in a male-dominated field, for example, getting others to listen to your ideas can be difficult.
After looking at the research on social perception and relationship building, we identified the following strategies for instantly getting respect.
1. Let people talk about themselves.
People spend 60% of their conversations talking about themselves.
It feels good: Harvard researchers have found that talking about yourself activates the same brain regions as sex, cocaine, and a good meal.
"Activation of this system when discussing the self suggests that self-disclosure like other more traditionally recognized stimuli, may be inherently pleasurable," Scientific American reports, "and that people may be motivated to talk about themselves more than other topics."
Research shows that when people disclose information about themselves, they like each other more. It's also the primary way to form social bonds, or another way of saying it helps earn their respect.
2. Win people over with the first introduction.
Esquire's Tom Chiarella perfectly captures how to make a great first impression. He writes:
On the street, in the lobby, square your shoulders to people you meet. Make a handshake matter — eye contact, good grip, elbow erring toward a right angle. Do not pump the hand, unless the other person is insistent on just that. Then pump the hell out of their hand. Smile. If you can't smile, you can't be gracious. You aren't some dopey English butler. You are you.
Why is this important? Because paying full attention to someone is a way of showing respect, and social science confirms that we get respect when we give respect. Add that to the list of reasons that conscientiousness predicts success.
3. Keep your posture open and upright.
Posture can influence the way others see you and the way you feel. Researchers have found that keeping your shoulders open and arms wide — a classic power pose — activates your hormone system in a way that makes you feel and look more confident and capable.
The same logic carries over to the way you sit. If you're scrunched over your laptop, you won't feel very bold, but if you're sitting at a large desk, you'll feel more assertive.
"If you take an expansive pose, it can actually lead to power," MIT professor Andy Yap tells Business Insider.
4. Be way more prepared than you think you need to be.
"Ignorance is one of the professional world's least respectable traits — if not the worst," Roberto Rocha writes at AskMen. "If you want your ideas to count, be better informed than everyone else."
So if you have a big pitch or meeting coming up, know exactly what message you want to communicate. Anticipate the objections your boss could have to whatever it is you're pitching. Not only will your ideas be stronger but you'll feel more confident presenting them.
5. Know what's going on in the world.
"Be up to speed on changes in your industry so you can speak about them intelligently," says Roberta Matuson. The "Suddenly in Charge" author recommends reading business news daily "so you can speak intelligently on business matters."
Further, strategic-marketing consultant Noah Fleming encourages a wider information diet by keeping up with tech, sports, and pop culture. (To hack your reading habits, read this.) The idea is to have a broad foundation of knowledge to draw from.
"You should be able to discuss, debate, and offer opinion across a number of different areas," Fleming says. "Serious people have strong opinions! You're taken seriously when you have and offer your opinions."
6. You need to be both humble and confident.
Venture capitalist Anthony K. Tjan says that respect requires a balance of humility and confidence.
"You need enough self-confidence to command the respect of others, but that needs to be counter-balanced with knowing that there is much you simply don't know," he writes. "Humility is the path towards earning respect, while self-confidence is the path towards commanding it."
With that balance comes not only respect, he says, but also intellectual curiosity and optimism.
7. Don't let verbal tics undermine your authority.
If you say a statement with the intonation of a question, that's called "upspeak." It happens when you end your sentences with a higher pitch than they began with and makes you sound as if you're unsure of what you're saying.
In a recent survey, 85% of 700 professionals said upspeak is a sign of insecurity, while 57% think that upspeak makes people sound less credible.
"The numbers speak for themselves," says strategy consultant Bernard Marr. "Upspeak has no place at work. If you would like a thriving career, then simply don't do it!"
This story originally appeared on Business Insider
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5 Ways to Get More Respect at Work
Image credit:
Shutterstock
“Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.” Clint Eastwood.
Seemingly this formula worked well for Clint Eastwood in his career and if you want to be better respected at your job, it can work for you too.
Take a moment to conjure up what work would be like if your colleagues, bosses, subordinates and clients treated you more respectfully. Do you envision more money? Do you envision more fulfilling relationships with these individuals?
1. Define your values.
People follow strength and competency. Think about what makes you a
better, stronger person. Write down those aspects you would like to
move towards and a few things you would like to move away from. Simply
listing these items can provide tremendous momentum toward or away from
each value.
2. Discover your passion.
It helps a great deal to get where you want to be if the you have
passion for the actual journey it takes to reach your end goal.
Passionate employees tend to deepen their involvement around the office
and, thus gain a significant amount of respect and friendship from
others.
Related: Respect, Power, Family Pride: How Do You Define Success?
3. Know your purpose.
Corporate America is a tough place. It will lead you through twists,
turns and disappointments. If your purpose is, say, to service your
clients better than any other firm, then keep your eye on the ball. The
resiliency and positive attitude will quickly be realized by those
around you.
4. Envision what the future is going to be like.
Start to take some time and envision what it is going to be like when
you do hit the pinnacle of getting more respect, friendship and success
around the office. Practice makes perfect. To best achieve this, take a
few deep breaths, get the negative thoughts out of your mind and begin
to make it a mental reality.
5. Stop monologuing and start taking interest.
You ever notice that when you look at a picture with multiple people in
it, you always look at yourself first? Human beings (inside the office,
outside the office – wherever) are highly self-involved. They are
flattered and respond better to you as a leader and an individual when
you stop focusing on yourself and begin to take a genuine interest in
them.
Taking these steps isn’t easy, but think of it as training yourself for a better life. There is a pertinent story I read a few weeks ago about a Navy Seal who, when he jumped out of an airplane, found that his parachute wouldn’t open.
He described what saved him and eventually got it opened was his extensive training, which allowed him to remain focused. It won’t happen tomorrow or a week from now and maybe not even in a month, but with extensive training on yourself and your interaction with others, you will become better respected both professionally and personally.
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