Do You Have Credibility?

Average presenters never mention their credibility to the audience. The audience will never take them serious and will doubt what they say. Great presenters always mention their credibility, because they know this makes their audience listen and act on what they are saying.

If you are a salesperson that has to deliver a pitch or a presentation, you have to communicate your credibility if you want to make a sale. If you don’t mention your credibility, you will always struggle to make a sale.

Credibility is defined as the quality of being trusted and believed in.

More than half of presenters never establish credibility with their audience for two main reasons. Firstly: they feel uncomfortable to mention their credibility to their audience. Secondly: they do not know what type of credibility to include in their presentation.

Let’s take a look at the first one:

Feeling uncomfortable to mention your own credibility. Nobody wants to blow their own horn, because you might come across as arrogant. But, what if someone else can do it for you or if you can do it subliminally.

If you are speaking at a conference or an event, there will normally be a Master of Ceremonies who will introduce you to the audience. Here is a tip. Send the Master of Ceremonies your credentials and everything you would like him or her to mention to give you credibility before you walk onto the stage. When the Master of Ceremonies rave about your accomplishments, the audience will not think that you are arrogant as a speaker, but would rather be impressed and excited to hear from you, because you now have credibility.

And what if there is no Master of Ceremonies? Then you need to mention your own credentials. Instead of rambling on about your accomplishments at the start of your presentation, consider drip feeding them into your presentation as you are talking about a specific point. Here is an example: Instead of saying you have a Masters Degree in Finance which feels like you are blowing your own horn, you can drip feed it into your presentation by saying: I remember this particular case study I read about while I was studying my Masters Degree in Finance 12 years ago how company x increased their share price by 55% when they merged with company Y.

As you can see that there is a difference by just mentioning out right that you have a degree and by drip feeding it into your presentation. It’s more subtle and not so uncomfortable.

I personally do this myself during my presentations, especially if I am going to mention something important and want people to pay extra attention. For example: I want to show you 7 amazing technique how to speak on your feet without any notes and still make rock solid points when people ask you questions on the spot. This is the same techniques I use when I coach Miss Universe Australia, members of parliament, and thousands of business people. Then I share the techniques with them. Can you see how I quickly gain credibility by mentioning people I’ve coached before I share with my audience the techniques?

When you design you presentation, think how you can drip feed your credibility into your presentation. This is critical if you want your audience to trust what you are saying.

Let’s take a look at the second reason:

People never establish credibility with their audience because they do not know what type of credibility they need to include in their presentation? Here are only a few examples as there are many more ways to gain credibility.

1. Number of years

For example: If you mention in your presentation that you’ve been a commercial pilot for 27 years with over 40 thousands hours in the air and there are still 2 things that really concerns you about aeroplane safety. Immediately people want to hear what you have to say.

You can even use number of year when you have to give a eulogy. You can establish credibility with the audience by mentioning the number of years you’ve known the deceased. For example: I’ve known Paul for the last 17 years and we had great time together. There were 2 things in particular about Paul that always pushed me to be a better person. You now have credibility in front of the audience, especially if there are people who do not know you. The audience is also eager to hear from you, because you’ve known Paul for many years.

2. Results

For example: If you mention in your presentation – Since I can remember I was always overweight. I’ve been on my first diet when I was only 8 years old. And for the next 19 years I’ve tried to lose weight, but nothing seemed to work, until I discovered 3 things that made me lose 44kg in 9 months and I’ve managed to keep the weight off for 11 years. Trust me your credibility is extremely high and everyone wants to hear what you have to say.

3. Your Qualifications

For Example: During my own presentations I will mention that I’ve struggled with the Fear of Public Speaking for 12 years and did not know what was wrong with me. So I studied a degree in Psychology and Sociology and obtained 19 distinctions, to find out what was wrong with me, and I discovered one thing that gave me so much confidence that today I am an international keynote speaker. Did you notice that I’ve combined the other two credibility points (number of years and results with my qualifications) to give me even more credibility.

4. An important job title

For example: When you mention in your presentation that you became a senior partner of a law firm before you turned 30, the audience will respect your position and give you credibility.

5. Draw on your experiences

For Example: Maybe you are the youngest female, solo sailor who sailed around the world in a record time. You will have instant credibility. People will be extremely interested to hear your story, strategies and how you faced your challenges.

6. There are many other ways you can gain credibility:

–  You can quote famous people in your presentation.
–  When you represent a well know company or brand, mention it.
–  Maybe you are an author of a book or an inventor.
–  Testimonials from clients.
–  Names of companies or people you have done work for.
–  Well known companies buying from your business.
–  Extensive research that you’ve done.
–  You’ve overcome big challenges in your life.
–  Rag to riches story.

When you compile your presentation, think of how you can sneak you credibility into your presentation, and not feel uncomfortable to mention how good you or your company is.

If you want people to listen to what you have to say, share your credibility!