5 Simple, Timeless Ways To Gain The Trust Of Your Audience And Never Relinquish It

Trust is on the decline.

In the age of fake news, deepfakes, and scammers, trust is becoming a rarer and even more valuable commodity. Trust is key to successful personal and professional relationships. It is crucial to create an environment of loyalty and commitment.

Trust is key to making people feel safe, comfortable and confident enough to share their thoughts and ideas with you, and allows everyone to work together towards a common goal.

It is more important than ever to know how to build and sustain trust. Here are five proven strategies that have worked for me and many other successful leaders and communicators to build trust and never relinquish it.

Ready?

Let’s dive in.

Clearly Define Who You Are

The less we know about someone, the harder it is to trust them. That’s as true in personal relationships as it is in business. Your audience needs to know who you are, what you do and why you do it.

Why does your business exist? Beyond making money or achieving a goal, what is the purpose that drives you and motivates you? What is the unique benefit or solution that you offer your audience?

For example, my purpose as a Forbes contributor is to share my insights on the art, science, and practice of collaborative relationships. My value proposition is that I help people create win-win relationships that lead to better outcomes for themselves and others.

When you are clear about who and why you are, you establish credibility and authority in your field. You also show your audience that you care about them and their needs. You make them feel that they matter to you. Not only that, but you create a foundation for trust.

Be Compassionate

To build on that foundation, you have to care about your audience. You must genuinely seek to understand your audience’s feelings, thoughts, opinions, challenges, and aspirations. You need compassion. And it has to be real. Most of us can tell when someone is being sincere and when they are just taking us for a ride.

“Compassion is key to establishing a genuine connection with your audience and fostering long-term trust,” said Michael Buchbinder, founder and CEO of Tradiac, during a recent phone conversation. “It’s about understanding their needs, empathizing with their challenges, and consistently showing that you care about their well-being. In the end, it’s this compassionate approach that truly resonates with people and builds a loyal and trusting audience.”

Walk a mile in their shoes — it’s cliché for a reason. When you care enough to put yourself in your audience’s shoes, you can communicate from their perspective and use language that resonates with them. You build rapport and loyalty by connecting on an emotional level.

Continued Buchbinder, “Not only do I feel I’ve walked a mile in my audience’s shoes, I feel I’m in those shoes with them now. Every day, it’s this fact that makes me passionate about delivering the best possible service.”

Be supportive, ask open-ended questions about their goals, challenges and expectations, rather than yes/no questions that can lead to misunderstanding or conflict. When you are compassionate towards your audience, you build rapport and loyalty with them. You also show them That you care about them and their success. You make them feel that they can trust you and rely on you.

Be Consistent

So, you’ve defined who you are, and you’ve listened to who your audience is. Now, you have to put your money where your mouth is. Consistency means delivering on your promises and commitments. Consistency means following through on your plans and goals. Consistency means aligning your actions and words with your purpose and values. Amazon Prime promises one-day shipping. When they fail to deliver on that promise, you know you’re getting your refund.

This shows honesty, reliability, and dependability. Consistency proves that you are credible. When your audience sees that you are what you say you are and do exactly what you say you are going to do, then they know that they can trust you.

Be Transparent

When I speak at a conference or a workshop, I always acknowledge the limitations and assumptions of my research and model. I also invite feedback and questions from my audience and answer them honestly and respectfully. I don’t claim to have all the answers or the best solution for every situation. No human is perfect. That means no business will be perfect. Trying to pretend otherwise undermines the trust you have been building with your audience.

Transparency means being open and candid about your intentions, motivations, and challenges. Sometimes, it means admitting your mistakes and failures and learning from them.

Clearly communicate about the progress and status of goals and protects. Never withhold or misrepresent information or data that could affect your relationship or outcome. Show authenticity, integrity and genuineness. Your audience will always trust you only if you are always trustworthy.

Adopt A Win-Win Mindset

“What’s in it for me?” is at the heart of the modern-day professional culture. Developing a Win-Win mindset rather than focusing on transactions and will lead to a fundamental transformation into a “What’s-in-it-for-We” culture.

By sharing expertise and aligning goals, both parties can drive innovation, adapt to changing needs and reduce risk, while working towards mutual success. This sense of partnership is key to bolstering engagement and rapport, and will ensure that you never lose the trust and loyalty of your audience.