BEP585

PART II, SECTION 3

Business Communication Tips for Success: Presenting and Speaking

From 101 Tips for Improving Your Business Communication

By Edward Barr

(A Business Expert Press Book)

Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2021. All rights reserved.

Harvard Business Publishing distributes in digital form the individual chapters from a wide selection of books on business from
publishers including Harvard Business Press and numerous other companies. To order copies or request permission to
reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685 or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the permission of Harvard Business Publishing, which is an affiliate of Harvard
Business School.
This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Niva Bhandari's Managerial Communications-1/ PGDM at Management Development Institute - Gurgaon from Jul 2023 to Oct 2023.
 SECTION 3

Presenting and Speaking

TIP #67
Strive to Achieve and Maintain Credibility
Credibility remains critical to communication. Te word comes from a
Latin root, “credo,” or, “I believe.” If no one believes you, no one listens to
you. You will lack credulity. No one will credit what you are saying. You
will have no credence. What gives you credibility? Why would anyone
listen to you or read a message from you? Where does credibility come
from? We can think of at least fve sources: title, experience, appearance,
education, and likebility. Check yourself against those factors or ask
someone impartial to rate your credibility.

Application

We all strive for credibility. It helps us connect and further our goals. See
if you have any of these attributes for credibility:
Title: If you send a message on stationery and sign with the title
“CEO,” or if you are introduced before an audience as the “CEO,” you
enjoy some immediate credibility. No question about that. But, that cred-
ibility lasts only as long as you can hold the audience, with a compelling
message and a compelling style. Stumble over your text or spell a bunch of
words incorrectly in your written message and you risk your believability.
Experience: If you are introduced to an audience as a person who
once broke the sound barrier in the Salt Flats of Utah on a jet-fueled
motorcycle or chewed of you own leg when you were caught alone in
a trap deep in the Amazon jungle, you enjoy credibility. Or, more com-
monly, if you led a team that completed the Widget project a month
ahead of schedule bringing it in 36 percent under budget, you will enjoy
some credibility.

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Niva Bhandari's Managerial Communications-1/ PGDM at Management Development Institute - Gurgaon from Jul
2023 to Oct 2023.
 164 101 TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Appearance: If you have the looks of Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, or

if you dress as if you just left a shoot for GQ or Elle, you earn credibil-
ity, even if you don’t deserve it. It has been said that “clothes make the
person,” and it has been said wisely. When your mom told you that you
needed to dress well to make a good frst impression, she wasn’t lying.
Education: Tey don’t call them credentials for nothing. If you have
the Harvard, Stanford, or Carnegie Mellon University credential, you
receive instant attention and have started a clear path to credibility.
Likability: If people like you, they believe you. Simple as that. Tey
want to believe you. Tey will give you every beneft of the doubt. Tis
means you need to make people like you. You need to smile; you need to
listen; you need to help people, rather than helping yourself. And, with
likability will come trust, a priceless commodity.
So, how do you apply all of these principles of credibility? Well, for
one thing, it means you consciously work at making people like you.
Give up your concerns and help others. It also means that as you strive
to communicate, you make your titles, your educational credentials, and
your accomplishments evident, as soon as possible in the interaction, but
with humility. It means you understand how to dress to impress. If you
want to work in the executive suite, buy a copy of GQ or Vogue. Do all of
these things in the proper measure to increase your believability. And, hey,
when you have cred, you can make just about anything happen!

Story

Once upon a time, there was a young man (we will call him Guy) who
had visions of fame. He had no education and he didn’t have a great job
(he worked as a clerk for the railroad), but his desire was amazing. Most
of all, people liked Guy. He had a great sense of humor and boundless
energy. And, he had that desire.
Te frst chance Guy saw to leave his railroad clerk position, he took
it. His mom knew someone who knew someone at a local TV station and
Guy took a position as a TV ad salesman. As luck would have it, a very
talented video producer (we will call him Gus) was assigned to the same
TV station, but he was extremely shy. Before long, Gus and Guy hooked
up and became a team. Tey started producing TV commercials for the

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Niva Bhandari's Managerial Communications-1/ PGDM at Management Development Institute - Gurgaon from Jul
2023 to Oct 2023.
 PRESENTING AND SPEAKING 165

small businesses in their small town. People loved their productions and
Guy found that he had a talent for production. He also had a passion for
college football.
As fortune would have it, Gus took a job in the big city with a fedg-
ling TV production company. It disappointed Guy, but he understood
Gus’s desire for the big time and Guy kept in touch with Gus. As it hap-
pened, this production company where Gus now worked had a contract
to produce highlights for a major college’s football team. No one at the
company wanted to do it, so Gus said, “I know a guy (literally a Guy).”
Soon, Guy was in the big city producing highlights for a major college
football team. Soon, Guy produced more remote productions and was
named VP for Remote Production. After a while, Guy started his own
company and eventually also became the Director of Marketing for the
college football team. He was even featured once in the NY Times and
some other publications.
How did Guy become so successful? He originally had no title, no
education, and no real experience. But he had other valuable assets. He
was good looking, dressed fashionably, and above all, people liked him.
It also didn’t hurt that he had powerful and focused desire along with a
wellspring of creativity. Make no mistake, though, the likebility factor
and his fashion sense gave him initial credibility.

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Niva Bhandari's Managerial Communications-1/ PGDM at Management Development Institute - Gurgaon from Jul
2023 to Oct 2023.