4 Signs You're Not as Influential as You Think

You May Not Be as Influential as You Think You Are If…

1. People don’t follow your lead.

Winning over your audience means knowing beforehand what it takes to keep their attention and what pitfalls you must consider. They may not follow you if they don’t act on your recommendations, do the minimum amount of work to get by, make decisions on their own without your input or limit the amount of information they share with you.

Check in for understanding and clarification. A message that sounds clear and concise to you doesn’t guarantee your listeners have the same level of clarity.

Ask others whom you can trust to continuously give you feedback to ensure you are leading in a way that influences others to follow.

2. Your listeners don’t respond to your emails and texts as frequently or as quickly as you would like.

Are your email messages too long and confusing? Are your text messages one continuous paragraph? Are your messages written in Morse code? Would you respond to your email messages?

Before you hit “send,” double-check your grammar and spelling.

When in doubt, hang up the email and pick up the phone to minimize the risk of miscommunication and to save time.

3. You’re frequently interrupted.

Your listeners may be interrupting you because you take too long to get to the point, you never pause and/or it is difficult to follow you.

This week, focus on getting to the point while adapting your message to your listeners’ expectations.

Pause to listen and give others time to speak. Influence Monday to Monday® involves saying less and listening more.

If you still get interrupted, consider this a gift. This may be a friendly reminder to get back on track or adapt your message to your listeners’ expectations.

Related: Making Mistakes Means You Have Courage

4. You often run out of time.

A well-crafted message requires key points in getting your listeners to take action. If you run out of time before you can share these with your listeners, they don’t have the critical information they need to be influenced.

Identify your listeners’ needs ahead of time, as well as what is most critical for them to know to take action.

Always prepare for 20 percent less time than you will be given to make sure you respect your listeners’ time.