How did it go?

If you had anything to say, share or contribute, chances are at some point you found yourself wondering, “how can I make myself credible to these people?”

The interesting thing about credibility is that it can never been attained for oneself. It can only be conveyed by others. You can only ever be as credible and others decide you are.

So what can you and I do? Quite a bit, actually. Here’s a sample of the ways I’ve noticed people gain credibility with others.

Length of Time

This is probably the most important of the bunch. The longer a person sticks around, the more their history speaks for itself. A school director recently told me that he is building programs now that he could only dream of years ago when he started. The organization became open to his influence over time as he demonstrated value little by little. I wish there was a substitute for time, but unfortunately, there usually isn’t.

Competence

Obviously, incompetence is a quick way to ruin credibility, sometimes permanently. In fact, one of the great risks of being new to any group or team is appearing incompetent based on unfamiliarity with culture, relationships, processes, systems, policies, etc. Appearing incompetent right off the bat is a setback. If you’re new, try to find some quick wins and learn fast!

Appearance

Appearance is extremely fickle because it’s completely surface level. But it certainly plays a role in demonstrating credibility. That’s why we dress up for job interviews. How we look usually has nothing to do with our capability, but it send a huge message about our perceived competence. Image isn’t everything, but it is definitely something.

Communication

How we communicate goes an awful long way in building credibility. In some cases, one careless comment can derail a successful career despite many other positive factors. On the other hand, strong communication can overcome deficiencies in other areas. Incidentally, the most effective communicators place the greatest emphasis on the audience, not themselves. They listen well, care and make their audience feel important and smart – genuinely.

Credentials

In some environments, this is much more crucial than others. If you want to connect with a scientific, medical or academic audience, the more credentials the better. In other fields, high credentials might actually hurt your credibility based on misconceptions or stereotypes. Oftentimes, people are more concerned with fit than the number of letters that following your name.

Relationship Capital

Who you know can go a long way in building credibility with those you don’t know. You may not know a person from Adam, but a phone call or email to a mutual connection can either open or close a door – quickly and permanently. That’s why it’s so important to build and maintain a network.

Character

Character is one of the more difficult aspects of credibility because it takes a lifetime to build but only a moment to destroy. Think of all the high profile leaders who were credible in every way until one indiscretion became public knowledge. Game over. The public may not always notice the presence of character, but they will eventually notice its absence. And the consequences are usually devastating. Character matters.

Remember, you can’t attain credibility, but you can influence how others perceive it.

What shape is your credibility in?

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

But it wasn’t enough to just build a business based off crazy basketball shots. Cory Cotton took things a step further by putting the group’s contagious philosophy on basketball – and life – into a book: Go Big: Make Your Shot Count in the Connected World. In it, Cotton shares not only how the group capitalized on social media to become YouTube’s 3rd largest sports channel, but also how the average person can go big in their own life. Here are a handful of Cotton’s (and Dude Perfect’s) principles for going big:

Get Excited

When it comes to creating a movement, starting a business, getting a job or engaging in any kind of activity, Cotton says that it all starts with excitement. If you aren’t genuinely excited about what you’re doing, then you’re probably doing the wrong thing. It may sound cliche coming from a group of guys who shoot baskets for a living (actually that’s just a small part of it at this point), but the principle holds true. If you aren’t excited to up in the morning to get to work on whatever it is you do, there’s no reason anyone else should be excited about following you, either on YouTube, Twitter or in real-life.

Have Relentless Integrity

According to Cotton, integrity is one of those ideals that is noble in theory but extremely inconvenient in practice. His analogy is patriotism. It’s a lot easier on Independence Day than on Tax Day. But if you compromise once, not only will you be tempted to compromise again, you’ll ruin your brand promise to the public. For Dude Perfect, this meant making a decision early on to never post a video of a trick shot that wasn’t 100% legitimate, even though it would be much easier to doctor the videography than to spend the extra time working.

Blink Later

Cotton and the rest of the Dude Perfect crew are barely removed from college, yet they’ve collaborated on projects with many Fortune 500 brands. With the speed of technology, it’s possible to “go viral” literally overnight. In fact, at one point Dude Perfect picked up over 2 million views in two hours when Yahoo! featured a video on their home page. When success hits you full force, you have to be able to make certain decisions on the run in order to capitalize before the window of opportunity closes. Many times, this means making pre-decisions about who you are and what is most important, and then using those decisions to navigate the uncertainty when things speed up. It may feel uncomfortable, but some things simply can’t be prepared for in advance.

Inspire Others

In the end, Cotton says that money, fame and recognition aren’t enough. They never are, no matter the dream. Do something that makes a difference for other people. Use your platform and your niche to benefit others. Since Dude Perfect are the self-proclaimed Ambassadors of Fun, inspiring others means adding an element of fun to certain non-profits who provide clean water and necessities to under privileged kids around the world. Inspiring others shouldn’t be a separate element of your work. It will mean so much more if it relates directly to your niche.

If you want to know more about Dude Perfect, I’d definitely recommend Cotton’s book Go Big. But don’t start there. Start on YouTube with one of their videos, such as this one:

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.