Trust is the foundation of any meaningful relationship, whether that’s in your personal or your professional life. It is essential that people know that you are who you say you are and you do what you say you will do. But trust is an interesting concept. By the time you get to work in the morning, you might have already chosen to trust or not to trust several people.
You turn on the weather channel and choose to trust the meteorologist that it’s not going to rain. You forgot your jewelry out on the dresser and choose to trust that the cleaning person won’t steal it later on in the afternoon. You count your change at the coffee shop, because you choose not to trust the cashier.
Trust is what keeps this society going, but it can be a slippery thing. What makes us trust one person, but not another? Trust is such an important issue in our lives because it is essential to our success and well-being, but many of us have also been betrayed before.
So how can we foster trust and build meaningful relationships? Here are our TOP 10 tips to foster trust in this world of uncertainty.
#1 Keep Your Word
The whole purpose of building trust with another person is that he or she will be able to believe you when you promise to do something. This means that in order to build trust you have to keep your word and follow through with your actions, even if you regret making this commitment. Of course, sometimes you will need to break one of those commitments, but if you communicate it early and treat it as a renegotiation, you won’t risk upsetting the other person. Just make sure that you don’t commit to things that you already know you won’t do, because building trust is not just about keeping promises you make, but also about avoiding promises you can’t keep.
#2 Communicate Effectively
One of the main reasons why relationships fall apart is because the partners don’t know how to communicate effectively with one another. Like we just mentioned above, sometimes you will have to break your commitment, but if you communicate it early, it rarely becomes a major issues. Another important element of effective communication is to be crystal clear about what you have and have not committed to. So never end a conversation before double checking that all parties know exactly what has been agreed upon because another big issue in relationships is that you don’t communicate effectively what has been agreed on and what is expected from one another.
#3 Be Patient
Building trust is something that takes time and is a daily activity. You can’t expect too much too soon. Start with small steps and small commitments and once the level of trust grows, you can take on bigger commitments. That way you will demonstrate that you are trustworthy and that you are willing to trust in return. Sure, big events make the headlines, but it’s the small, steady progress that will give you the best returns in the long run. So be patient and build trust one step at a time.
#4 Don’t Take Your Relationships for Granted
We all have relationships in our lives that have been with us for years. It’s easy to take those friends and family members for granted. Don’t neglect your relationships, even during the busiest of times. Make time to foster and value supportive relationships that are built on a bedrock of trust. Remember, trust comes from consistency, so if you don’t keep working on it continually and just take it for granted, that trust will crumble and build a distance between the two of you. Consistently showing up and going the extra mile will do wonders to fostering trust.
#5 Always Be Honest
This should be common sense, but it still deserves a mention, because a lot of times people tell small lies in order to avoid trouble or protect themselves and others. However, the truth will always come out eventually and once the other person figures out that you lied about one thing, they automatically assume that you are prepared to lie about everything else. Don’t mess up your chances of building trust over a small lie and always be honest. It’s the only way to build trust.
#6 Be Supportive
One of the most effective ways to build trust is to help others. Helping someone else without direct benefit to you will reward you with the indirect benefit of improving trust and kindness goes a long way. Just keep in mind, when you choose to be kind to others that doesn’t mean you should stop being kind to yourself and if your plate is already full and too many things are competing for your attention, don’t take on another big commitment. Being kind and supportive also means that you make sure that you can keep all your other commitments and you know when to say ’no’ to taking on another project.
#7 Show Your Feelings
A lot of people try to hide their feelings in order to appear strong. But people trust and like others more when you show your emotions and feelings and are vulnerable. When something upsetting happens, be upset and show that. If something exciting happens, show your happiness and excitement. If you try to hide your emotions and feelings, you will come across like a heartless robot and nobody trusts a heartless robot.
#8 Admit to Your Mistakes
Everybody makes mistakes, it’s a natural part of life so don’t try to hide your mistakes, because that means that you are hiding part of your humanity. Accept and acknowledge your mistakes, own your responsibility in the mistake and share what you’ve learned from it. Being open, honest and vulnerable about your mistakes is a tremendous help in building trust because you appear to others as someone who is like them. Keep in mind, every human is fallible and others won’t trust you if you only act tough and never admit to a mistake.
#9 Stay True to Yourself
A lot of people believe that life will be so much easier if you just do everything that others want you to do and with that get their approval. However, being liked and receiving approval doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice your own beliefs and values. Just because you want to earn the trust from another doesn’t mean you have to give up on trusting yourself and your core values and beliefs. Besides, you don’t want to appear as someone who is willing to sell yourself out, because that will only be counterproductive. Truth is, others will respect you for your honesty and integrity if you stay true to yourself and your beliefs and with that you can build trust more easily.
#10 Watch Your Body Language
An easy way to build and foster trust is to have body language that supports that you are a trustworthy person. Holding eye contact is probably one of the biggest indicators of trustworthiness. Having a firm handshake shows confidence and a straight back portrays an image of strength. Keep in mind, nobody trusts a person who slouches, so stand up tall and communicate with open gestures.
If you have been deceived before, it can be challenging to learn to trust again. But don’t give up on people. The best way to foster trust is to focus on your own trustworthiness and live with integrity and honesty. Generate a steady flow of truth-telling and promote an atmosphere of honesty around you.
TRUST: BUILD IT. NURTURE IT. LIVE IT.
Joschi & Monika
#BoldNaked
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