Building Trust

with Brenda Bailey-Hughes

Action Plan

Trust Building Action Plan

Three Circles of Trust

Credibility Busters
and Boosters
Day to Day Trust
Behaviors

Being Trustworthy

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Defining Trust
1. Name three people you trust:

1. ________________________________
2. ________________________________
3. ________________________________

2. Attributes or behaviors these three people exhibit that create trust:

Your Trust Situation
1. Describe a person, relationship, or situation in which you need to win the trust of others:

2. Does the person have any reason to trust you?

3. Does the person have any reason NOT to trust you?

4. How would earning the trust of this person (people) help you?

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Attributes of the Trustworthy

Evaluate your immediate supervisor on a 1-10 scale where 1 is weak and 10 is strong:
Competent

Reliable

Open and Honest

Consistent in behaviors and spoken values

Concern for others

Evaluate a senior executive on a 1-10 scale where 1 is weak and 10 is strong:

Competent

Reliable

Open and Honest

Consistent in behaviors and spoken values

Concern for others

Demonstrating Your Trustworthiness

Competence + Relationship Self Interest
1. In the situation you described above, what are three ways you can demonstrate concern for the OTHER
person? Click the box to check mark action items or write your own:
Volunteer

Give up something

Brag about the person

Listen
Your ideas:

Date when you will complete the three actions:

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2. Find three specific ways you can build your relationship with the person in your situation:
Socialize

Make small talk

Share info about yourself

Show humor

Smile
Your ideas:

Date when you will complete the three actions:

3. Find three specific ways you can build your expertise in the eyes of the person in your situation:

Read a book

Attend some training

Contact a consultant

Take on new project

Understand the broader business

Meet deadlines

Follow through

Tell the story of your accomplishments

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Self Evaluation of Credibility Busters and Boosters

After recording yourself (or being secretly recorded by a friend) watch your video and determine if you could
add any verbal or nonverbal boosters to enhance your credibility. Do you need to get rid of any credibility
busters?

Verbal Boosters to Use

Verbal Busters to Avoid

Concrete Fillers
Detailed Hedges and tag questions
Lead with claim, support with evidence

Overuse of adjectives

External authorities Over answering

Nonverbal Boosters to Use

Nonverbal Busters to Avoid

Eye-to-eye contact

Scanning over or past others eyes

Speak 160 words per minute

Speaking too fast

Stand/sit up straightchin level

Slumped posture, head tilted

Evenly distribute weight on both feet

Legs crossed or one hip out

Well groomed appearance and attire

Ill fitting or wrinkled clothes

Open gestures Elbows to the ribs

Natural, varied facial expressions

Poker face or over smiling

Project to be easily heard

Too quiet (especially at ends of sentences)

Articulate words clearly

Mumbled (especially at ends of sentences)

Focus on one or two top priorities. What action will you take to create a new habit? Practice of your new habit
for a few minutes every day for a total of just two hours will likely lead to a new, more credible behavior!

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Rebuilding Trust Checklist

When another has violated your trust:

Lean towards trust (but dont be nave)

Challenge mistrust perceptions

Confront trust violator

When youve violated trust:

Admit the breach

Apologize

Say what you will do to prevent future breaches

Promise to take action to repair

Act

Trust Building with a Virtual Team

Place a plus sign next to the strategies that your team already practices. Put a star next to the strategy that you
think would most help your virtual team build trust.

1. Communicate a variety of topics

2. Share time zone burden

3. Standardize communication procedures.

4. Create virtual team space for project and social documents

5. Clarify goals, roles, and expectations

6. Be a connector

7. Rotate power

8. Communicate frequently

9. Select appropriate communication channel

10. Be reliabledo what you say you will do!

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