Hannah Busing via Unsplash

In this post we are going to continue the discussion about how to build influence in a work setting by unpacking the second of three tactics. To get caught up on our discussion thus far, please see the previous posts: Building Influence Part 1 and Building Influence Part 2.

Tactic #2 – Know Your Stuff

To some extent, knowledge builds respect. When you know what you’re talking about, people start to respect you for your intelligence and awareness. So come prepared to meetings, do your homework on the topic, jot down notes if you need to. Ultimately, the goal is to speak intelligently about areas that people are discussing.

We’ve heard it said that "a picture says a 1000 words" and in the context of communication it truly increases the effectiveness of it. I’d encourage us all to spend time putting together slides, tables, diagrams, whatever is appropriate to communicate the message we’re wanting to be out there. Advice for making content:

• Keep it simple – we’re wanting to remove mental hurdles readers might have to pick up what we’re putting down
• Be mindful of colors - choose complimenting colors because they are pleasing to the eye or use high contrast to help contrast different subjects.
• Share with others - share with new people to the team to help train them or even make it available to the border team to help spread the message we’re communicating. This content can also be reused for customer design specs!

With this foundation of equipping yourself with useful knowledge, people will grow to respect what you have to say and thus you’ll gain influence with them when the time comes to need that.