How influential are you?

Being an effective communicator is the foundation for success in any endeavor, regardless of your position, role or industry. A critical component of effective communication is the ability to be influential, that is convincing others to support your vision without ever really saying a word…

With that in mind, here is a brief survey to help you assess how influential you are. Answer each question using the following score: Most like you = 2 pts; Somewhat like you = 1 pt’ Not like you at all = 0 pts.

Your degree of influence is listed below. Don’t over think this, just go with your first instinct.

1. When engaging others in change, I go beyond presenting a business argument and focus on introducing the morale obligations and impacts tied to making the change.

2. When it comes to getting others to support my views, I spend significant time connecting their needs with the results of my desired outcomes.

3. I create incentives for others to support my vision by introducing elements beyond compensation such as personal benefits; business benefits and community benefits.

4. To sway opinion I spend the predominance of my time attaining the confidence of others by building rapport and credibility.

5. To engage others I help them break down my vision into simple achievable chunks, rather than a single enormous shift or change.

Degree of influence:

0 – 5 Not utilizing influence in your communications.

5 – 7 Using some influence, however room for improvement by focusing more on the other persons desires.

7 – 10 Very influential. Focus on how to continue to inject influence and improve outcomes.

© Shawn Casemore 2013. All rights reserved.