5 Words To Be More Influential

As we work hard to change lives and succeed in our careers, lead our families to a healthier and happier life, and enroll others to support us in our goals, an important skillset to develop is being more influential.

To be more influential means that your contributions weigh heavier, initiating changes that shape the world around you to be more in your favor. 

We think that to be more influential we need to come from a place of authority, confidence, and certainty. That if we want people to take what we have to say seriously we need to give them a reason to believe us. And while that does help us be more influential, it is not the most effective thing we can do to influence.

Rather than manufacturing credibility, the #1 thing you can do to be more influential is share your experience.

So if you want someone to respect your opinion more, or take your advice, or shift their perspective based on your insight...

The 5 most influential words you can say are... “What worked for me is...”

Why is this so powerful?

First, it comes from a place of confidence. It’s believable because you’re clearly not trying to overstate your knowledge, which makes what you have to share much more believable. You can’t guarantee something will work or not work, or be a good or bad idea, and framing it up this way means you’re not attempting to.

Second, it directs you to share what you’re most qualified to speak about. Rather than speaking on topics that you don’t know as well and trying to sound convincing, your focus is on your own experience which is undeniable. It’s easy to remember the truth of what happened, you don’t need to rehearse it, it just pours out naturally. 

And third it actually makes people more willing to receive your advice. People are resistant to being told what to do, we all desire to have a sense of agency. When you share what worked for you they interpret it as exactly that, and they maintain the ability to choose it for themselves so that it’s their own decision rather than yours.

So give it a try, the next time you want to really get your message across, simply say the short expression “What worked for me is…”. It will then naturally prompt you to tell a relevant story that is true to your level of knowledge, speak to your truth and sweet spot, and be better received by whomever you’re sharing it with.