Axis of Influence

Look inside the book!

Chapter 1 - Why Are Credibility and Likeability Important to You? Presents the evidence for how Credibility and Likeability impact success in a variety of contexts.  The more likeable and credible the person is, the more successful they are in the workplace, in politics, in sales, and in court.  These elements even effect the quality of healthcare you get.

Chapter 2 - The Process: Trust + Likeability + Credibility = Influence

Provides the schematic for influence and helps you see (and implement) the process.  It begins with trust.  If I trust you, I'll be comfortable enough to engage with you a little longer to see if I like you.  If I like you, I'll engage a bit longer and give you a chance to demonstrate your credibility.

Chapter 3 - The Trust Detector explains the importance of first impressions.  Discusses how the old brain is constantly on the watch for first impressions to determine if the person is a friend or foe. We describe things about a person that trigger trust or distrust and how you can help people trust you.

Chapter 4 - The Attractiveness Effect talks about another element of first impressions - Attractiveness, and how those seen as attractive inherit other qualities like credibility, likeability and trust.

Chapter 5 - What is Likeability? This gets into the details on how we decide if someone is likeable - in particular what happens in the brain to make this determination.

Chapter 6 - How to Become More Likeable provides eight tools and strategies for increasing your Likeability. These tools are specific guidance that can have a dramatic impact on success.

Chapter 7 - What is Credibility? Answers the questions about how we decide if someone is believable and ultimately credible.  We discuss the specific elements of credibility - Integrity, Competence, Relevance, Objectivity; the look of Credibility, the sound of Credibility and the language of Credibility.

Chapter 8 - How to Demonstrate Credibility provides 14 specific strategies, tools and techniques for demonstrating Credibility. Another chapter that could turn a business around.

Chapter 9 - Trust is the Key to Maintaining Influence This brings us full circle back to where we started - with trust.  Trust is the first step in the process and is also critical to maintaining both Credibility and Likeability.

The Back Story

I (ML) began to research and write about credibility in 1991. I set out to answer these questions about credibility: 1) What improved someone's credibility?  2) What damaged it? 3) How did it impact business?

The answers: 

Answer 1 - publishing a book. Nearly every person said that getting published had the biggest impact on their credibility. The few who hadn’t yet published their book noted that articles, reports, white papers or delivering speeches helped to build their credibility. 

Answer 2 - Lack of awareness.  The people who have a credibility gap seem not to understand what other people think about them.  Their interpersonal skills are terrible, but they don't know it.

Answer 3 - 50%. Every single person I interviewed said their businesses improved by 50% as a direct result of those credibility activities.  

What's different & better about this book?

Years ago, when we began to write the first edition of this book, only one or two other people had written anything about credibility.  But, they approached the topic as if it were an abstract concept - unusable in the business world. 

We determined that our book must include processes that work in business, and specific steps that business people could actually implement.  Otherwise, it wouldn't be worth publishing. 

The missing ingredient.  It was only a mere months prior to publication that we realized a huge lesson - credibility without likeability is not enough.  Likewise, likeability without credibility is not enough. 

If you operate a relationship-based business, you must gain both credibility and likeability.  Axis of Influence is the only book anywhere that teaches you how to get both of them and use them in your business.