How to become a powerful influence on people

How influential are you?

Have you stopped lately to think about what level of influence you have on people? To put it another way; Do people listen to you and respect your opinion? This is especially important in your job, whether it’s grassroots or administrative. People follow leaders, whether they have a job title or not. If you can’t persuade and convince people to follow your way of thinking, you may be relegated to the lowest rungs of society.

Every day we are presented with opportunities to influence others. It can come in the form of a law enforcement officer ready to issue you a ticket, or your boss challenging parts of your presentation, or when you have to return a pair of shoes to the department store without a receipt. The way you handle these everyday challenges, in turn, either helps or hurts your ability to shine in high-profile situations, where your persuasive skills are on display for all to see.

Your most powerful tool

Do you want to know the most powerful tool that you have at your disposal when it comes to influencing people? I learned and perfected this strategy over a 4-year period, while working as a contract negotiator for the Department of Defense. I must have learned my lesson well, because I was named one of the best negotiators in my field and received the coveted award for superior performance sustained by high-level achievement.

This tool is so powerful that most people (at all levels of organizations) lose it completely, yet it has been shown to be extremely effective in study after study. What are you asking? It is the “psychology of a smile”. That’s right; a smile. Why is it so powerful? Because it has no language barriers, none. I have tested this theory all over the world. No matter where you travel, all people, in all languages, understand your message. A smile is the universal language of winners. The reason I call it a tool is because, like any tool, it works in the right situation.

It was President Abraham Lincoln who said that a man is ultimately responsible for the condition of his face. How true is this. So the next time you’re tempted to use the anger tool during one of your daily challenges, try employing a simple smile instead and see if the results are different. I have used it on flights across the country and have witnessed flight assistance. Be more attentive to me v. others. I’ve used it when I really should have gotten a speeding ticket, only to get a warning to slow down. I’ve used it in restaurants and I’ve seen waiters be a little kinder to me and my group, above everyone else. I’ve seen frown turn into smiles, simple because I took the time to smile.

The smile strategy

Don’t dismiss this as an unstable strategy used by snowflakes and geeks. The “smile strategy” has been used effectively by greats such as Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Oprah Winfrey, Melinda Gates, Nelson Mandela, Richard Bronson, Warren Buffet, Barak Obama, Napoleon Hill, Angela Merkel, Michelle Obama , Laurene Powell Jobs and many more.

Do you want to become a powerful influence on people? Then start with a smile. Look at amazingly successful people (even in your immediate circles) and you will see that they have a tendency to smile more than others. Frank Irving Fletcher wrote that; a smile costs nothing, but creates a lot. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in an instant, but the memory sometimes lasts forever.

conclusion

One of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal when it comes to influencing people is simply smiling. The smile is the universal language of the winners.

© 2014 Cubie Davis King. All rights reserved. It is illegal to duplicate or use in any way with the express written permission of the author.