In this episode, I talk about Credibility. I recently had the honor of giving the commencement address at a local private high school, and I wanted what I said to resonate not only with the graduates but with their parents and anyone else in the audience. I don’t go through the entire commencement speech, but I wanted to impart what I consider the three keys necessary to develop and build the best, most authentic, and most valuable version of you. Those three keys lend themselves to building credibility.
Full transcript below.
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Transcript
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
credibility, intention, graduates, showing, life, matters, habits, cheerful, talk, give, simple, positive feedback, most valuable thing, givers, helping, friday, audience, finish, building, commencement address
SPEAKERS
Mike Malatesta 00:06
Hey Everybody, welcome back to the How’d It Happen Podcast. So happy to have you here, as I am every week. Glad to have you here on a Friday for a special solo Friday episode, and today I’m going to talk about Credibility Habits . . . Credibility Habits.
I was fortunate recently to give a commencement address at a high school nearby, which was a brand new experience for me; I’ve never done anything like that. And I have to admit, it’s a little intimidating, trying to put a message together that resonates not only with the graduates but also with their parents and their families and everyone else who is in the audience. It’s a really tall lift, because if it’s too structured towards the graduates, then nobody in the audience really gets anything from it and, and really, just trying to get graduates to pay attention to a commencement speaker, I think, is difficult. Because they have a lot on their minds. And none of what’s on their minds is really you as the commencement speaker. But nonetheless, I did it. And like I said, it was a great experience. I did get some positive feedback from it, fortunately. But it made me think that there’s some stuff in here that is probably worth sharing with the How’d It Happen audience.
The theme of the talk was really helping the graduates understand what I consider to be the three keys that are necessary to develop and build the very best, most authentic and most valuable version of you. And I’m not going to go through the whole talk here, but there’s one section that I would like to go through. And it speaks to this credibility habit thing that I want to talk about today. So one of the keys to building credibility is showing up, showing up with intention. And it’s not an easy thing to do. And a lot of people don’t even understand what the concept of showing up actually means and what, you know, the impact that it has on other people. And so I want to take you through that part of it, and we’ll see what you think.
So, the most valuable thing you can do in life is show up with intention. You know, like it or not, you are always on display. And if you can be heard or seen or even thought about, you are being judged and evaluated. Right? We can’t help that, because having no judgment is an impossibility. The good news, though, is that how you show up is completely within your control, because it’s intentional. How you show up matters more than anything else in life, it matters more than your looks, it matters more than how you dress, matters more than your job title, matters more than your seniority. And it matters more than the number of emails that you send. How you show up matters more than anything else. I’ll be honest with you, I have not always shown up with intention. I wish I had. There have been many times when I’ve been embarrassed and, and even ashamed of how I’ve shown up. And none of that, of course, was helping with my credibility, right. But, you know, that’s going to happen, it’s going to happen to all of us, we’re all going to mess up. The good news about that is that showing up with intention is a mission really, it’s not a zero sum game. You get better at it over time, particularly when you know that your credibility or the credibility that you’re hoping to grow depends upon you manifesting that by how you show up.
So how do you show up with intention? Well, at this particular school, they have this prayer that all the little kids say every day before school, in the Lower School, and there’s a line in it, it goes like this. It says, “I begin each day with a cheerful spirit, and a willing heart.” I begin each day with a cheerful spirit, and a willing heart. And I feel like that’s the first step to showing up with intention and building credibility. Because even though 20 years ago was first time I heard that give or take, but remembering it has helped me through many challenging times in my life, because it’s not easy to show up with intention, you’ve got a lot of things going on, right, that can knock you off your game. But if you think about that line, it’s really hard to show up wrong when you show up with a cheerful spirit and a willing heart. So something to keep in mind, that’s, it’s just a great first step.
And then here are a few other simple habits that that I’ve learned that will help you show up with intention as well.
Be on time. It sounds so simple, but just look at your everyday life and look at you, and see how often you’re on time. Being on time shows that you’re serious.
Do what you say. Again, do what you say sounds simple. How many people do you know in your life, every day that don’t do what they say? Well, when you do what you say, it shows that you are trustworthy.
Next is finish what you start, finish what you start, it shows that you’re dependable. Think about how many times in your life that you’re around people, or maybe even yourself, and you start something that you don’t finish. People don’t think you’re dependable if you start stuff and don’t finish it.
The next one is a real simple one that a lot of you have done, I’m sure. But everybody needs a reminder of it as well. Say please, and thank you a lot. You know, there are so many opportunities to say please and thank you. Anytime you ask someone do something, just put a please in front of it. And every time they accept the responsibility, or the request to do something, say thank you. And then when they deliver it, say thank you. Just because someone’s working, quote unquote, for you doesn’t mean that there’s no need or no requirement for a simple please. And thank you. And think about how you like it, you know, when you get that kind of treatment. So say please, and thank you.
And then always, always, always give more than you take. See, when you give more than you take, it shows that you understand how the world works, because in life givers win. And takers. Well, they lose. Right?
So there’s a quick briefing on how you raise your credibility index very simply with just a few minor things that you think about during the day and then actually do right, so begin each day with a cheerful spirit and a willing heart. Be on time. Do what you say. Finish what you start. Say please and thank you. And always, always give more than you take.
Thank you so much for joining me on this Friday solo episode. Until next time, keep being inspired to activate and maximize the greatness inside of you. And if I can help you with that, or with anything else, just reach out and we’ll have a conversation about it and see if there’s something I can help you with. Until next time. I’ll see you
