Singapore is known for its efficiency and hard working folks, however have you ever seen people having fun in their area of work?

This video demonstrates that you can have tons of fun watching and being part of the Flash Mob in Raffles Place, heart of our Central Business District. Enjoy!

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Trust IS the most fundamental element in all relationships. It is essential to business performance, sales, managing people or even just relating and sharing with loved ones. To build your trust-worthiness, here are some things that you really need to keep in mind.

1. Trust starts from a perspective

It starts from the very perspective that you have of other people. If you view people with suspicion most of the time, the chances are that you had a very bad experience in your past with people. You tend to treat most people with suspicion, whether they are trust-worthy or not. However if you have a perspective that most people are trustworthy, you will tend find them and people will reciprocate your view points. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a great poet, shares “Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly, and they will show themselves great.”

2. Trust means to say what you mean and mean what you say

Trust basically starts from yourself. If you want people to trust whatever you say, you have to first start with being consistent with your words and then honouring them at every moment. Our personal character is the first place to start before we start on our relationships. Here are some questions that have to be answered: Is my character solid? Do I follow through in what I say? Am I honest with the way I live my live?

3. Trust knows no boundaries in the different areas of your life

Cheryl Biehl once said that if you can’t trust people at all points, you can’t truly trust him or her at any point. There are many times in my life where I find it a struggle to be consistent. One of the earliest problems I had was being late every time I meet people and it became a trust issue to other people. They could not believe that I could ever come early. It was only after a long struggle, that I learn to honour peoples’ time and strived to always arrive early. My take on this is that if I cannot even honour my punctuality in meeting with people, they will find it difficult to trust me in other areas of my life.

4. Trust is like an emotional bank account

Trust is like a currency that we deposit with other people’s emotional bank account. Everytime we honour our words, we make a deposit. Every time we dishonour our words, we withdraw with (with interest) from them. The problem is that deposits are usually very small, while every withdrawal tends to be very large. Therefore, strive to make frequent deposits every day, while avoiding withdrawals.

Let me leave you with a quote:

“You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.” Frank Crane

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Here are some invaluable ways that will help you win over people:

1. Smile when you talk

People are more comfortable with you when you give them your best smile. It destroys any barriers and helps build a sense of connectedness. In all of my public talks, I usually go to the venue early and smile at my participants even before I talk. This creates empathy and helps them know that I am friendly even before I speak.

2. Encourage others to talk about themselves

Great conversationalists are usually good in getting people to talk about themselves. When you consistently shift the focus to your friend and really get to know them on a personal level, they feel that someone actually cares about them.

There’s a story about Britain’s two great prime ministers are William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli. A young woman went to dinner with them on successive nights. When asked by people around her on what she thought of the two men, she said: “When I left the dining room after sitting next to Mr Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. However, when I sat next to Mr Disraeli, I thought I was the cleverest woman in England!”

3. Use their names often

One of the most sweetest things you can ever hear about yourself is probably your name. I try to use it as much as possible in my conversations. Whenever I meet people who are serving me (like waitresses, bankers or even fast food restaurant staff), I usually acknowledge them by thanking them by specifically mentioning their name, eg. “Thank you Helen for the food!” It usually brings a smile to their faces!

4. Make the other person feel important

If you can make people feel important, you will usually be able to influence them. I could recall speaking to another trainer friend of mine who has this unique ability to really help you feel good about yourself. She constantly makes remarks on how well you approached the problem, how your contributions are acknowledged as well as your efforts in serving the people around you. She basically makes you feel that you are important and the world would have been worst off without your presence. This is a mark of a person who constantly seeks to raise people up with words of affirmation.

Conclusion

John Maxwell so aptly puts it regarding charisma. The person without charisma walks into a group and says “Here I am”. The person with charisma walks into a group announcing “There you are”. To influence people is not difficult, all you need is to win their hearts.

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Do you have circumstances where the entire office is engaged in a war? Watch this hilarious clip to find out.

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