25 Jun The Untold Power to Influence Others (It’s Not What You Think)

Posted at 19:57h in Uncategorized by Anna Bertoldini

Words have a powerful influence on people

Humans are inherently social creatures. In fact, we consider social isolation or confinement one of the worst tortures for humans.

If you search around the internet, you’ll find countless content about how to influence others and get what you want. Whether it be in a professional or personal setting.

There’s a new lesson every day about how to persuade, negotiate, or influence people to further their own interests. We’ve heard enough.

But what other aspects of influencing have we been missing out on?

We can make or break someone’s day with one word. We can change the course of someone’s daily activities with a sentence. We can save someone’s life with a gesture.

We don’t realize the power we can have to make a random person or loved one’s day.

We’ve all had those memorable experiences where a simple, deliberate act of kindness made our day. Do you remember a time like that? Do you recall how you felt afterward? Did you realize how effortless it can be to make someone else happy?

I remember a time when I was working the cash register during a past job and witnessed something magical. A family of four came up, a mother with three little children, they each carried a simple sandwich and a soft drink for lunch – about $10 altogether. They all looked brittle. The mother handed me her credit card to pay, and I swiped it. It got denied.

I swiped again, maybe the machine wasn’t able to read it correctly.

Denied again.

The woman was tearing up. She explained to me it was the end of the month and she hadn’t gotten her paycheck yet. She had nothing left to pay for food for the next couple of days.

I called my manager, but as I was explaining the situation, a man behind the woman in line stepped up and offered to pay for her food. He even offered to buy her some essential foodstuffs to feed her family for the next few days.

The man never revealed his name, but he got the family some groceries and made everyone’s day – the family, mine, my manager’s, and the other customers’.

This random act of kindness can be contagious – it inspired me to do something for someone.

If you know the Golden Rule, you know that you should treat others the way you would like to be treated. If you enjoy it when someone makes your day, then start by making the first move by someone else’s day! You never know when your actions will pay it forward and lead others to do the same one day for you.

Here are some easy, inexpensive, and thoughtful ideas to influence others and make their day:

Practice empathy

Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes can help drive kind behavior. When you empathize with someone you try your best to feel what they are feeling and understand their needs and feelings. This practice will better your ability to influence someone’s day by pinpointing the very thing that can make them happy at that moment.

Say thank you

Getting into the habit of saying “thank you” when someone does something nice for you is a sign of appreciation. Just making people aware that you appreciate them — for whatever reason — can influence their day.

Notice and recognize when people do something right

We’re so used to criticizing or pointing out when someone does something wrong that we forget to let them know when they are doing the right thing. Cheering people on for their positive deeds will influence their day and encourage more kind behavior, and who knows, maybe it’ll pass on!

Get closer to someone who’s lonely

You know that one person you often see sitting alone, working in silence, and in obvious need of human contact. We all have those people who really need a word of encouragement. Get out there, make that phone call, send that text, or spark that conversation to let them know they are not alone and are welcome to be with you anytime. For some people, this random act of kindness can mean the world.

Listen

Practice active listening. No, I don’t mean “hearing”, I mean listening. Patiently waiting for the other person to finish, digest the information, and give thoughtful feedback. Be a good listener. We’re so distracted by our devices, stuff to do, or simply short attention spans that we forget to listen. Giving someone our undivided attention can influence their day like no other thing.

Encourage and spread positivity

Share your happiness. Did you find a funny meme or know a good story to pick up someone’s day? Pass it along! Have an inspirational quote or positive message to share with someone? Tell them! Positivity can influence a person’s day for the better. Try it out.

Tags:

influence, inspiration, peace, positivity, power, skill, zen

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