Credibility

Is there anything more basic to our survival than oxygen? No, of course not. Without it, we cannot live and that's that. In the world of communication, there is a similar "bottom line." It's called credibility. Without it, then one's ability to communicate is gone. Sure, you can speak and people around you will hear your words and pick up on your non-verbal cues, but they will also tune you out quicker than it takes a Nolan Ryan fastball to travel from the pitcher's mound to home plate. Thus, your so-called ability to communicate is compromised beyond recall. Your listeners have made up their mind that you cannot be believed and, therefore, give your words no value. Further, they even tend to give the opposite of whatever you are saying greater credence simply because they have concluded you are not a person to believed or that you have no idea of what you are talking about.

And to make matters even worse, once you have lost credibility, then the chances of regaining it are even harder than hitting that same Nolan Ryan fastball. Ok, you admit, I did lie about that one thing. But, you quickly add, everything else I have been saying has been the truth. Maybe so. But once the label of "liar" has been stamped on your forehead, then it puts into question everything else you are saying. Your statements are suspect. Your facts are viewed as being tainted. You as an individual or as a representative of another person or an organization are to be avoided if at all possible. To make things even worse, then if you are serving as a spokesperson for others, then they, too, become suspect simply because it is you who is out front doing their pitching. As a result, any effectiveness you might have had before is now gone.

The good news to all this is that there is a simple way to avoid losing credibility: tell the truth. Do not mislead. If you do not know the answer to a question asked, then say so. People will forgive ignorance a lot faster and a lot more often then they will deception. Sometimes spokespeople fall into the trap of feeling as if they have to have an answer to every question or comment tossed at them. They don't. "I don't know but I'll get back to you with the information" is a great response. Making up something and presenting it in a way that it is fact is not. As communicators, we must hang onto credibility just as hard as we as humans do oxygen.