There’s an idea if people mute their personality, they’ll get more connections. Network Lead Exchange explains why the opposite is true and how using personality creates network connections.
There are plenty of professionals heading into networking events and muting their personalities. Unfortunately, the best case for connecting with someone is who they are, so muting a personality flies against this idea. It’s important to understand exactly why personality is so important. Just as the eyes are the window to the soul, personality is the window to a person’s values. In a professional setting, personal values are the currency on which a person’s word rests. Trusting someone to follow through on a task or help with referrals is a direct reflection on their personality. That’s why it’s important to understand how using personality creates network connections.
Building Trust
Knowing who can be trusted is so important for business. Customers give their trust sparingly, and the same is true with many professionals. There are several ways to tell if a person is trustworthy. The best indicator is how the professional talks about their business, customers, and other professionals. Someone engaging in positive talk and an occasional objective criticism is a person to be trusted. Furthermore, a trait to look out for is when a professional says, “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but…”, because its indicative a professional talks out of school. Trust is not about keeping secrets, it’s about displaying discretion.
The Power of Empathy
The most important characteristic of a potential connection is their ability to relate to problems they don’t have. Empathy is easy to notice. Empathetic people listen without immediately offering advice. They seem genuinely interested in helping a person get through tough times. Conversely, during good times, empathetic people are the first to celebrate success. Empathetic people are always interested in solving problems; they form connections not to be transactional, but transformational.
The Truth of Authenticity
People are remarkably good at figuring out if someone is the real deal or if they are full of it. As Maya Angelou once said, “When someone tells you who they are, believe them.” Whether it’s showing they’re the real deal or fool’s gold, don’t get talked out of this truth. Personality can’t be faked, and there’s just a feeling a person gets when the real article is standing in front of them.
Be Empathetic, Authentic, and Trustworthy
It’s not enough to just recognize these qualities in others, professionals must be all of these things. People are generally all three qualities. How those qualities manifest is the fun of discovering a personality. Whether introverted or extroverted, display these qualities in a way that’s most comfortable. It will be easy, and other network connections will notice.
