3E’s…

Education. Energy. Edge.

These are the 3E’s of influence, in my book (not literally in BBTL, there was so much good that got cut. Damn).

First, the best communicators are not the best educated. They are, however, masters at connecting their message to the right audience. We buy from the human that is educated about us and our needs. We don’t need degrees and titles to tell us we ought to listen up. We need to sense they know their stuff. Truth sells, at least to the educated buyer. Think about it…

We buy from the human that is educated around why she’s here and what her company is the best in the world at. When she connects her why’s to our needs, we tune in like a banchee. We buy from someone whose education creates a sense of belief.

We trust the words from someone who communicates with the proper energy. We believe them when their energy matches the moment, mood, and comes from some place meaningful, or so we perceive. We don’t buy when they use lots of words, especially freakin’ fancy ones. We buy clear, concise, and direct (ccd), spoken from a clean heart with nothing to hide. Truth. Again.

And lastly, we buy from the missionary man. They know their stuff. They know our need. They know how to put the cookies on the bottom shelf. They know how to help us see and imagine what we didn’t even know we were missing. They don’t make us feel less through this process, in fact, they make us feel more. We believe them. We buy their sincere edge. We can’t, oftentimes, describe it but we buy it nonetheless.

Education. Energy. Edge. 3E’s of master connectors. Are you beginning to see why a strong CORE and an authentic OPUS are essential to leading self and influencing others? The most influential don’t try very hard, you know. The most influential simply are who they are, aim sincerely at OPUS, and have the right combination of education, energy, and edge. Oozes out of them. The right audience comes to them. Are you buying this? Slow down and reflect. Write. You are in the influence game. We all are. Where do you want to build skill? Baby step it. Good.

Live hard. Love harder…