Building Trust In Relationships

How do I become better at building great trusting relationships? This is a question many of my young mentees ask me.

I learned much of what I do unconsciously today when engaging with others from two books I read many years ago,

How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie and It’s not about me by Robin Dreeke.

Here is what I learned from reading the books and practicing the core concept over the years.

When Do You Feel Good In A Relationship?

When you can talk about yourself, share your views, dreams, and priorities, and feel unconditionally accepted without feeling judged for who you are.

So, if you are seeking to gain the trust and confidence of someone you are engaging with, it can only happen if the other person is feeling rewarded for engaging with you. 

Make it all about the other person.

If I had to encapsulate the art of building trust in relationships into one sentence, it would be-

Trust is built when there is no personal agenda in the interaction.

It may be natural for some people to focus on what the other person wants in every conversation. But for most of us, this is something we must practice consciously, so it becomes second nature.