How to boost your credibility and influence at work

To begin with, could you please introduce yourself and tell us what your business is all about?

My name is Carine Escudero. I am a trainer, coach and speaker, specialising in influential communication, strategic public speaking, projecting authority and interpersonal dynamics.

My career path has been rather unconventional, but there is a clear common thread running through it: understanding what enables a person to be heard, recognised and followed. I have worked in human resources, held managerial roles, developed several business ventures, and I also have a background in the performing arts. These diverse experiences now enable me to approach communication from the perspectives of business, human psychology, strategy and personal presence.

I often work with professionals who already possess the necessary technical skills and experience, but whose message, demeanour or approach to building relationships does not yet generate the level of buy-in they would expect.

I work with executives, senior executives, (top) managers, experts and entrepreneurs, as well as groups and teams. On an individual basis, my work may focus on taking up a new role, contributing to an executive committee meeting, a major negotiation, a sensitive announcement, a pitch, or developing a more natural leadership presence. For groups, I focus in particular on managerial communication, cooperation, preventing tensions, public speaking, sales strategies and supporting organisational change.

When a company is undergoing a reorganisation, a merger or a cultural shift, simply making decisions is not enough. These decisions must also be made understandable, acceptable and inspiring. My role, therefore, is to help executives and managers refine their messages, anticipate resistance and become true catalysts for change.

I draw in particular on the DISC model, NLP and emotional intelligence. Not to pigeonhole people, but to help them better understand how they themselves function, how the people they’re interacting with function, and the dynamics at play in a relationship.

My support programmes can take the form of individual programmes, group initiatives, workshops or talks. But the common thread is always the same: to use communication as a means of establishing authority, building support and exerting influence. 

Many professionals are competent, but struggle to gain recognition. In your view, what really distinguishes an expert from an influential person?

Expertise is based on what we know. Influence is based on what others understand, remember and are keen to follow.

You can be extremely competent and yet remain largely unnoticed, unheeded or under-recognised. Not because you lack merit, but because that merit is not yet apparent. Yet, in professional life, actual competence and perceived competence do not always coincide.

An influential person is not necessarily the one who speaks the loudest, takes up the most space or has the most followers. It is the person who manages to build trust, provide meaning and inspire others to take action.

First and foremost, this requires a clear positioning: knowing what you stand for, what value you bring, and what you wish to be recognised for. It then requires the ability to communicate your expertise effectively. Many professionals speak from their own level of expertise, using highly technical language, whilst their audience needs a vision, a direction or a straightforward decision.

Finally, influence stems from consistency. If your words convey confidence, but your voice, eye contact or body language betray doubt, the listener’s brain picks up on this contradiction. Conversely, when the message, behaviour and intention are aligned, credibility naturally increases.

This is particularly evident amongst senior executives and managers. Their role confers on them formal authority, but it does not guarantee either buy-in or commitment. Employees may carry out a decision simply because it comes from above, without necessarily believing in or supporting it.

For me, therefore, true influence does not lie in imposing an idea. It lies in creating the conditions for that idea to be understood, considered and freely adopted.

The expert provides an answer. The influential person inspires you to do something with it. Professional authority therefore rests not only on arguments, but also on the ability to read interpersonal dynamics, to remain composed under pressure and to stand by one’s word.

You work with executives, managers and entrepreneurs. What are the most common mistakes that undermine their credibility or professional presence?

The first mistake is to believe that the quality of the content alone will be enough to convince the listener. A sound argument can lose all its power if it is too long, too complex or poorly presented. Some professionals put a great deal of effort into preparing their content, but very little into the effect they wish to have on their audience.

The second mistake is to communicate from one’s own perspective, rather than from that of the listener. A manager is often several weeks or months ahead of a decision. By the time they announce it, they have already had time to understand it, question it and, in some cases, come to terms with it. Their staff, on the other hand, are only made aware of it within a matter of minutes. If they fail to take this time lag into account, they risk interpreting their team’s reactions as resistance, when in fact they may simply reflect a need for understanding or reassurance.

I also come across many managers who remain stuck in the role of an expert. They answer questions, explain things, put forward arguments and offer solutions. But they listen little, ask few questions and do not always create the space needed to build buy-in. Yet being a manager is not just about having the right answer. You also need to know how to help people grow, empower them, set them back on track and motivate them.

Another common mistake concerns a lack of consistency between verbal and non-verbal communication. Speaking too quickly, avoiding pauses, justifying oneself excessively, avoiding eye contact or making too many fidgety gestures can undermine an otherwise relevant message. Credibility does not mean being cold or perfectly controlled. Rather, it stems from a steady, clear and consistent presence.

On LinkedIn, the mistake takes a different form: wanting to be visible before having clarified one’s positioning. People post about a wide variety of topics, follow the latest trends or try to appeal to as many people as possible. The result is often an active presence, but one that is difficult to identify.

Finally, some professionals confuse authority with harshness. They believe they must suppress their personality, emotions or vulnerability in order to be credible. However, the strongest authority is not the kind that crushes others. It is the kind that reassures, sets boundaries and enables everyone to know where they stand.

In short, credibility is rarely undermined by a lack of skills. It is more often undermined by a lack of clarity, adaptability or alignment. My areas of expertise address precisely these challenges: poorly communicated decisions, managerial approach, cross-functional tensions, sensitive situations and insufficiently structured visibility.

What practical strategies can we put in place right now to make a greater impact – in meetings, on LinkedIn or when dealing with clients?

The first approach involves no longer simply preparing what you are going to say, but defining the effect you wish to achieve.

Before a meeting, a presentation or a client appointment, I recommend answering three very simple questions: What does the person I’m speaking to need to understand, how do I want them to feel, and what do I expect them to do next? This line of thinking requires us to move beyond the mere accumulation of information and adopt a genuine communication strategy.

The second key is to clarify your main message. If people were to remember just one sentence from your speech, which one would it be? Many speeches lose their impact because they contain too many competing ideas. A strong message isn’t necessarily simplistic. It is prioritised.

In meetings, it is also essential to observe before speaking. Who is speaking? Who is quietly influencing the decision? Who needs data, assurances, a swift response or consultation? Assessments such as DISC help us understand that not everyone can be persuaded in the same way. Some will need you to get straight to the point, whilst others will need evidence, to feel involved or to sense enthusiasm for the project.

When dealing with a client, the impact starts with the quality of the assessment. The more you try to make a quick sale, the greater the risk of offering a generic solution. Asking the right questions, rephrasing the issues and demonstrating that you understand the practical implications of a problem immediately builds trust.

On LinkedIn, I recommend starting with your positioning, rather than posting content. Your profile should enable people to quickly understand who you support, on what topics, and what value you add. Your editorial approach should then establish a clear link between your name, your expertise and the problems you solve.

It’s not just about publishing advice. It’s also about sharing a personal perspective on one’s profession, real-world experiences, convictions and, at times, well-reasoned disagreements. That’s how you make yourself recognisable.

Finally, you need to work on your presence: slow down, embrace the silences, make eye contact, take a breath before replying, and avoid unnecessary justifications. A few seconds of composure can sometimes convey more authority than several minutes of argument.

In my Leadership and Digital approaches, this work begins with positioning and observation, before moving on to inner confidence, self-expression and influence. For LinkedIn, this progression links an understanding of one’s target audience, the confidence needed to put oneself out there, a clear editorial direction and the building of lasting visibility.

If you had to give just one piece of advice to a professional who wants to increase their visibility, credibility and influence, what would it be and why?

I would advise him to aim first to be clear, before aiming to be visible.

We live in an environment that pushes us to produce more: more content, more public statements, more presence on social media. However, when your positioning is unclear, increasing your visibility does not solve the problem. It simply makes that lack of clarity more obvious.

We must therefore begin by clarifying three points: what we are offering, to whom we are offering it, and the unique way in which we do so.

This clarity then makes it easier to take a stance, choose the right topics, tailor what you say and reiterate your message without feeling as though you’re repeating yourself. It also creates consistency between what you say in meetings, what you post on LinkedIn and what others say about you when you’re not in the room.

Legitimacy is not built by constantly claiming to be an expert. It is built by helping others to better understand a situation, to make a decision or to take a step forward.

As for influence, it emerges gradually, when these clear words are repeated consistently and backed up by actions.

I would therefore summarise this advice as follows: Choose the area in which you wish to make your mark, adopt a particular perspective, and embody it over the long term.

You don’t need to be everywhere or talk about everything. You need to be clear and consistent enough so that, when a need arises, your name is naturally associated with the solution.

Visibility catches the eye. Clarity builds trust. And it is trust that creates influence. My digital approach is based precisely on this three-pronged approach: positioning, messaging and presence, rather than simply posting content.