The Language of Trust

The Language of Trust

How to develop a communication conducive to trust?

Author(s): Michael Maslansky, Scott West, Gary DeMoss, David Saylor

Publisher: Prentice Hall

Date of publication: 2010

Manageris opinion

Most situations where trust has collapsed are caused by communication problems. In our “post-trust” society, people have learned to interpret what they are told, and to look behind rosy advertisements, possible media interests and potentially false promises of partners who could become competitors. In such a context, one word out of line can be fatal to trust.
So how can you develop communication conducive to trust? Being open, direct, positive and credible are the basics that emerge from the research conducted by the authors of this book. A specific chapter is devoted to each of these themes, which are chock-full of concrete advice for daily life, on a personal or professional level. For example, how can you be credible? Use neutral language, avoid superlatives, and be exhaustive while avoiding haziness, including when you describe the drawbacks of the solutions you propose.
However, balanced communication is not enough. More importantly, you must also be able to listen. You will inspire trust only if you demonstrate that you can take account of the interests of the other party. This means showing you have understood his or her needs and objectives and are able to reformulate them accurately in your own words.


A short, concrete book that offers food for thought on every page.