How can you more effectively use power and credibility in your communication?
According to our reading, several factors could be considered when discussing the effective use of
power and credibility in communication. Also, there is a strong interrelationship between personal
power and credibility. DeVito stated,
“A great deal of your personal power, the power that resides in you as a person, depends on the
credibility that you are seen to possess-the degree to which other people regard you as believable and
therefore worth following”. (DeVito, 2018, p. 336)
This statement is a clear indication of the emphasis placed on credibility in regard to the effective use of
power in communication. In other words, we can say that a person’s power could be measured by a
person’s credibility. If credibility makes it easy for people to believe you, that could determine how
powerful you are. Therefore, it is logically sound to say that to effectively use power and credibility in
your communication, you must sound or appear believable.
Other factors discussed by DeVito are competence, knowledge, good character, and charismatic or
dynamic. These factors can help enhance credibility and power in communication. Further reading
showed that the results of these factors could make a person more effective in influencing people’s
attitudes, beliefs, values, and behavior. Credibility is simply what people think of you.
In a nutshell, to be able to effectively use power and credibility in your communication, you must be
believable, have competence, knowledge, good character and be dynamic.
Citations
DeVito, Joseph A. The Interpersonal Communication Book. Available from: MBS Direct, (15th Edition).
Pearson Education (US), 2018.