One of the most important things to keep in mind when building someone’s trust is your communication with them. Being able to effectively interact with other people is the first step in determining what you can do for each other. Trust is all about meeting people’s needs, whether in business or in friendship, and you must communicate to understand what each person’s needs are.

Speak about your feelings out loud

Remember that when you are trying to build trust with someone, you’re working to change their behavior. Thoughts stem from needs, and thoughts drive feelings and actions. Discussing and learning someone’s needs is the first step in providing for them. 

When you prove that you can meet someone else’s needs, they change their thoughts towards you. And when they change their thoughts, they’ll change their feelings. Our feelings towards someone are how we know if we can trust them. This chain of thoughts, feelings, and actions is exactly what you need to keep in mind when entering into any kind of relationship. Knowing how this mental process works will enable you to connect with others in a very significant way and establish that much-needed trust.

To start determining feelings and needs, you can start by practicing on yourself. Determine your own needs in a relationship by speaking aloud about your feelings or your thoughts. From here, see if you can determine what your specific needs are in the relationship based on these expressed feelings. 

Lean into the natural urge to connect with others

Communicating and forming relationships are actually ingrained in us. Aristotle is famous for saying that “man is a social animal,” meaning that we are, by nature, bound to establish relationships with one another. Society relies on people coming together to form ideas, create things, and improve on concepts. Otherwise, there would be no cohesion in our society. Things cannot get done without trust because it is the glue that holds everything together and allows for growth. Discussing with others is crucial to establishing trust. No matter what the scenario is, communicating ideas and relying on one another is the only way to get things done.

Consider other peoples’ values when communicating with them

Another important part of effective communication is understanding one another’s values. Each person’s values are different and make up their identity. These are the things that you feel strongly about and are usually determined by how you grew up. Values inform how you react to certain situations, and understanding where someone stands on certain things can help you when trying to establish a strong relationship with them. You want to be sure not to offend someone or say something that would make them question their faith in you. Sharing your values with another person and asking about theirs is a simple step in getting closer and learning about each other. Being respectful is key to good, honest communication.

In establishing a business or personal relationship, you have to bridge the gap between you and the person. Forming a bond is how you make them want to give you their time and create a connection with you. With a genuine understanding of how trust is formed and the importance of communication, you’ll be well on your way to forming strong relationships with others.

For more information on the importance of communication when building trust, read Imran and Aimee Tariq’s book “Pyramid of Trust.” The best-selling authors walk readers through communicating and forming better relationships in life.

The startup culture has become active for the last few years, with many founders finding success in their ventures and many unicorn companies breaking out of the fold. Most of the highly successful companies today all started from startups, and many other entrepreneurs and founders are looking to achieve the same. To make that happen, some guidance is necessary, and that is why 20-year startup veteran and serial entrepreneur Greg Shepard launched his initiative called Business Operating Support System (BOSS)  Startup Science.

Greg Shepard has been in the startup world for 20 years and has recorded success with many ventures. He has 12 liquidity events under his belt, with two getting sold as part of a $925 million transaction that won 4 PE awards for transactions between $250 million and a billion dollars. His success in the startup world positioned him suitably to guide other aspiring startup founders and upcoming founders. With his experience, he developed BOSS, a business methodology to empower and educate entrepreneurs on how to increase their startup’s success rate.

Gregory Shepard is all out in achieving success with startups, and his life’s work has revolved around that. From experience, he claims startup companies in the world are doing a lot of things wrongly, which is responsible for the 90% failure rate that is prevalent in the industry. Through BOSS Startup Science, Greg is proving that this does not have to be the norm.

His research paper, Silver Master, researches why startup companies fail and addresses all  topics, and paired with this research paper, he hopes to do more with direct and indirect mentorship through the BOSS Startup Science platform. Silver Master teaches the framework and tools in BOSS and is oriented around the Startup Lifecycle which is composed of 7 distinct phases that educates entrepreneurs through years of wisdom and success. 

Shepard draws motivation from his desire to change the income and wealth inequality that exists in the world today. He intends to advocate for entrepreneurship and push people to go into the startup world so they can unlock a new category of wealth creation. To assist startups and push them towards success, he also operates BOSS Capital Partners, a global syndicate for investing in tech startups globally.

Greg Shepard is a member of the Forbes Business Council and Forbes Technology Council. He is a ForbesBooks podcaster and host of his podcast The BOSS Podcast and has more than 100 articles published in national and international publications in his name. He has spoken at different TEDx events, universities, conferences, and associations worldwide. He hosts a show on Forbes Radio and has been featured as a guest on over 25 highly rated podcasts as well as other shows on network television and radio. 

With 25 years under the bridge for him as an experienced startup founder, investor, mentor, and adviser, Gregory Shepard looks forward to a new world for founders and investors. He hopes to instill confidence and get more people into the startup space while also helping them achieve success in their various niches. In the next five years, he sees himself continuing the world and extending his platform’s reach to capture other parts of the world beyond the United States.Learn more about Gregory Shepard and his work in the startup world on his website.