"If you want to be heard, you must first hear..."

A simple yet overlooked fact. 

If you want to influence, you need to start with trust. 

People are more likely to hear you when they trust you. 

So always start with building trust. To build trust, you need to provide value. 

Value can come in the form of empathy articulated, summarizing a sob story, paraphrasing your understanding. Or it can even come at doing things, moving a pain point .. providing support.  To do that well, you need to listen. 

So before you expect to influence, first listen and give...