Knowingly or unknowingly, we are all being evaluated by the four C's Networking. The four C's are credibility, competence, clarity and connection – these are the elements that are necessary to develop a strong personal referral network.

When you meet a stranger, you likely ask yourself one or all of the following questions: Can I trust this person? What does he or she want? What are their goals? Do they want something from me? All these questions point to someone reliability. Credibility means that they are trustworthy and worthy of our trust. Almost no one gives a referral to someone they don't trust.

From a general interpersonal and social scenario, trust or trustworthiness is the first box that needs to be ticked in our minds before we allow someone into our sphere of reference. We value a person's credibility above all else when interacting with others.

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Only when credibility is established will we then have evidence to support one's level competence. After all, what good is it to have someone around who hasn't earned our trust? In the past and even today when interacting with others, competence is a skill while trustworthiness is a reputation. The more we show competence and reliability, the more we build trust with someone.

Credibility and competence go hand in hand in business as in non-business social interactions, but there is an important difference. In terms of business and REFERENCE passing, you can have competence without establishing credibility, but you cannot have credibility without being competent. In the business context, competence replaces credibility – that's right, competence comes first in a referral relationship! Competence is the possession of the skills, knowledge and qualifications necessary to practice their craft. In addition to credibility, no one refers people they don't believe are also competent. sometimes.

It is important to note that competence can lead to credibility, but credibility cannot lead to competence. Competence is a prerequisite for credibility in terms of passing the referral. Just because you're trustworthy as a person doesn't necessarily mean you're competent at what you do.

As you go about your life interacting with others, you are doing more than just assessing someone's level of credibility and competence, which are the first two Cs. The other C is claritywhich has to do with how clearly a person communicates his message to others. If someone spoke to you in a way that lacked clarity about what they want or need, it's harder for you to help them or more specifically refer someone who needs their product or service. If someone is not clear about what they value and how they feel, it is not easy for you to read them and connect with them. So even if someone has established credibility and is clearly competent, without clarity, it's hard to fully understand how to refer them effectively.

It is human nature when examining others to assess whether they are trustworthy, competent and clear. The fourth C is CONNECTION. It's a recently coined term, but its relevance to human interactions is as old as time itself. Connectivity refers to quantity and qUALITY of a person's connections. Nowadays, it is quite easy to determine a person's connection, especially online as you can see the number of followers they have and the caliber of their connections.

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Whether you are aware of it or not, you are assessing how connected a person is. As you interact with others, you are calculating someone's level of connection. You are observing a person's acquaintances and who they spend time with. Knowing a person's social circle is important because it is human nature to try to rub shoulders with individuals who are closely related. Having the right connections is not only helpful on a day-to-day basis while taking care of family and resources, but also essential, especially in difficult times.

It should now be clear that you consciously and/or subconsciously value the people you interact with in terms of their trustworthiness, competence, clarity, and connectedness. If this is true, then if we turn the tables, it is clear that you are also being evaluated by others in relation to the 4Cs. People are making value judgments about each of your Cs, just as you are theirs. The 4Cs are in play whether we like it or not and greatly affect how well respected we are in our communities. If you want to have strong healthy connections with others, you will need to invest in developing each of your C's. You have to be reliable. You must be perceived as competent. You need to be clear in your communication and you need to increase your connection.

This article was developed in collaboration with Dr. Oudi Abouchacra.