Credibility. That’s the key to almost any interaction. If you don’t seem as if you know what you’re talking about, you might as well stop talking at all.

Yesterday provided a bonanza of illustrative examples for me. I’ve chosen a few for your consideration.

1. In a meeting, a woman representing a local organization known by its initials mixed up those initials every time she referred to them. When she was new and first made the mistake, I chalked it up to inexperience. Now a couple of months later, I ascribe it to inattention. And if she doesn’t care enough about her organization to get it right, why should I?
2. I needed to submit some information to local media outlets, so I went to their web sites to find appropriate contact information. Though they didn’t make it particularly easy, I eventually found what I needed and sent messages to the appropriate people. Shortly thereafter, I received separate emails from two of those people, chiding me for using incorrect addresses–addresses which I had clicked from their sites. (How else would I have gotten them?!)
3. After a brief email exchange on a business matter yesterday, the person referred to me as Tina instead of Tammy in her final email. Even though my email addy contains only my first initial, my full name is included in the auto signature of the email to which she had replied. Come on, really? (Besides this issue, if you’ve read many of my posts, you probably know how I feel about getting names right.)

If you don’t know your stuff in the areas where you are supposed to be the expert or where the information is right in front of you, why should I believe you about anything else? You’re just jive talkin’.