Reliability in this emotional sense is the repeated experience of expectations fulfilled

recognize that clumsy attempts to establish intimacy too soon could backfire. Perhaps it comes from a vendor who assumes we share his passion for golf; or a dinner invitation we put off with “Yes, let’s do that, sometime,” or a sharing of personal experiences that is more information than we want to know.

content expertise plus “presence,” which refers to how we look, act, react, and talk about our content. It depends not only on the substantive reality of the advisor’s expertise, but also on the experience of the person doing the perceiving.

find (or create) a number of opportunities to demonstrate both rational and emotional reliability, by making promises, explicit or implicit, and then delivering on them.

additional ways of making sure self-orientation stays low: Talk to your client as if he or she is a friend. Even if clients are not actually our friends, we can be friendly with them. Our conversational tone and tenor can be (we would argue, has to be) one of friendship. We’re concerned about our friends and their well-being, and it shows in our

Reliability is the one component of the trust equation that has an explicit action orientation.

Clients recognize excessive self-orientation through such things as: 1. A tendency to relate their stories to ourselves 2. A need to too quickly finish their sentences for them 3. A need to fill empty spaces in conversations 4. A need to appear clever, bright, witty, etc. 5. An inability to provide a direct answer to a direct question 6. An

Advisors who rate the highest on reliability will not just deliver their work on time and on spec. Nor will they simply be consistent, even at a level of excellence. They will also be expert at a variety of small touches that are aimed at client-based familiarity. Sending meeting material in advance is one example; staying current on client events

It does not diminish the importance of credibility to say that it is the one aspect of trust that is most commonly achieved. Given the focus that most professionals place on their technical expertise, and its relative tangibility, this is the factor most likely to be done well by you (and your competitors).