Credibility- A tough ask?

While discussing the changing face of learning, I happen to stumble upon an interesting concept by Aristotle. This was a rhetorical triangle of persuasion. It talked about Ethos or credibility, Pathos or emotions and Logos meaning logic. The idea was to establish the credibility of the speaker to deliver a logical and rational message which appeals to the emotions of the receiver. I however went a step ahead and added Techos to contextualize the medium as well, in wake of the latest developments.

In this blog, though my focus will be on Ethos or the credibility factor. What makes someone credible. Credibility means the quality that someone has that makes it easier for someone to trust them. However, we often attach credibility to peripherals first and internals later. 

My obvious question was, what makes a person credible? The answers I got were based 

- Expertise- Expertise is a factor of education or experience. In fact, if you go by Malcolm Gladwell theory of 10000 hours rule, if we practice anything for 10000 hours we become an expert. Education institutions especially the few premier institutions rely on packaging the 10000 hours into 4 or 5 years to make a person adept in that subject. Thus seeking the credibility of the expertise. 

- Trustworthiness- Trustworthiness is a principle. A principle that a person develops again as a matter of practice or as a matter of education How one may ask? The process is simple. The principle and definition of trustworthiness may differ from person to person. Institutions or organizations help break it into structural expectation which makes it easy for people to understand and follow. 

However, there is another aspect of credibility. That aspect deals with understanding one's own expectation from themselves and then building credibility in that direction. It may require one to understand one's life purpose, what changes one want to bring and going in that direction. The medium could be any but direction is based on the changes one wants to see. 

The last aspect takes time but is a very powerful tool for convincing and building enough space for acceptance and appreciation.