Bob Etherington: Being the best is all in the mind

Do you think you are the best or are you merely the best?

Bob Etherington (photo),​ formerly a 22-year veteran master salesman who now heads his own “business persuasion” company with former Reuters colleague Herbie Skeete as an associate director, knows the difference.

“Companies aren’t run by people who are the best but by people who think they’re the best,” he says.

What about faking it?

“Often you do need to feign confidence at first,” he told the Financial Times. “You try and adopt the feeling of someone who knows what they’re doing.”

But the best thing about faking confidence is that it often evolves into the real thing. “You get a picture in your mind of the outcome you want. Athletes do it all the time - they see the ball going into the hole. Even though you don’t really believe it, your brain latches on to it. That gets your confidence going.”

Etherington, International Director Sales Training when he left Reuters in 2001, advises those engaging in conversation or making presentations: “Speak clearly and drop your voice, stand with your feet about 30 centimetres apart, use your hands when you talk and make eye contact.”

Bob Etherington Group ■