Tell Me About A Time When You Influenced Someone Else (With 10 Sample Interview Answers)

‘Influence’ is the power to have a significant effect on someone or on something. Now, if the first person influences the second person, they are changing the person’s thought indirectly but in an important way.

There are several ways to influence others but it is not always that the second person will change in an important way. Influencing can also be used to change the behaviour of someone, their belief, opinion or the cause.

Here Are Some Times When I Influenced Someone Else

Sample No. One

The first example for such I remember is that back in my school days one of my friend Sam suffered an emotional breakdown. It was because he did not do well in his mid-term examinations because he suffered a loss in his family. This came out as he was no longer motivated and wanted to do something unusual than his regular routine. I could definitely see that the unusual was not in a good way. So, it was the right time for me to change his mind which was a little tough initially.

I totally supported him by what he faced and it was obvious that the current situation had to come. I spent a lot of time providing emotional support and motivated him by how important it is to study in the long run. Well, just after two days he seemed changed and has become normal like before.

Sample No. Two

In this 21^st Century, the number of sad people is more than the happier ones. I remember my junior mates (three people) back in school where I found out that they were having shyness and stage-fright. At the same, I realised that they were brilliant in their marketing presentation. I decided that I should do something about this situation.

Anytime I would see a chance, I made sure that whatever they are doing it’s great. I purposely asked them to talk or give a speech in front of small audiences. It was from this moment that they gained confidence and managed to express their marketing skills to a large group officially.

Sample No. Three

People lose their jobs anytime and any day even if they are loyal to their work. It was with my own uncle he was given a sudden notice from his office to leave the organisation for no valid reason. As we are very closely related to each other I decided to take a step into the situation.

It was a very tough time for him initially I spoke about how billions of people around the world don’t have a proper place to sleep, no food and clothes. It is never too late to do any new thing in life. These words changed his mentality and motivated him to run after his dream which was to become a successful sole proprietor.

Sample No. Four

Becoming a social influencer is not an easy job. My friend Sophie is an Instagram influencer she has thousands of followers and subscribers to her YouTube channel. She might be a social influencer but as she was a close friend to me I noticed that she was not doing well with something. Despite working hard she faced mean comments from many people. I decided to do something about it.

I changed her thoughts saying they are just comments they have nothing to do with your work. The best way to go forward with it is to ignore those comments and continue the superb work you are doing.

Sample No. Five

Obesity is a problem where at least four out of ten members have to face. It was the time to influence myself I was the victim of obesity. For more than two years I was suffering from obesity, my weight was increasing like there was no stop sign. But, something had to be done to have good health and body structure.

From the next day itself, I made a strict diet plan made a drastic change to my daily diet. Changed my junk food to a whole meal and greenery vegetables in my everyday diet and exercise were also a part of it. Just after few months, my friends noticed a huge transformation and they also changed their daily routine just like mine. It seemed like they were also influenced by me.

Sample No. Six

One of my handsome friends named Sonal was desperate to be a model and actor it was his dream to be. But, it seemed like he was faced a lot of problem with his body structure, height, and other requirements for becoming a successful model. It was the right time for me to interrupt and bring up his motivation.

I told him as per some research that I had done many good-looking models are short-heighted. Kevin Hart is a short and yet successful comedian-actor this was the example I gave to him and it seemed he took it seriously. Well by the grace of God he was called for an audition by one of the top model studios in the district.

Sample No. Seven

In my previous workplace which was in a sales department, I noticed that there were a group of people who have no motivation for their work. Later on, I found out that the boss was criticising or correcting them for their work most of the time. Also, found out that the boss was expecting efficiency from the work of the group. I thought this was the right time for me to step in.

I requested in some way to the boss saying that people don’t like being corrected or criticised with their work. It is very important to seek why an individual is making an error if you find some then begin the conversation with a compliment. For eg., ‘I too used to make that kind of mistake a lot’.

Sample No. Eight

 My elder brother is a cricket enthusiast and he has been a coach for a few months now. He found   out that even though with good cricket knowledge he couldn’t teach well as how it should be done. It was obvious that he was de-moralised, felt bad and had a huge emotional breakdown from inside.

I gave him a good idea to overcome such a situation and that was I felt he was lacking some leadership qualities in him. I asked him to use the four ‘We’ formula for his coaching the cricket team. The four ‘We’ formula was We mediate, We inspire, We decide and We direct of course he had to do the ‘we’ with the whole cricket team members. Within a week he came up to me and said that the trick worked very well and everything is going well now.

Sample No. Nine

People really do change with time. My father who was an army officer is bound to be in a very strict daily routine and so does his manners. The moment he used to come home for vacation or holidays he maintained the same manner towards his family. He shared no interest in their interest, shared no war-time stories or any other to his children and wife. So it was quite obvious he was in return neglected by all the members of the family.

So, one day when he was home I tried changing his mind towards his family during his limited visits. I influenced him by saying these are some good times that you will never get back, make it a memorable one. I played a lot emotionally with my father and eventually I was successful in doing so.

Sample No. Ten

Girls get easily emotional if they do not get their favourite make-up kit or it could be financially as well. One of my friends Marie who is a make-up lover had ordered a limited-edition Victoria’s Secret make-up kit but it turned out that the lipstick colour that inside did not match her interest and she was very upset about it.

I approached her and comforted her with all the possible things that she liked to listen to. She told me that she had waited for the product for quite some time and now she is upset with it. I told her that this is not the last time you have more opportunities coming up for her in the future. I also added that there are many professionals just like you who face such an issue but they cope up with it and so you have to.

Conclusion

Influencing someone might sound easy but when there is an actual situation it is not as easy as it sounds. One has to tackle a different type of people if their job is to influence people. We are sure that if someone lacks the influential capability reading the samples above might just help them. If you like the article then please do comment on the part you liked and share the article with your close ones.

References

1. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167204274095
2. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8103473/