Ask Efri

Why do we trust some people's opinions more than others?

Efri · 1 min read

We trust opinions when we believe the person has relevant judgment, not merely information.

Key points
  1. 1.
    That judgment can come from experience, track record, expertise, intellectual honesty or repeated evidence that the…
  2. 2.
    We also trust consistency
  3. 3.
    Similarity matters too
  4. 4.
    And there is social proof: if respected people rely on someone, we infer that there may be a reason

That judgment can come from experience, track record, expertise, intellectual honesty or repeated evidence that the person notices things other people miss.

We also trust consistency. If someone changes their view every time the crowd changes, their opinion feels less diagnostic. If they can explain why they changed their mind when new evidence appeared, trust may actually increase.

Similarity matters too. People often trust someone who understands their context more than a more credentialed expert speaking from a completely different situation.

And there is social proof: if respected people rely on someone, we infer that there may be a reason.

The strongest professional trust tends to come from a combination of competence, honesty about limits, and enough exposure for the audience to observe the person’s judgment across several situations.