Have you ever thought about how many emails and texts you send each day, or how those messages impact your influence? Each one is an opportunity to stand out from the crowd and grow your influence. Each one is also an opportunity to be misinterpreted, to damage your reputation and to negate your influence. 

Technology has affected almost every aspect of our professional and personal lives, including our ability to influence others. Technology, however, is a double-edged sword when it comes to influence. While technology makes communicating easier, it is much more difficult for us to influence others. 

We live in a world of "noise" where we are always on and always connected. This fast-paced environment causes us to overlook the importance of influence. We don't stop to think about how we "show up" or how our communication will be received. Messages at the bottom of emails sent via smartphones asking recipients for forgiveness of spelling errors are solid proof. It's easier and faster to ask forgiveness than to check ourselves before we hit send.