Every so often, I like to look back at my posts on DERAILLEUR and DERAILED COUTURE. 

Check in. 

See if there is a theme. 

See if I can improve on anything. 

Too ‘me,’ and not enough ‘you.’ 

Hope that the ‘me’ is ‘you.’ 

Am I getting that across? 

Too Positive? 

Too Negative? 

I do not change a thing. 

Leave it as the ‘that was then, this is now,’ idea. 

I want it to progress and morph naturally. 

What I started with and where I am now. 

How it has changed and will keep changing. 

I thought I would let you in on how I start each Post. 

Do you have friends that send you ‘things?’ 

Links. 

Photos. 

Instagrams. 

Attachments. 

Those kinds of ‘things.’ 

They give you a laugh, an insight, a good vibe. 

But among those friends, there is one friend who stands out. 

The things they send are always the best. 

They never let you down. 

99% of the time, they are based on humour. 

If you get one from them, you know it is going to be good. 

Guaranteed. 

You even sit down for it. 

I have someone like that. 

It is not a friend, it is my sister. 

She has her finger on the pulse. 

She does not send many of them. 

Quality over Quantity. 

Sporadic, but always bang on. 

I got one from her a while ago. 

It was something on ‘X.’ 

Of course, it was hilarious. 

But there was a conversation below it that I noticed. 

It had nothing to do with what she had sent me. 

The first sentence got my attention. 

I read the rest. 

I am glad I did. 

I was at the formative stage of starting DERAILLEUR. 

Figuring out my approach, that kind of thing. 

I cut and pasted it to a WORD Doc. 

I knew it would come in ‘handy.’ 

The document I put it in, is this Doc. 

The Doc I use to write these posts. 

I anchored it to the top. 

It takes a while for the rest of the DOC to fully open. 

As it does, I read it. 

EVERY SINGLE TIME. 

It influences every post I write. 

It is the perfect thing to read before I write. 

I do not know who wrote it, I have lost track of that. 

I tried to find out who wrote it, but had no luck. 

I want to be clear here that I am not taking any credit for it. 

ZERO. 

It all goes fully to the author, whoever she or he is. 

My goal is for you to see what they are saying in my posts. 

Thank you. 

Here it is. 

How do you build an engaging audience? It’s all about trust. Trust is the foundation for everything. All your meaningful connections are built on it. Without trust, your audience will be less likely to listen to what you have to say, engage with your content, and feel a sense of connection to you and your message. But how do you build trust with your audience? The answer is simple: Be authentic, be true to who you are and what you stand for. Share your own experiences. Your own struggles and your own successes. Be vulnerable. Be honest. Be relatable. And above all… Always remember that trust is a two-way street. It’s not something you can demand or expect from your audience. But rather something you must earn through your actions, your words, and your behavior. So take a moment to think about how you can build trust with your audience. What changes can you make to your content, interactions, and approach? And remember, building trust takes time and effort. But the rewards are well worth it. 

You bet they are. 

‘Trust’ 

Insert handshake emoji here. 

‘There is another way to ride.’