While we’re on the subject of humility, dealing effectively with emotional, upset, angry people requires a skillset that’s counterintuitive to the ways that most of us usually communicate and interact with others. These skills and strategies may be different, but they work. Professionals, understandably, want to express confidence and professionalism when explaining the work they do. But allowing their humility to show – admitting when they don’t have all of the answers, fessing up to mistakes, demonstrating their willingness and ability to learn – goes further than you can imagine to instilling trustworthiness in skeptical people.