In his book, 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, ' Stephen Covey talks about emotional bank accounts concerning influencing & impacting others.
When we meet a new person, our account balance with them is 0; there is no previous history between you. But as you get to know them, you begin making deposits or withdraws from that account.
Deposits may look like listening and trying to understand them, small acts of kindness, keeping promises or secrets, and being loyal to them in other interactions.
Withdraws may look like pretending to listen, lying, talking behind their back, violating expectations, and placing blame.
When we make deposits into those accounts, we build trust and rapport, and they are more willing to be influenced by you. You become trustworthy, and they see that you really do have your best interests in mind. When we make withdraws, that breaks trust, and they begin to see you as unreliable and self-interested even if that isn't the case.
Stephen Covey gives the example of a father-son relationship, where many times parents will make big withdraws out of their relationship with their child and later wonder why they don't heed their advice on big life choices.
Your reputation precedes you, and that will define what your starting balance is. Every interaction is important because it either helps you along or detracts from serving more people. If you want to be more influential in the life of a friend, son, parent, client, or boss, you need to be aware of the deposits or withdraws you're making on their account. People observe how you engage with others, and that gets added to your account with them.