Influence becomes meaningful when people improve without feeling diminished.

Help can arrive in a form that makes someone smaller, correcting them in a way that establishes the gap rather than closing it. The same information delivered differently leaves them more capable and still intact. The content is often identical, and the difference is entirely in whether their standing was preserved.

After giving guidance, notice whether the person seems more able or more careful. If it is the second, the delivery cost something. Ask what they think first, and build from their reasoning rather than replacing it.