Confidence is one of the things that people find hard to build, but it happens to be very needed at least to an extent, in our everyday life. Be it a speech you have to give, a business meeting to attend or even a conversation with a crush, confidence can be one of your vital necessities to leaving an impact on your audience.
Ever heard the saying, ’fake it till you make it’? I guess so! This is what I’ll be applying today to help us boost our confidence level. You don’t have to be born confident. A lot of confident people had to build their confidence from ground level. You’ve probably tried to do it on your own but for some reason, you just can’t get there, and that is why you’ve decided to seek help. The theory I present to you today is to, FAKE THAT CONFIDENCE TILL IT BECOMES PART OF YOU.
There’s a popular saying, ‘practice makes perfect/permanent’, so in this case, our act of practice is going to be faking it. I’ve put together a few actions that you could consciously carry out in order to let people believe you are confident enough.
The action on the top of this list and probably my favorite of them all is DON’T BE SCARED TO HOLD THEIR GAZES.
I’m not asking you to make it weird by doing it for so long, but you shouldn’t look away a lot of times. Don’t look at your fingers or your new pair of shoes. Look at them when you have to, especially when you’re speaking or when they are speaking.
Don’t Stutter
Even if you forget something midway in your speech or talk, it is better to stay quiet and relaxed as you try to remember it, instead of making sounds like, ‘uhm, ehm.’ They don’t help at all, they make you look a bit confused and not comfortable in your skin.
Show How Comfortable You Are
By saying this, I mean, do not move unnecessarily. Keep your hands where they can be seen and don’t get it busy with your shirt or the hem of your skirt. If they see you fidgeting from time to time, they’re going to see right through your discomfort to your lack of confidence.
Take Your Time While Talking
Take a deep breath and begin, at a slow enough pace that makes it clear for whoever is listening. Try your possible best not to be in a hurry, there is enough time, I’m certain.
Maintain A Good Posture
This applies to sitting and walking. This is for both the ladies and the gentlemen, please don’t slack, sit up straight. That one single action can help make you look as confident as ever. You may also want to take big steps when walking, it would greatly help.
Faking can be a little hard for us and that is completely understood. I have also taken out the time to pen down some actions that could help us put on a good show.
1. Prepare
In order to be confident, you have to have some level of little confidence from which you can then build up on and the best way to do this is to prepare yourself so much that you’re certain you can’t mess it up.
2. Dress Comfortably
Don’t wear something that is going to make you feel ridiculous or something that could be uncomfortable. Let’s say you like skimpy clothes, but for some reasons you always tug the hem of your dress when you wear it, maybe you shouldn’t wear it for this event. You don’t want to be seen fidgeting and moving with every second that passes by.
3. Cheer Yourself On
It’s not that big of a deal, people are doing it and would still do it. Your mind is just playing with you and making you feel like it’s the biggest task ahead but really it’s not. Let go of the FEAR as much as possible and you’ll be ready for the day.
4. Watch Confident People
From time to time, you can pay attention to the people around you that have an aura of confidence and try to learn a few from them. It can also be someone popular on the internet, it doesn’t matter if they’re far or near, the plan is just to have someone whom you can learn from.
Who says you have to be confident to appear confident? Give it a little time and soon, it won’t be an issue for you. Now, you’re unconsciously doing these things but soon, it will become a part of you and all that beating heart and fear that surrounds you would only be part of your past.
