Studies have shown that people with self-confidence and good self-esteem tend to be happier in general, and therefore they can live a more enjoyable and productive life and be more successful in their chosen fields.
On the other hand, people without self-confidence and who suffer from low self-esteem can suffer a life filled with depression, anxiety, stress and many more problems that can affect both their mental and physical well-being.
Many of us have seen how our confidence has faltered in some situations. It might be because of a job interview, or because of the first day at a new school, or it might be because of a hearing loss...
If you feel you are at risk of low self-esteem, the following hints and tips will help you improve your confidence, and give your ego a much needed boost, in order to make you feel more comfortable and bring you future success:
1. Dress like a professional
If you are presented in the correct way you will be taken seriously, your self confidence will take a huge boost and you can gain the confidence to “act the part”.
2. Have good posture
“Walking tall” will boost your self-confidence! Take long, slow strides and enjoy walking tall. It is scientifically proven to boost confidence!
Sit properly; take a look at the Alexander Technique online and sit well balanced, with your feet firmly on the floor and you will breathe properly, which will automatically relax you and engender calm.
3. Take control
If you are nervous or shy about doing something, then you won’t build your self confidence until you face your demons! It may feel hard at first but think about your internal dialogue, what are you saying to yourself? Just remember you are doing this thing because you want to. No one is forcing you. Accept your personal challenge and move forward to greet it!
Practice what you need to do or say until it feels good. Then use it, you will be surprised how easy this frightening thing is to do once you have practiced how you will tackle it.
4. Maintain calm
If when you feel out of your depth take a moment and maintain calm; you will be far more effective as a communicator.
There are various ways you can build calm in a moment:
Break eye contact and look down, the other person can physically see you talking to yourself so therefore you are thinking and they will give you that moment.
How about looking up and to the left, this is a visual recall signal; again the other person will see you accessing memories and give you a moment.
Grab a tissue out of your bag or sip some water, do you get the picture? This can “buy” thinking time and allow you to focus on the task in hand.
All the time you are using these techniques think about being CALM. When you are calm you can work effectively and therefore make fewer mistakes. Success attracts success, when this works well once, you feel confident to repeat the positive experience!
5. Planning
“What if” scenarios and planning is your key to your self confidence. Plan for any eventuality! We never really know what we will be faced with on the day, if we plan we have a good idea but if we do the “what if“ exercise we will be more effective when communicating.
For example; you have been asked to communicate at a personnel meeting, you know it is a 1-2-1 about stock room training. You have the agenda, previous meeting notes and details of the training. You should feel confident about this but have you done the “what if” scenario? What if you are asked to continue the appointment to a warning meeting, Are you ready for that? What if the company then talk about pensions, secondment, pay rise, redundancy.. What if?!
By planning and preparing yourself with these extended scenarios you are supporting your self confidence in this situation because if it happens, you already have a plan!
There is an old saying “fail to prepare; prepare to fail!”
6. Smile
It is a great way to make you feel better. Smiling improves your stress levels, makes you more approachable and attractive. Your mood will lighten; it lowers your blood pressure and is contagious. Your confidence will definitely grow.
Now go and have fun with your new found confidence!
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