People that are confident in their abilities and selves seem at ease. They engender confidence and trust in others.
But having self-confidence isn’t always easy, especially if you have a propensity for self-criticism or if other people make fun of you. Fortunately, there are things you can do to increase and maintain your confidence.
What Does Self-Confidence Involve and Why Is It Important?
Being confident in your own judgement, abilities, and capabilities is a symptom of it. In spite of shortcomings or what others may think of you, it’s about loving and believing in yourself.
Self-efficacy, self-esteem, and self-confidence are frequently used interchangeably. But there are subtle differences.
We feel more self-sufficient when we can picture ourselves achieving our objectives and developing new skills. This gives us confidence that, if we make the required efforts and do the necessary research, we can succeed. People are motivated to take on difficult challenges and endure in the face of setbacks by this kind of self-assurance.
Self-esteem is a more expansive view of our capacity for overcoming obstacles in our lifestyle.
The belief that people are proud of us is also a part of self-esteem. We may or may not be able to control this, and if we constantly experience criticism or rejection from others, our self-esteem may suffer unless we take other measures to keep it up.
Why Confidence in Oneself Is Important
Self-confidence is necessary for almost every aspect of our lives, but many people lack it. Since those who lack confidence are less likely to attain the success that would increase their confidence, this can unfortunately get out of hand.
You might, for instance, be less inclined to agree with a proposal made by someone who appears awkward, fumbles, or apologizes constantly.
Anyone who is confident tends to radiate that confidence to those around them, including friends, coworkers, superiors, and clients.
How to Appear Confident in Public
What characteristics do you notice in everyone you know who you think is very confident? It’s probably one or more of the following: their voice quality, vocal projection, and vocabulary; their energy and enthusiasm; and their level of knowledge or understanding.
Through your actions, body language, words, and delivery style, you can project confidence.
Putting on a good front for others can help you feel more confident. It’s not just a matter of “faking it”; if you exude confidence, people will likely respond favorably, and this supportive feedback will help you believe in yourself.
Physical Expression
Your walk and bearing might already exude confidence, according to Amy Cuddy’s book Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges.
For instance, when we are anxious in meetings, we typically hunch our shoulders, lower our heads, and slouch to make ourselves appear smaller. By merely sitting up straight, you can feel more at ease and confident.
When presenting a presentation, spread your hands wide and point your palms in the direction of the audience to show that you are open and eager to offer ideas.
Communication between People
People with low self-confidence frequently struggle to make a good first impression when meeting a customer, speaking at a meeting, or presenting a presentation. You could act immediately away to exhibit more confidence despite your shyness or lack of confidence.
If you want to engage individuals, make sure to keep staring them in the eye while you speak. This shows that you are engaged in the conversation and interested in what the other person has to say. Try to avoid fidgeting or looking away during the talk to avoid coming across as tense or uninterested.
Develop Your Skills
You are more likely to come across as and feel like a confident person when you are knowledgeable. If you are well-versed in a subject, you’ll be better able to answer questions and deliver unplanned speeches.
If you lack confidence because of a knowledge gap, work on filling it. Are there any related events or webinars that you may attend? Is there a course you could take? You might possibly look for a mentor as well. See our piece, “Building Expert Power,” and our Bite-Sized Training, end club, for more guidance on this.
Increasing Your Work Confidence
Changes in how they operate and prolonged absences from the workplace have a negative influence on the confidence of many people. Approximately a third of workers who rejoin the workforce after a break of a year or more report having lost faith in their own skills, according to one study. For instance, when working from home, it may be challenging to be heard in meetings, or you may feel lonely or lost without the company of your coworkers.
Before taking any effort to restore confidence, try to identify the cause of the problem. If you think there are tasks you can’t finish, it makes sense to improve your talents. Make a personal SWOT analysis to identify your assets and vulnerabilities. After that, develop an action plan to strengthen your weaker areas.
Your lack of confidence could be influenced by other people’s attitudes or behavior. You may think your coworkers are unfairly judging you. Bullying and macroaggressions are two things you could experience. If so, you must denounce this behavior.
To make it clear to the offender that their acts are harmful, use the Situation-Behavior-Impact Feedback Tool. If you don’t feel comfortable contacting them, ask your line manager for help. If they are a cause of the problem, talk to a teammate, HR, or your employee support network, if you have one. Workplace bullying or discrimination is never acceptable.
People with low self-esteem frequently believe they are unworthy of happiness and that others can treat them cruelly because it somehow makes sense. The feeling might be accurate, but the belief is most likely not!
