10 Ways to a More Confident You







coryCory Galbraith
Cory is CEO of Galbraith Communications.



Confidence. You need it to secure the things you want in life. A job, clients for your business, even the love of your life.

Yet, many people confuse confidence with ego. Others are overly assertive. In this post, I will examine the correct ways of building confidence so that you can more quickly achieve your goals.

How you see yourself is how others will see you

This is so important, especially in such a competitive job market.

The hiring manager who sees a confident candidate looking back at them will become confident in that person. When we see a confident person, we believe they will succeed.

Similarly, if you show uncertainty, others will lose confidence in you – and that can hurt your career.

The amazing thing is – you are in control of what others think of you.

The following ten techniques are designed to help young people, but even business veterans may benefit from this refresher guide.

10 critical steps to confidence

  1. Prepare, then prepare some more: Confidence and preparation are tightly linked. The more preparation you do, the more relaxed you will become, paving the way for a confident calm. We lack confidence if we also lack the knowledge needed to undertake new tasks.
  2. Leave a window for change: When preparing, be sure to always leave a window of opportunity to make changes at the last minute. This means preparing early, and leaving a day or two to adjust.
  3. Tiny victories: The key to building confidence is to do so incrementally with a series of small victories. Each victory will encourage you to move forward with the next step. You have the power to set yourself up for these small victories. Even something as simple as setting a goal to arrive at work 5 minutes earlier, and then accomplishing that, will send the signal to your subconscious mind that “Yes, I can do things when I put my mind to it.”
  4. Help others less fortunate: By helping other people, you are acquiring a sense of purpose. This, in turn, will make you more confident. Remember, each success, including the ability to assist another person, brings you one more notch higher on the confidence scale. Rather than seeing yourself as a victim, you’ll position yourself as an enabler. Consider volunteering.
  5. Slow down: A killer of confidence in today’s world is a hurried pace. Doing things too quickly leads to avoidable errors, which in turn, leads to an erosion of confidence, even for very experienced people.
  6. Use the language of confidence: Eliminate phrases and words from your vocabulary that tell others you are uncertain of yourself. These include complaints and negative statements. From this day forward, replace such talk with more positive language, such as “I will give it my best” and “I am very resourceful”. Avoid talking fast, whispering or being loud. Use a normal tone of voice and place emphasis on key words. Avoid using “ah” as much as you can, using short, succinct sentences.
  7. Do not add a question mark to your sentences: Many people, unsure of themselves, make every statement sound like a question. Rather than ending your sentences with a question mark, end them with a period. Going down upon completing your thoughts will sound more authoritative and thus, more confident.
  8. Take a course: You gain confidence when you possess more understanding and knowledge. Commit to being a better you by learning new things, taking courses and learning as much as you can from other people.
  9. Complete stagnate to-do items: If there is something you have not had time to get done, make it a point of doing it today. Crossing off items on a to-do list is part of the “tiny victory” strategy I mentioned in point 3.
  10. Smile! Just smiling more often will exude confidence. The good feelings from your smile will transfer to others. Get rid of that serious “worried” look and start smiling. People who look worried or scared do not project confidence.

In today’s fast-paced environment, it can be a challenge to stay confident. Things move so quickly, we often fear that we’ll be left behind.

But you can stay on track with these 10 guiding principles. Then, watch in total wonderment how your life will change, for the better.

Note: The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views held by Inc42, its creators or employees. Inc42 is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by guest bloggers.

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