Is it rare to find a truly confident person? Insecurity is a plague that take away confidence from people and it is increasing more than ever. Yes, people are becoming more anxious, insecure and less confident. This has a really bad effect on personal life, in the workplace and most importantly, in business.
Confidence is something we can work on developing over time. Until you truly become that confident self, try to look the part. Yes, I am asking you to fake it till you make it. Try to look confident and put in the effort that can help you get there. Each small step of learning, skills, and talent can help you become confident.
Prepare and practice, identify opportunities, and learn more to achieve your dream. The crucial part is that you might feel frightened, more insecure and anxious during your process. And it might take way more time than you imagined it would. The goal is to stay consistent in your efforts and act like you are the most confident person in the room, even when you don’t feel like it.
This article deals with how to become confident in business and look confident to others while you are still working on it.
6 Ways to Look Confident When You’re Really Not
As I said, it takes quite some time to become truly confident. But your business or opportunities won’t wait till you train yourself and gain self-assurance. Until then, you need to look the part even if you are really not confident.
Dress Well
Dress for your occasion. The way you dress is the first thing people notice about you. From the color to fit and the occasion can create a strong impression on people. It is particularly true if you are meeting people for the first time. How you dress for the first time will be their impression of you for a very long time. Because the way you dress can tell a lot about your personality.
Fix Your Posture
Standing tall and sitting straight can be a big difference in your posture. If you have a job that needs too much sitting, the posture can be a bit bad. But in conferences and when you meet new people, they will measure your confidence by how you stand and sit. So, try to fix your posture, and you can do this with five minutes of exercise every day. Plus, try not to fidget because it suggests insecurity and anxiety.
Body Language is the Key
The way you sit, walk and talk are considered your body language. Your facial expressions, hand gestures, and posture are all part of your mannerisms. Try to be more confident and have control over your body language. People will naturally take you as a confident person if you have good mannerisms.
Listen More than You Speak
We consider smartness for the ability to articulate. Even though it is a great quality everyone wishes for, listening is a sign of intelligence. It gives you confidence; the more you let them speak, the more you know about the customers. It gives you an upper hand in communicating in a way that gets them interested. Speak slowly, less and wise while listening more. Showing interest when others speak can make them fond of you and make the meeting less overwhelming for you.
Maintain Eye Contact
Confident people can look you in the eye while they speak. You should follow the rule and try to make eye contact while speaking. Plus, address the whole room and look them in the eyes when you speak. This simple step can seem like an awkward moment for a less confident person, but it can present you as a confident business person.
Encourage Positive Self-talk
Self-assuring is a positive attitude. Tell yourself you will do well, and there’s no need to panic. Yes, trust yourself because you got this. Negative self-talk can further put you down, while talking to yourself kindly and positively can put you in a good mood. So, be kind to yourself and take care by positive self-talk, which has the added advantage of making you confident.
Top Ways to Become More Confident
While the small steps to look more confident helps, you have to put much more effort to really become confident. With few steps, passion for learning and perseverance, anybody can become confident in life and business.
Prepare and Practice
That’s right; practice does make you perfect. You can practice being confident in your everyday life and business. Your effort to look confident will make a big difference. Also, if you prepare well before a meeting, learning more about the topic and the people you are going to meet can help you become more confident. So, the more you prepare and practice, the better you can perform and the more confident you will be.
Focus on Your Vision and the Social Impact
You might’ve had many dreams and goals when you started the business. A business can not only change the life of the person who leads it but many others in the community, including its customers. Your vision and the social impact of the business are much bigger than the challenges and fear in business. Reminding yourself of the vision can give you confidence.
Accept Feedback
Feedback can be positive and negative. You’re becoming more confident in the business when you can accept feedback positively, even when it comes to criticism. So, no need to take all feedback to heart, but learn from it to bring appropriate changes. Accepting negative and positive feedback can change you for good and make you more confident in the business.
Know that there’s Always More to Learn
The best way to become confident or better at anything is through learning. There is always more to learn and master in every aspect of life and career. So, spend time reading, training, taking lessons from mistakes and learning how to become confident. The increase in your knowledge will make you a confident and strong person.
Try a New and Interesting Hobby
To become more confident, a person needs to invest in themselves. Practice, learning, self-awareness, and trying to be self-assured can all help. At the same time, you need to invest time in relaxing and interesting hobbies. Learning to play a musical instrument, journaling, travelling, and more wholesome habits can give new experiences and confidence. Of course, a jack of all trades might be a master of none, but it is always better than the master of one.
You no longer have to be low on self-assurance if you put effort into learning. Until then, pretend to look the part; it would benefit you as a practice in becoming the most confident person in any room.