Six years ago, I was terrified to speak in public. I had also gotten into a bad habit of mumbling and staring at feet whenever I was forced to talk, and I apologized all the time for no real reason.
Working in Sales has pretty much beaten all of this shyness and timidity out of me. Now I give presentations to groups of people far above my rank. It's pretty cool -- but I would never be able to do it without confidence.
My confidence levels have started to build within the past few years thanks to encouragement by mentors, personal growth, and greater knowledge of my industry. I am by no means where I want to be, but I feel like I am heading in a good direction in terms of being assertive.
Here are some practices that have helped:
- Making eye contact. I look directly at people when speaking to them and make it a point to spread my gaze when among a group.
- Finding a solid tone of voice. I think back to the few acting lessons I took as a kid. We were told to speak from our diaphragms and project boldly and loudly. This is the tone I strive for in a professional setting, and it does wonders for communicating effectively and captivating the attention of others.
- Knowing my shit. I take pages and pages of notes and seek to have a thorough understanding of any situation with which I am involved. The more research and preparation I do, the more confident I feel.
For more tips on confidence, I'll hand it to WikiHow's How To article.
As a side note, what I never want to be is cocky. There is a song that I keep in my head to remind me to stay off of a high horse:
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