Confidence is the core value in this professional world. When we all know the importance of good impression is, being confident is the most important thing when it comes to first impression. From meeting a client or customer, presenting in front of your investor, until being called for interview. Hence, we have listed down 10 tricks to look confident when you’re actually not.
Here’s the deal, being confident can increase the chance of getting a good result in almost everything. In the situation when you have less preparation of the topic or meeting that you’re going to get on, you need to bring at least a confidence in yourself.
Sometimes, you’re just feeling nervous before presentation. Don’t worry, we got you! The goal here is to make you look confident from outside even though you’re actually not from inside.
1. Stand Straight
Maintain your body straight by roll your shoulders back and spine straight. Keep your chin and head up. People who get nervous tend to chin down and get their body slouch down. You can do a little stretching before you enter the room by posing a straight posture in the toilet’s mirror.
Keeping your body straight is a strong signal that of confident while slouching is the signal that makes you look disinterested and unprofessional. Believe it or not, posture also affecting the way we think of ourselves. You will convince up when you’re posturing well!
2. Eye Contact
Eye contact is one of the most crucial aspect of confidence look. When you’re talking to the interlocutor or presenting to a bunch of audience, always remember to make eye contact.
It’s important to keep the eye contact when you’re talking one on one. The more you break it or look around, it shows that you’re being shy or indecisive. However, don’t stare it too over as it will turn you to look as a serial killer or psychopath. Just keep it relax and you might take occasional break in between.
3. Don’t Speak Too Fast and Try to Speak Clearer
When you’re speaking to a person or do a public speaking, don’t speak too fast. Slow down and speak clearly to make sure the audience know what are your points. Speaking too fast will make the audience think that you look nervous and making them not understand what you mean.
4. Don’t Fidget
Fidget is a small movement that caused by nervousness. Some people wave their hand or leg around when they’re fidgeting. When people get nervous, they’re not aware if they’re fidgeting. This is a bad habit that occurs unconsciously.
You can actually remove this habit by the time you do more practice of your public speaking. By reading this, now you should be more aware to pay attention of your motion if you want to have a confident look.
5. Put Your Mind in a Comfy Situation
When it comes to public speaking, the level of nervousness will definitely higher compared to one on one speaking. Its normal to feel so because you will be facing bunch of audience that watching you.
Here’s the trick that one of the successful public speaker said:
Try to imagine if your audiences are actually your families member or close friends. Or the more effective way: try to imagine if they’re a bunch of kids and you’re going to give them a presentation. By putting yourself in the more comfy situation, your tense level will go down and you will get more confidence.
6. Slap Your Face Before Entering Stage
This might sounds ridiculous but it works for some people! The idea comes from an interview from one of a stand up comedian regarding preparation before show. He said that he always ask one of his friend to slap him right before he entered the stage. He said that it can boost his confidence because he was angry at the moment. It is proven a positive correlation between human’s anger an the confidence level will also increase.
7. Wear Nicely
Although you’re not confident inside, at least you should look like one from outside. Wear your best attire that you are comfortable to wear it. Remember that first impression is crucial.
Most of the speakers claimed that good attire can boost their confidence level. This is because when they feel that they look nice, they’re more likely feel that they are better than the surrounding.
8. Smile!
Smiling can create a warm and friendly ambience during the conversation or public speaking. Combine it with the point number 2 and your audience will instantly like you. By doing this, it will boost your confidence as well.
9. Pay Attention on Your Gesture
Pay attention on your hand position. Sticking your hands to the pocket and folding your arm while talking gives you a nervous vibe in front of other people. Some people are having trouble of placing their hand when they’re listening or talking.
If you’re one of them, here are the tips for you:
- Keep your shoulder relax
- If you unsure what to do with your hand during a sitting interview, try to steeple your hands and place it on your lap.
10. Improve Your Handshake
Handshake is used in a professional world when you’re first time greeting a new person or client. It also used after you finished a deal with your client or customer. A simple quality handshake play an important role that can affect the whole interaction.
Here are the proper way of handshaking according to the professional advise:
- Set your body firm and straight and get in position.
- Keep your eye contact ( Point number 2 ).
- Squeeze your partner’s hand softly without being too hard. Some people are not aware of their strength. Adjust your strength normally, don’t be too soft or too hard.
- Once full contact is made, lock the hand and squeeze firmly. Shake from your elbow about 2 to 3 times. Then release it.
Bottom Line
“Being confident” play an important role on your outcome. Although you might have lack of preparation for your presentation or interview, just by being confident is good enough to cover it back. The audience tend to put aside your content quality if you’re confident enough to amaze them from your presentation skills.
We hope that the tricks above can help you to boost your confidence level even though you don’t have it inside you. After you know how to look confident from outside, it’s time for you to fix it from inside! It’s time to get practice to build up your confidence from inside.
