I think it’s safe to say that the majority of people battle, or have battled, with confidence, or the lack thereof, at some point. Confidence levels are not set in stone: they can, and do, fluctuate. There will almost certainly be times where you are riddled with self-doubt or lack of self-esteem. Luckily, you’re also likely to experience periods where you feel on top of the world.
In this article, we’ll be exploring the definition and importance of confidence, as well as a few actionable strategies that may help you become more confident.
Definition of Confidence
Confidence, or more specifically self-confidence, can be defined as believing in yourself, your abilities, and the choices you make. Broadly speaking, it affords you with a feeling of trust and belief in your ability to successfully manage your life, irrespective of what life throws at you. It can also be specific to certain situations. You might be extremely confident in your professional abilities, but less so in social settings, for example.
The Importance of Confidence
There’s no questioning the value of confidence. We are drawn to confident individuals; as romantic partners, leaders, or employees. It can have a monumental impact on the way you are perceived by others. Self-confidence may help you succeed personally and professionally. It can influence your motivation to actively pursue your goals and objectives. Thus, it should be no surprise that it can contribute towards both physical and mental wellbeing.
Be More Confident With These Simple Strategies
If you would like to build your confidence, there are a number of things you can do. We’ve prepared a few easy-to-implement tips that you can work into your daily routine. If you’re consistent and put in the effort, you’ll be well on your way to a more confident self in the long run.
Here are our simple confidence boosting strategies:
1. Acquire New Social Skills
There is a strong correlation between confidence and social and communication skills. The better you are at something, be it singing in front of a crowd at karaoke night or leading a presentation at work, the more confident you will feel. Makes sense right?
That’s why improving certain traits or skills, such as assertiveness, public speaking, storytelling, and improvisation, can be a highly effective way to build your self-esteem. You can achieve this by making use of resources such as books, websites, and podcasts. But immersing yourself in an environment where you can practice what you’ve learnt on the spot, well that’s really where you’ll see remarkable results.
While upskilling yourself in any area of your life may be beneficial, it might also be worth considering a more targeted approach. Perhaps there is a particular skill or trait that you would like to work on? Once you have identified what you want to focus on, start researching a few courses that you think might be of interest.
If you battle with public speaking or want to improve your communication skills, this Storytelling Course by Skillsme Academy is well worth considering. Not only will this Storytelling Course boost your confidence, you’ll also learn how to communicate effectively, be more assertive, and create meaningful connections, and much more. For more information about this course, as well as other events, visit the Skillsme Academy website.
You may also be interested in attending our free webinar on confidence and charisma building
2. Apply the New Skills in a Safe Environment
This is key. Start by applying them in a safe environment where you won’t be judged for your failures. This will develop your confidence in your new skills as the result will be self-assuring (I’ve done it! I can see and feel the result myself). For example, if the skill you chose to develop is public speaking, going to present in front of 200 people an important presentation that will affect your credibility at work when you’re not confident in your abilities as a public speaker yet is the worst idea ever, because this could not only not build your confidence but even crush it shall things not go according to your plan. Instead, it’s better to start presenting in front of 2-3 people presentations you don’t care so much about (maybe outside of work, or to your team you’re close with instead of to important clients with whom you may lose business if you say the wrong thing).
3. Get Relevant Feedback
While you practice a new skill make sure to get as much feedback as you can. Don’t limit yourself to positive feedback from friends and relatives only, but try to seek actionable advice on how you could do better next time. It could be asking your boss and team members but even better if it’s somebody who’s already good at speaking in public. If you can seek advice from a professional trainer that will incredibly speed up your process even more and give you immediate actionable steps for future presentations.
4. Go Out of Your Comfort Zone
Once you start feeling confident in your new social skill, gradually increase the difficulty. For example, if you were building the skills of speaking with confidence in front of strangers, after getting comfortable with presenting in front of 2-3 people, present in front of a larger group or a group of more important people. But increase the difficulty gradually, you don’t want to end up in a situation where your confidence shatters because you took too much too soon.
5. Build a Habit
Doing something well once or twice is great, but not nearly as great as to have a skill for life. The one and only way to build a skill for life is to keep on doing it until it becomes a habit (an action you don’t need to think about and can perform automatically). Think of it like driving a manual car, when you’ve just started you might have thought it’s impossible to concentrate on the road, the gear, the mirrors, the cars, the pedestrians and the signs all at once. But if you continued to drive regularly, now you’re probably not even thinking of the driving process, only of the directions. You can probably even combine driving with listening to the radio and talking to passengers in your car, which in the past would have been impossible. The same mechanism works with any social skill and confidence, it might not come naturally at first, but with time it becomes a part of who you are.
6. Think Positive
While it’s normal to occasionally experience negative thoughts, excessive negative thinking can have a detrimental effect on your self-esteem. If you want to be more confident, you need to pay attention to the way that you talk to yourself, and train your brain to think positively. Every negative thought you have needs to be countered with a series of good ones. This might be a little challenging at first, but will soon feel more natural to you.
Communication Skills Training – Skillsme Academy Storytelling Course
We hope that these simple strategies will help you on your journey to a more confident you. With a bit of persistence and time we are certain that you will see improvements.
In addition to the Skillsme Storytelling Course you can practice confident communication and storytelling during the Storytelling Club Storytellers Gym. Two participants will meet for a one-on-one session in the online Storytellers Gym sessions. Each participant will get the chance to tell their stories and receive feedback from each other. These sessions are ideal for anybody who wants to improve their confidence and learn to think on their feet.
The Skillsme Academy’s course is a combination of the five principles mentioned above, and includes: teaching storytelling that brings confidence to you in daily communications, both 1-1 and in front of a group, including a group of strangers, have plenty of practice opportunities in our online class environment, provide a safe and supportive environment where it’s ok to make mistakes, always provide feedback both peer-peer and trainer feedback so it’s clear what to work on next and finally, regular practice classes are held to help you to develop a habit.