When you can project confidence, you’ll find that you get more of what you want out of life. That’s because other people love a confident person.
It has been shown that people are more willing to follow someone who is confident rather than someone who has low self-esteem. So, what are the ways in which we can learn to project confidence?
Believe in yourself
You cannot project confidence if you don’t have a belief in yourself or what you are doing. For instance, if you want to start a business, you need to believe that your business is feasible. If you don’t believe in yourself, then you can’t possibly project genuine confidence.
Get others to believe in you
When you project confidence, you will find followers to your cause. They will be attracted to your strength and will feel comfortable that you know what you are doing. It is much easier to act confident when you are surrounded by the belief of others.
Create an environment for others to succeed
Confident people don’t fear competition. If you are in a position of power, you can project confidence by promoting a successful environment for all. People will see that you aren’t afraid of being upstaged. There are few things more confident than someone who isn’t afraid of other’s success.
Remain calm
If you overreact to every situation that comes your way, people are going to lose confidence in your abilities to lead. They will view this as a weakness and will suspect you lack confidence. Once that happens, it’s hard to turn that image of you around in their minds. Try to keep calm even during tense situations.
Use the right body language
It might not be fair, but we are often judged by our appearance. One of the best ways to project confidence, is to make a good first impression with the proper body language. Stand tall, make eye contact and shake hands firmly and confidently.
Dress For Success
This goes hand in hand with the last tip. If you want to feel more confident, then dress the part. Take some time in the morning to make sure your outfit and hygiene is really on point. The time spent doing this will easily pay off down the road when you feel and act more confident.
Know your capabilities
If you are well aware of your strengths and capabilities, then you will naturally be more confident. Having a good grasp of what you are good at, what you enjoy, and what you know will allow you to project more confidence.
ACTIONABLE STEPS
Be more positive. Having confidence requires being positive. Otherwise, you won’t believe in yourself and others won’t either. Use daily affirmations to shift your mindset to positivity from negativity. You’ll find plenty of resources online that can give you the affirmations you need. You are also welcome to create your own. Make sure you say them out loud every day.
Analyze your past failures and learn why they happened. Also, determine what you did that you would do differently the next time something similar were to happen. Start recording your failures and continue to analyze them in the future. Be sure to accept that failure is a learning process rather than something to be ashamed of.
Ask three people you know what they think are your strengths and weaknesses. This will prove that you are better at things than you believe. It can also help you improve on the areas that are considered weaknesses. Once you improve on some of these key weaknesses, you will be naturally more confident.
FURTHER READING
You Are a Badass®: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness
See also:
Is self-esteem self fulfilling?
The self-esteem quiz
Helping a low-esteem partner