Are you always confident when speaking on camera or in person? Honestly, I wasn’t always confident. At the early stages of my career as a business trainer I had to go through a lot of insecurities.
There was this one moment in my life when I had to overcome my issues and move forward no matter what.
It happened more than a decade ago. At that time I was almost 30, but looked 20. And it was the cause of many insecurities. One of which was that people wouldn’t take me seriously.
I was going to interpret for an international speaker. He was about to teach a business training for a huge national insurance company.
So, I came to their office and sat with a trainer to go through the material. It was crucial for me to know his plan, his style and expectations.
While we were working on the training, the president of the company walked in. He stopped in front of us, looked me up and down and said with doubt in his voice: “You’re the interpreter?”
There was so much disbelief and what I read as disdain in the way he looked at me, that I wanted to disappear right there and then.
But I pulled myself together, looked him in the eyes, and spoke my perfect English with faked confidence.
Fake it till you make it? Yes, that’s exactly what I did. And it worked.
The training was a success. The president was grateful and generous in his praise.
But the most important lesson I learned from that experience was to SPEAK no matter what. In spite of insecurities and fears.
What Builds Confidence
Nelson Mandela said: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”
It’s normal to feel uncertain at times. It’s only natural to have moments of doubt and experience lack of confidence. You know what helps you triumph? Action.
You may have heard the phrase: have fear, but do it anyway. And that’s the real courage! That is what builds confidence. Something feels scary and uncomfortable? It’s your cue to take action. Tony Robbins likes to say: “If you can’t, you MUST.”
How to Become a Confident Speaker
Is there a message you long to share with the world? Or you’d like to speak more confidently to your clients, friends and family members?
Nobody is born a confident speaker. Even if you have a natural talent, you’ve got to develop the skill.
- Expose yourself to as many speaking opportunities as you can. Practice your craft. Take action! And you’ll improve along the way.
- Stack your wins. Celebrate every success. Remember every achievement, every positive reaction of the audience, every praising feedback on your work. It will help you build confidence in the long run. By all means, welcome criticism so you can learn and grow. But never dwell on it.
- Develop powerful voice. Take classes if you need, but learn how to use your voice in its full capacity. Play with vocal variety, practice projecting your voice, controlling it and letting it flow.
- Shift your focus. Always keep your focus on your audience and your message. Stop thinking too much about how you look and what others think about you.
- Enjoy the process. If you dread speaking all the time and can’t gain confidence even after doing it for a long time, something has got to change. It’s time to either change the message, the topic or the audience. You clearly are not passionate about them. Pick something you’ll love speaking about and people you deeply care about. And your confidence will kick in!
Its your turn now, my friend. Choose one tip and share in the comments. What would you like to start doing differently from now on?