Friday, January 11, 2013

How To Gain Confidence: At Work And In Life

By David B. Nelson


On one occasion or another, you're going to take the center stage and give a speech. Whether to inspire people who have lost their hopes or to give lessons to those who are hungry of knowledge, you are expected to speak your mind and deliver clearly what you have to say. We all have our fair shares of stage fright. And public speaking is a real challenge to everyone. But, you have to keep in mind that in every challenge, there is always a way to beat it.

Overcome Fear.One reason you may not belief in yourself is your fear. It could be fear of failure, that if you fail you will lose even more confidence and be an embarrassment. Nothing ventured nothing gain, give yourself the freedom to fail. You do not really fail unless you give up. So long as you continue to do what it takes for you to gain confidence then there is nothing to fear. The beauty is that the more you do the more confident you become. Think about a nine to 12 month old baby who's learning to walk, how the baby eventually has full confidence and enjoys the new found freedom. The more the baby walks the more confident the baby gets.

Let's take the first kind first. Since you are given enough time to prepare for it, then you might as well take advantage of that time. Never take it for granted and start writing your speech at the last minute instead. A rushed speech will betray you of your confidence. The tendency is that, if you go unprepared, your mind will be rattled. And when your mind is as messed up as garbage, the words that will come out from you will be nothing but gibberish. You're definitely going to lose your audience. So if you want to turn on the other side of the table and make things right, organize your speech and do it well. Preparedness can make you confident. The reason is simple: you know what you're going to talk about beforehand. It's like showing your audience a painting you have worked hard for. You simply know your craft.

What if you are ambushed to make a speech, where will you get your confidence from? Well, you can't be well prepared for this kind. This is when you have to apply the 'mind over matter' mantra. Being nervous is just all in the mind. Convince yourself that you can own that stage no matter what. Rather than being bothered by the question or the subject of your speech, concentrate on what you know about it and how you're going to say it. Once you're in the middle of your speech and you feel like you're going to falter anytime soon, it is good to stop for a while, look at your audience and throw them a smile. Whatever chances the world has, there will always be those who are looking at you and listening to what you are saying. Take your strength from them. Take your confidence from the fact that someone on the audience is waiting for the next thing you're going to say.

Help Someone.Helping someone makes you feel good. It also allows you to see some of the qualities you have that you may have overlooked. Being able to help someone is a subtle and often overlooked way on how to gain confidence. Think about it, being able to help someone says that you do have some good skills other needs.How to gain confidence? You need not do all of it. Feel free to mix and match. Try different things. The important part is act upon your plan.Have you ever felt the whole world was against you? No matter what you try, you just can't succeed, causing you to have a total lack of self-confidence. You may even feel that way now, but what I am about to share with you should pull you out of that place and into a mindset and feeling of total possibility and success to ensure you boost your self-confidence rapidly.While you feel isolated from everyone else when you are going through this phase with no confidence, within the next few minutes you will learn that you are not alone at all. In fact you will discover that you have more support at your disposal than you thought possible guaranteeing you to build confidence.

Work out - If your lack of self confidence is as a result of body shape, you can have exercises that will help you keep fit and be of the size you want. Working out is not just good for gaining self-confidence it is directly related to many other improvements in your life. Working out can be one of the best and easiest solutions to a low self-confidence!Confidence is a powerful asset to have in the workplace. People who are confident in themselves can expect to be given increased responsibility, leadership opportunities and ultimately more success.

Consider even something that will pay little but bring satisfaction or professional benefits by raising your qualifications or allowing you contacts with other people within your field. Remember that sometimes a substantial gain can be achieved through the initial investment, so do not worry that you may use money saved for a rainy day. That day has come and you will be better off spending a little towards improvement of your skills and competencies. Having control over your budget will diminish the stress and help you gain positive outlook for the future!

But with the help of others, this can be done quickly and easily.Just like any business person or athlete, whenever they question their ability to produce the necessary results, they turn to their coach to pull them out rather than trying to do it themselves because they know that at the time,They are emotionally charged negatively to the situation, limiting possible outcomes and perceptions.Their coach/supporter is not emotionally connected to the situation, and therefore can think logically.Who is or can be your personal coach to pull you out of situations when you are feeling down with no confidence? Think carefully here, you don't want to choose the wrong coach.Think of all your family members, friends, colleagues, neighbors, members of any clubs you belong to, shop owners etc. you have gotten to know.Now all you have to do is contact them.

Choose who you spend time with wisely.Happiness is contagious, surround yourself with genuine and constructive people and some of their attitude will rub off on you and influence you in a positive way. You may want to spend more time with family; you need each other's support and faith. Give yourself small breaks and do something that makes you happy: meet with friends, take a walk in the park, go to cinema or treat yourself to a small gift.

Above all - take action and put yourself in charge. The right frame of mind will set you off to promising new grounds. Step by step you can change your attitude and empower yourself to make a difference in your own future, your own life.Margaret Buj is an Interview Coach and a senior recruiter, with experience of recruiting across EMEA for leading organizations in the technology sector, including Microsoft, VMware, Cisco and Business Objects. During a 1-to-1 coaching session with Margaret, you will get the opportunity to practice your interview skills without the pressure and the nerves of a real interview. You will get clear, practical advice and encouragement, and you will become more fluent in your ability to answer any question an interviewer can throw at you. As a result, you will feel less anxious and more confident and you will significantly increase your chances of getting a job offer or a place on a graduate training scheme.




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