Confidence is an interesting trait that is often misunderstood. It is something that we all recognise when we meet someone or even when we just pass by someone on the street. It’s something you can see almost instantly. Simply walking into a room with your head high and shoulders back can give the perception that a person knows what they are doing. If someone walks in slouched over looking at the ground, it’s easy to assume they have a severe lack of confidence among other things.
Whether or not this is true, confidence is not just about the way you feel inside, it’s about the way you come across to others. I wanted to briefly touch on the subject, because gaining confidence is a trait that can go along way in the context of finding meaningful employment.
You might already know that you lack confidence or maybe you’ve got it down and just want to improve yourself. Either way, there is one thing that I think you must understand about becoming more confident.
Many expressions and emotions can be faked and they come across as insincere. However, confidence is not the same. Whether you are actually confident or you fake confidence, it is the same thing.
You might not realise that not everyone who appears to be confident is actually confident. Though, this is true more than you might know. Some of the most confident people out there are secretly insecure and have no confidence in themselves, yet they appear confident to others.
A majority of public speakers are a perfect example of this. Studies will tell you that public speaking is the number one most common fear for people to have. Coming in a close second place in the list of common fears is death.
Many people who have done even a little bit of speaking in public will tell you that they were absolutely horrified to go up on stage. They get nervous, anxious and they sometimes will forget what they even need to say just because the fear is so overwhelming. I’m sure we can all relate to some extent.
However, those same people are still able to pull off very powerful and effective presentations or speeches if they were prepared. That’s because they have mastered the skill of maintaining composure and that’s due to their confidence.
The same rule applies when you’re looking for employment. Lacking confidence is a big setback when you start doing interviews. Almost any person can learn how to do any job, but if you aren’t confident in your ability to do so, you’re probably not going to get the job. If you are confident you can do the job regardless of your current skill level, and more importantly, if you can convince your interviewer of that, you’ll be just fine.
Like most things, you’re going to need to practice being confident before you can see much improvement, but everyone is capable of having the confidence to nail any interview you might find yourself in.
Check out the video for a few quick tips that further explain the importance of confidence and how to portray it.