Career Development – Six Tips To Help You Look Confident
Why is looking confident important?
If you want people to have confidence in you, as well as being good at what you do, you need to look confident. Yes, I know that is a little unfair – surely being good should be enough? Sadly in the real world, that is rare!
So, do you look confident?
If I met you for the first time, what would I see and what would I hear? What would your body language tell me? Would I want to get to know you better? Would I have confidence in your ability to do that job I might have available. Or, would I buy that product or service from you?
The need for confidence goes beyond work, of course. People like others who are confident as friends and potential partners.
When it comes to appearing confident, remember that over 70% of our communication is transmitted by our body language. So, while you are working to increase your confidence, how do you change your body language to make you look confident? Here are some tips to help:
Six Tips To Help You Look Confident
- Start with your feet. Stand with them at least 12 inches apart and have your weight distributed evenly between them. Plant the soles of your feet firmly and evenly on the ground – let them give a firm support to the rest of your body. Now, you are rooted but not rooted to the spot! But don’t lock your knees – instead keep them soft and very slightly flexed.
- Let you spine be proud. Your spine protects and supports your internal organs! Feel your spine lifting you to the sky – that is what it is there for! Lift your upper body out of your pelvis and stand upright. Feel yourself “lengthening your spine” – stand proud! Try thinking of a piece of string attached to the top of your head gently pulling upwards. But don’t stand rigidly – you are not a soldier on parade.
- Keep your shoulders relaxed. Let them drop – don’t lift them high. The shoulders and neck often show how tense we are – let yours relax.
- Let your shoulders widen rather than pull back. Open your chest up so that you can breathe freely. That in itself will make you feel more relaxed.
- Smile. Work on learning to smile naturally at home. Practice some affirmations giving yourself some positive messages, for example; “relax and smile”, “calm and smile”, “wonderful people make me smile”. Bring that smile to your eyes and let it broaden to fill your whole body and mind. Practice feeling how it feels. Now when you meet other people say quietly to your self – “these are the wonderful people who make me smile”. Now find yourself smiling.
- Change your focus. When we go into a new situation if we lack confidence, we tend to focus on ourselves and how we feel. You can deliberately change your focus to the people about you. Start to be interested in them rather than how you are feeling. You will look approachable and look more confident.
Finding help
Practice my six tips and you will be surprised at the effect. You may well find yourself, not just looking more confident, but feeling more confident too. It helps to work with a coach of course and I just happen to be a qualified confidence coach – so feel free to get in touch!
Wendy Mason is the Happiness Coach and author of a new novel, The Wolf Project Wendy is a life and career coach and writer. She is passionate about helping people find happiness at work and at home! She helps people reach their goals and aspirations, without sacrificing their home and personal life. She believes coaching requires compassion, warmth and empathy. Wendy helps people reach their career goals and aspirations, without sacrificing their home and personal life. You can contact Wendy at wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com and find out more at http://wisewolfcoaching.com
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