Confidence is an important trait that everyone desires but not everyone has. Having confidence and being perceived as confident are two different things.
People can perceive you to be confident even when you aren’t; it all depends on what you say, how you say it and how you present yourself.
These tips are practical and easy tips that would make you sound more confident even when you aren’t.
1. SMILE
Smiling makes you appealing; it makes people attracted to you the more and it makes you more believable. Smiling hides fear and it also makes you look more confident. Try to exchange that frown and worried face with a smile. It’s also important to try to create a balance when smiling, as just too much of it can make you look weird or even stupid.
2. TALK SLOWLY
When you talk faster, you are more likely to stutter and make many mistakes. However, talking slowly makes you convey the message properly, and it also makes you believable. Talking too fast shows a sign of nervousness and most times people won’t hear you when you talk this way.
3. SPEAK WITH A LOWER TONE
It’s been scientifically proven that speaking at a lower tone makes you seem more confident. Speaking with a higher tone makes you sound different in a bad way, and it’s probably a sign of nervousness. Many public figures and politicians tend to apply this method of speaking with a lower tone to sound more believable and buy the people’s trust.
4. LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD
Avoid looking down when talking; it could pass a wrong message, ranging from nervousness to shyness and worse still, a lack of honesty.
5. AVOID FILLER WORDS
Talk straight and try not to stutter. Filler words would make you stutter and that could pass a message of being short of confidence. Words like “I mean”, “um”, “You know” “I think” are examples of filler words. Your enunciation would be hampered if you keep using filler words, and filler words pass a message of being sloppy and lacking confidence.
6. BODY LANGUAGE
Your body language is highly important if you want to sound more confident. Be in control of your body; avoid leaning on something or bending towards one side. Take a deep breath, stand straight, look forward, gesticulate with your hands, and if it requires you to move, pace slowly.
Confidence is everything, and people would easily perceive if you’re confident or lacking it. These tips if followed thoroughly would make you sound more confident.
Jake