Social Business Success

Are you confident?  We talk about confidence everyday, but are you really confident in your abilities?  You know if you are confident when you are talking with your manager or a potential employer.  You’re feeling good, your voice is strong and doesn’t quiver, you’re enthusiastic and you believe in yourself.

Dictionary.com defines confidence as belief in oneself and one’s powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance.  Think about this situation.  You are talking with a car salesperson about purchasing a car.  You start noticing the salesperson’s voice is shaky, has poor eye contact, has no enthusiasm and is fidgeting.  What are the odds that you are going to purchase the car from this salesperson?  The odds are you probably won’t purchase the car one of the reasons you’ll say is the salesperson wasn’t confident.

What are the non-verbal signs of a confident person?  Sharon Chapman of Affinity Counseling references seven non verbal signs of a confident person.

What Matters Most is How You See Yourself

1) Make eye contact.  We don’t like it when people don’t “look us in the eye”.  Why didn’t the car sales person look us in the eye?  Was he hiding something?

2) Smile.  Smiling is one of the biggest and most effective messages you can send.

3) Strong posture.  When we sit or stand up straight, we feel better about ourselves.  Everyone in the military has to stand up straight.  Slouching gives the visual of being sad.  We’ve seen this from television.

4) Don’t fidget.  People fidget when they are nervous.

5) Mirror.  Mirror the person’s non verbal actions sitting across from you, such as facial expressions and body posture.

6) Don’t Cross Your Arms.  Crossing your arms is seen as being unapproachable.

7) Observe Role Models.  This is a great way to learn positive body language.

Here is a situation I encountered a couple of weeks ago.  I attended a job fair and met a representative of an organization.  Before I entered the building I reminded myself of all the successes I’ve had, how knowledgeable I am in my field and how I have the accomplishments to back up my resume.  I walked into that job fair standing straight, knowing that I’m good at what I do.  I met employer representative with a firm handshake, voice, made excellent eye contact, my voice was strong and showed a lot of enthusiasm. I knew I was a good as advertised, however I believed it!  Believing in yourself is half the battle.

So the next time you’re talking with your boss or in an interview, be confident, believe in yourself, stand tall, smile, be enthusiastic and speak with confidence.