Some confidence hacks

People usually have good intentions when they try to give you advice. We get advice like:

"Just be yourself."

"Forget about it."

And my personal favourite,

"Just be confident."

So, how exactly do you "just be confident"?

Well, it turns out that there are a few things that you can do.

1. Study the way you walk

Although you don't want to walk like a tortoise, you need to slow your walk down. Why is this? Confident people are not in hurry. I must admit that I catch myself walking fast sometimes and I realise that it probably doesn't look very cool.

Another couple of things I do is that I don't run to catch a lift (elevator). I think that is very uncool although I will run to catch a train on occasions. There is nothing more irritating than just missing the train and then being told that the next train is delayed.

Walk slowly but make sure you know what you are doing. Make sure you know exactly where you are going.

2. Eye Contact

Having good eye contact is a great sign of confidence. I know for some of you, that scares you a lot. At the end of the day however, without good eye contact whatever you say is not going to go down well with the people you are saying it to.

3. Accepting compliments

I must admit that I am not very good at this. Well, I am better than I was before. Apparently not accepting a compliment well is a sign of insecurity. If you have good confidence then you can accept those compliments well by just saying "thank you."


4. Don't be negative

I think self-deprecating humour is good ..... Sometimes. You don't want to be putting yourself down all the time. If you are too negative about everything in your life, people will start to wonder if you are actually self-confident or you are playing a trick on yourself and others.

Talk about your interests and things that you are passionate about. By doing that you will come across as confident and someone that people will want to be around.


5. Say it as it is

If you want something, ask for it because as they say, if you don't ask, you won't receive. Don't pussyfoot around. People might not understand you and you will get into more trouble than if you were just direct from the start.

I saw a good quote the other day and it kind of relates to this:

"It is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission."- Grace Hopper

It is so true isn't it?

"Can I do that?"

"NO"

Be direct, do it and there probably won't be bad consequences anyway.


6. Celebrate your acquaintance's success

I remember a very good friend of mine introduced me to his friend a few years ago. My friend's friend was very chatty and outgoing and basically a very nice guy. Before I met him, my friend had told me that he took a lot of pride in his friend's success. I quite liked that and I try and remember that. It is very easy to show jealousy when people are doing better than you. But by being genuinely pleased for your friends you show that you are a confident person and people will want to be around you.


There you have it. Six things you can think about to increase your confidence level. I know I will be trying to use those tips and why not you?

Good luck.