By Kristina Biel
I can show you how to catch others’ attention and be more confident. I’m not stretching the truth when I say I’m a pretty confident person, and that’s how I know how to show you. Being confident is a vital step in life. Job interviews, talking yourself out of a speeding ticket and more are reasons why you should be confident. I love being confident, and everyone else will like seeing a more confident version of you. The first step is how to look confident.
Inc.com did an article on how to look more attractive and confident, and posture was at the top of the list. Having good posture is a key player in confidence. Bring your shoulder back and just straightening your entire stance can go a long way. Having good hygiene is important. Doing things such as showering, washing your hair, putting on deodorant, and wearing clean clothes can go a long way. Body language is the most important step. Making sure to smile, talking with hands, taking big steps, making eye contact and not fidgeting are sure ways to seem more confident to peers.
The second step is to sound confident. In the advice section of The Muse (themuse.com) they give the top things that help you sound confident, and slow speaking took first place. People tend to speed up their talking when they are nervous. Speaking from your diaphragm is an important step. No one likes a nasally speaker. This also helps with projection. Throw the filler words off the roof. Umm, like, uhh, and other filler words make you sound unprepared. Reviewing what you are going to say beforehand is also very important! Remember folks, practice makes perfect.
The last step is how to think confidently. An insider.com article states that repeating positive affirmations are a sure way to think confidently. “I’m great, I’m amazing, I got this.” Don’t let bad thoughts interfere with your mind. Make sure to talk yourself up. Hyping yourself up is always great for self confidence. When you believe in yourself the rest of the world will follow suit. You are great. You are amazing. You got this.
The most important step, though, is knowing your audience! When you know your audience you can relate to them to get your point across. If you start preaching to the choir, your point isn’t going to make it far. If you really want to see some ripples in the water, you have to make sure you make a difference and show them something new.
Just make sure you are taking care of yourself for the most part. You won’t look confident if you look like you are a pale pile of skin and bone. Mental health checks are always good to have and making sure you have an outlet, whether it be your family members or a person outside of your family.
These are sure ways to be more confident! I promise that any of you can be as confident as anyone else! So fix your posture, smell and look nice, talk loud and slow, and believe in yourself. You never know who is listening in on your speech so make sure you always sound like you know what you are talking about. Hey if you don’t believe me try these simple tricks yourself and get the results you want. Because you are great. You are amazing, and you got this.
Kristina Biel is a student at Fillmore Central High School. She is one of 14 area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its 23rd year.
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