Beat Your Secret Confidence Killer

It’s that time of year again! The next two days we’ll be blogging from GovLoop and YGL’s Next Generation of Government Training Summit. Follow along @NextGenGov and read more blog posts here.

Kiyona Miah, Program Analyst at the U.S. Census Bureau, has a secret confidence killer. Kiyona struggles with public speaking and private speaking…well all speaking in general.

Growing up she spoke too fast, didn’t understand the importance of annunciating her words and had to go to speech class in order to improve her speaking.

Kiyona let her fear of speaking kill her confidence. Her outgoing leadership attributes were overshadowed by her nervousness on the outside.

But Kiyona didn’t let her speaking problems prevent her from reaching her goals.

Do you have a certain challenge that gives you anxiety? Do you miss out on opportunities in fear that you’ll fail? Follow Kiyona’s three steps and take back your confidence.

1: Utilize available resources: Kiyona got involved in mentoring program available in her community. Mentors show you great things about yourself you may have overlooked. She also joined Toastmasters to craft her public speaking. Find the experts you admire and see if you can sit at their elbow.

2: Tackle small challenges: Know the six P’s: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. Kiyona’s first speech at Toastmasters was one minute long and gradually increased until she could tackle a 15-minute speech. You may not be able to purge your fear over night, but a gradual process of small steps can rid you of your anxiety.

3: Believe in yourself: Kiyona surrounded herself with a great supporting cast. People believing in you gives you confidence to believe in yourself. Don’t be your worst critic but your biggest fan. Recognize what you do well.

These tips can improve your behavior in and out of the office. Turn your confidence killer into a confidence pillar.

More information on NextGen

Today GovLoop and Young Government Leaders are hosting their annual Next Generation of Government Leaders Summit. Throughout the summit, be sure to check GovLoop and our social media sites to keep up with all the latest from the summit. We’re really excited about this year – and hope to share the experience with all of you.

If you’re unfamiliar with NextGen, the annual training summit educates, inspires and promotes innovation for new and rising leaders in government. Since 2010, the two-day summit has enhanced the professional and personal lives of 2,000+ Generation X and Y government employees, who are excited to learn new skills to innovate.