Boosting Your Self-Confidence to Get Noticed

Muhammad Ali is by all accounts the G.O.A.T. – the greatest of all times. And he once famously said, “I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was.” Like Ali, I believe there’s a lot to be said about having a high level of self-confidence, regardless of your current level of achievement.

Signs of Self-confidence

You can spot the self-confident person a mile away. According to experts, self-confidence can be predicted by body language, behavior, how you speak and what you say. Everyone notices the person standing up straight, holding their head up high and making good eye contact. But the person looking down at their feet (or their phone) and averting everyone’s gaze might simply go unnoticed.

The self-confident person is eager for new assignments and takes risks for better results. The less self-confident person, however, stays in their comfort zone to guarantee minimal success at least, at the expense of something greater. The self-confident person also readily speaks up, answers questions assuredly and admits when they don’t know something. Conversely, the less self-confident person isn’t quick to speak up and tends to equivocate when they do.

8 Quick Confidence Boosters

Which one are you? Or better yet, which one would you prefer to be? Well, there’s good news whichever category you fall in. You can definitely build up your self-confidence! And you can use the following tips as a quick booster shot:

• Do your homework. Being prepared is an important element of self-confidence. And speaking off the cuff gets easier the more knowledgeable you are.
• Speak slowly and clearly. Take your time so your audience can hear and understand the substance of what what you’re saying and not sense your trepidation.
• Turn your camera on, sit up straight, and look the part for video conference meetings. Self-confident people don’t feel the need to shrink and hide.
• Know your strengths and weaknesses. I stand by the importance of knowing what you’re good at and showcasing those abilities. But, of course, we should also be  developing our growth areas.
• Seek out new assignments. The risk-taker believes it will be a success at best and a learning opportunity at worst.
• Set specific goals at every stage of your career. Meeting your goals will inspire additional confidence.
• Look closely at the people around you who show traits of high self-confidence. Identify what they do differently than you and consider how you can make positive changes.
• Commit to lifelong learning. Low self-confidence often stems from a belief that we have not mastered the skills necessary for our craft or for the particular endeavor.

Get Out There (Not Literally) and Use Your Boost

Let’s be honest. It’s easier to get overshadowed in this virtual environment. But the self-confident person can more readily gain influence by inspiring others to believe in them.And if your goal is to gain more influence in your virtual environment and beyond, appearing self-confident is an important first step.

Of course, being self-confident isn’t the same as arrogance. Rather, we can appreciate our abilities without having an exaggerated sense of importance. So, take your booster shot and get noticed!

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Shirley A. Jones, Esq. is a Senior Executive Service (SES) member in the federal government and a certified leadership and diversity and inclusion trainer. Considering herself an employee advocate and a career development trainer, she was recently elected National President of Blacks In Government (BIG). Ms. Jones has had the opportunity to testify before Congress on the lack of diversity in the SES and frequently speaks at events in the Washington, D.C., area. She often addresses a variety of topics related to leadership and empowerment. Ms. Jones has also written Op-Ed pieces for the historic AFRO newspaper, HBCU Connect and other publications.