Act confident and you will start to feel confident as well as appear confident to others.
- Keep feet less than shoulder-width apart, with weight evenly balanced.
- Lift your chin, keep your eyes on the horizon, let your shoulders relax and lift your chest slightly. Stand up straight, don't slouch or lean on one leg.
- Don't fold your arms, it makes you look smaller.
- When in doubt, be a great listener - this involves eye contact, nodding, mirroring (subtly mimicry) and facing the speaker.
Speaking in public? Many people are afraid of this, but remember it is only fear - which is just a feeling and can be changed.
- Practise this exercise: Sit comfortably in a quiet place and allow your mind to bring forward a memory of a time - any time - when you felt confident. Then observe the feeling.
- Practise your speech in front of a mirror. Record yourself on your phone and watch it back.
- Still nervous? On the day, pretend your audience are your favourite cartoon or TV characters, or focus on a dot at the back of the room, not on the sea of faces.
- Remember that the audience has chosen to come to your talk or event and want to hear about your topic - they want you to do well.
- Have a 3 second pause between sentences or the points you want to make. It may feel long but will help you deliver your message.
How to argue well. Avoid being confrontational. When you want to express a different point of view, avoid saying "
you are wrong" or "
that's not right because". For example if someone says "
I can't stand so-and-so", respond politely "
I quite like him for his quirkiness". Then you are not arguing bur giving a different point of view in a way that's easy to accept.
