How To Be A Confident Woman At Work

We all have times when we feel nervous and unsure.  Here are some tips to help you to project a confident image at work.

There are several things you can do to feel more confident:

1)      Be prepared.  If you’re making a presentation to a group or giving a proposal to your boss, you’re going to feel more comfortable if you’ve done your research and practiced in advance.  And the more important the issue, the more you need to practice. 

2)      Surround yourself with supportive people.  If you can’t avoid negative people at work, you need to develop ways to deflect them.  One woman I work with, imagines herself behind an invisible shield that protects her from negative words.  That helps when one of her co-workers says things to put her down.

3)      Use affirmations.  Most of us talk to ourselves.  What do you say?  Do you tell yourself, “That was stupid” or “I’m so dumb!”  If so, replace those negative phrases with positive ones, such as “I am confident” and “People listen to what I say”.  It may seem strange the first few times you do it, but positive repetition can help you feel more confident.

4)      Remember your strengths.  You’ve been chosen for a task because you have a certain expertise.  If you’ve been put on a new project that you’re unfamiliar with, remember that someone chose you because they believed in your skills and experience.   Even though you may not feel confident, there is someone else that believes you can do it.

It’s not enough to feel confident; you also need to make sure that you look and sound confident.  Here are some tips that can help:

1)      Speak up.  When people are unsure, they may mumble.  Louder voices tend to sound more confident.

2)      Slow down.  Nervous speakers rush their words so they can finish faster.  Confident people speak at a normal rate.

3)      Stand or sit up straight. If you slump down in your chair, it can look like you are trying to hide.

4)      Make direct eye contact.  In some cultures this is not appropriate, however in American culture, looking away can indicate a lack of confidence.

5)      Use controlled hand gestures.  Pay attention to your hands and make sure you’re not using nervous gestures such as playing with your hair or picking at your nails.

6)      Use powerful phrases.  Use statements such as “I will…” or  “I can…”.  Don’t use hedgers and qualifiers such as, “This probably isn’t a good idea but…” or “We’ve probably already tried this but…”  When you use phrases like that, you are telling people not to listen to you.

7)      Observe confident people.  Think about the confident people you know.  How do they look?  What do they do?  What do they say?  You can observe them and copy what they do.  You may even want to set up a time to talk to confident people and ask what their secrets are.  Most people are happy to talk about themselves. 

Even if you don’t feel confident, you can still project a confident image at work by paying attention to how you look and sound.  No one needs to know that you’re nervous inside.  When you think about confidence, just remember the advice from an old commercial tagline, “Never let them see you sweat.”

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