3 ways to sound more confident

2 days ago

3 min read

I often meet people that want to appear more confident, but they can't relate to that "loud, dominant" persona. But you don't have to! You can be "soft", calm and kind, and still ooze tremendous confidence. Because it lies in the little things.

Instead of changing your entire personality, just try these three simple things.

1. Stop weakening the sentence before you've even said it

“I'm not sure, but maybe we could…”

“This might be a stupid question…”

“I don't know if this makes sense…”

Instead, try saying the actual thought first.

Instead of:

“I don't know if this makes sense, but maybe we should move the deadline.”

Try:

“I think we should move the deadline.”

If you have to, you can always explain why afterwards.

2. Slow down the first sentence

People often speed up when they're nervous because the body wants to get through the uncomfortable moment quickly. Unfortunately, that can make you sound more nervous, which then makes you feel more nervous.

You don't need to speak slowly for the whole conversation. Just pay attention to how you enter it. Give yourself an extra half second before you start.

3. Finish the sentence

This sounds almost ridiculously basic, but it's one of the things I work on a lot.

When people are unsure, their voice often disappears toward the end of a sentence. The last few words become quieter, faster or almost apologetic. Try carrying the sentence all the way to the end.

When I started speaking professionally, I was 21 and often standing in front of rooms where everyone was older than me and I definitely didn't walk into those situations naturally feeling like the most authoritative person in the room.

I had to learn how to create that authority through the way I communicated.

And that's the good news about this. A lot of what we call “confidence” is actually behaviour. Behaviour can be trained.

If you want to work on how you come across, how you speak under pressure or how to feel more grounded and powerful in important situations, that's a big part of what I do in 1:1 coaching.

Have a great weekend! Love,

Anna

Nerd-word of the week

Fascinating psychological phenomenons for the extra interested

Self-perception theory

We tend to think confidence has to come first and confident behaviour follows. Self-perception theory suggests the relationship can also work in the other direction. We partly form beliefs about ourselves by observing our own behaviour. So behaving slightly more confidently, speaking up, slowing down and expressing an opinion clearly, can gradually affect how you see yourself too.

The Quicky Q&A

Got a question? Send in yours on socials and it'll pop up here

Q: What should I do with my hands?

A: Use them! Move them around with clear, strong gestures to enhance what you're saying. Just pay slight attention to the pace, so you don't flap them around like crazy. When you're listening, simply rest them folded infront of you.

What's hot this week?

A tip on something new from media, books, culture or podcasts

Listen to The Diary Of A CEO episode with Chase Hughes. It gives great tips to build confidence and credibility! It's called "The leading body language & behaviors expert" from 26/12/24