Last month we had Laura Elizabeth C., Member of Toastmasters International and Accredited Competent Communicator and Leader join the Concirrus team to share some of her secret strategies for confident communication. As we continue to work from home how we communicate and interact with colleagues and clients is more important than ever before. How we present ourselves and build relationships is vital to success and although communicating virtually can present certain challenges below are some useful strategies to help boost and improve confidence.
Confidence is all about knowing what you’re good at, the value you provide and acting in a way that conveys that to those around you. Whether you’re presenting or talking to client’s confident communication is key to success. A lack of confidence can hold up career progression. If you are not consistently putting yourself forward in the way you know you can, it can become frustrating and costly for your career. Laura, who started her career as a programmer was one of only four female students in her Computer Science Degree course shared with the team during her FedTalk (FedTalks – like TED talks, with a tasty twist. It’s a chance to get for us to get together, develop our skills, and share knowledge amongst the team) how confidence has always been vital for her.
“I realised while working as a programmer that I didn’t just need to be efficient and confident in the field that I was working in, I needed to communicate and influence the people I was working with, whether that were clients or colleagues at any level. Achieving a good level of confidence is equally as important as are competencies in a job.” - Laura Elizabeth C.
A Prezi study found that 70 percent of people said communication skills are critical to career progression. So, when you communicate confidently you are more likely to achieve success.
What you might not know is that you can easily and quickly make changes to how you communicate in every situation even when you are feeling challenged, nervous, or under pressure.
Laura’s top tips to boost confident communication!
Breathing
If you are nervous before a big meeting or presentation you may feel yourself becoming anxious or tense causing shortness of breath. Getting into the habit of belly breathing 'Breathing with the help of your diaphragm, rather than with just the upper part of your lungs.' If you do this before and after the situation, you are nervous about your body will become more relaxed and you will be able to communicate more effectively. If nothing else check your breath.
Body language
Only a small proportion of what we say is what we communicate. Research shows that the vast majority of what we convey through our interactions with others is through nonverbal communication. This is why our body language and tone of voice is one of the key parts of confident communication
What you say to yourself
The internal dialogue that we hold about ourselves can affect our confidence levels. “Our brains have a negativity bias - that means that our attention and memory are automatically focused on negative things much more often than positive ones.” If you go into a situation with the attitude of “I’m going to mess up” it will be more likely this is the case. By practising positive self-affirmations and setting confident intentions for yourself can help trigger positive feelings toward yourself.
Visualisation
Different visualisation techniques are a great way to help you focus and move forward with real confidence. One example is the ‘movies playing in your head’ example below.
What’s next?
When you start creating a habit of incorporating these components into the interactions that you have you will notice a change in your confidence levels. Try these techniques and let us know how your confidence improves.
Get in touch with Laura and learn more about Laura’s ‘Fast-Track Strategies For Success, Authority & Taking Opportunities’ here.