How to build confidence

1. Be a front seater. Sitting up front builds confidence. Practice it. From now on make it a rule to sit as close to the front as you can. - Have you ever been to a meeting and seen people fill in from the back? It happens all the time at work. Have you also seen that all the people in leadership roles some how tend to fill in from the front? Well, isn't there a relation here folks? Try sitting up front from now on at any meetings you attend (not at movie theater ofcourse!;) ) and see what it does to your self-image. I don't like seeing through peoples heads. I kinda loose track of what is happening up front and start focussing on the hair styles of people, if I sit at the back. May be its just me..
2. Practice making eye contact. You say nothing about yourself when you avoid making eye contact. Aim your eyes right at the other person’s eyes. It not only gives you confidence. It wins you confidence, too. - I have been guilty of this too. But I have made a habit to look at peoples eyes when I am talking to them or even listening to them. Now, there is a difference between making eye contact and scaring the heck out of people by staring at them. When you make eye contact, you potray confidence. Period. I have used the approach of making eye contact for a few seconds and then may be look a little above or below the eye for a few seconds. I do it back and forth and this makes it easy for me to do eye contact.
3. Walk 25 percent faster. Throw your shoulders back, lift up your head, move ahead just a little faster and feel self-confidence grow. - I love the way I feel when I am walking faster. I love the feeling of the slight breeze which blows across my ears, when I am walking a little faster. Of course, you don't want to walk 25% faster when you are walking with somebody who walks a little slower(like an elderly, or a disabled person). That might endup making you looking arrogant than confident. So use judgement.
4. Practice speaking up. - Speaking softly is good only when you are angry! Otherwise, we should speak a couple of decibels higher than normal. That shows you know what you are talking about!
5. Smile big. A big smile gives you confidence. A big smile beats fear, rolls away worry, defeats despondency. Smile until your teeth show. A large-size smile is fully guaranteed to potray confidence. - I smile at people because it is free to do so. Smile is the only thing that you can give away and still have lots of left with you. It is very contagious. It is kind of hard to smile when you are having a bad day, but hey, people with confidence are different any way! Once has to be especially careful that the smile is not plastic or artificial. How do you know when your smile is natural and when it is aritficial? Well, when you smile and your heart smiles with you then it is natural otherwise it is artificial.

I got these simple steps from a book called "The magic of thinking big". It is one heck of a book if you are looking to grow you. These steps are very simple and yet very effective.

so long!...

-SamCam