5 Ways to Project Confidence in the Workplace
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Confidence breeds confidence,” which bears remembering when we think about the respect and responsibility we hope to receive in our professional lives.
To earn the confidence of our supervisors and colleagues we have to first possess and demonstrate it in ourselves. Below are five practical ways you can build and practice confidence in your work.
Communication
If you’ve had the opportunity to hear yourself speak in front of a group, you may have cringed at your overuse of filler words and utterances (a few too many “ums,” anybody?). What you may not have noticed is how these same habits often work themselves into other communication as well, such as email. Often, this is revealed in a tendency to ramble. It’s worthwhile to make our verbal and written communication more concise, since taking a long time to reach “a point” in a conversation can be misinterpreted as uncertainty about ourselves and what we are trying to ask.
Think about this the next time you send an email to a supervisor asking a question. Be direct. Being relatively “short” and forthright in making a request isn’t rude. It communicates confidence in your approach and expresses that you value your supervisor’s time and would appreciate a timely response. Reserve the long-winded emails for close friends and family.
Let’s say you’re requesting a meeting. Instead of writing ad nauseum about the topic(s) you hope to cover and your efforts to find a time to fit both your schedules, try simply writing, “Good morning X, I’m hoping we can meet this week to discuss Y. How does 11 a.m. on Friday, 11/17 work for you?”
Make your request clear and concise and then wait for the reply.
Build Rapport With Colleagues/ Avoid Gossip
On the topic of communication, if you’ve spent time in a professional setting, you’ve likely learned how easy it is for gossip to crop up and sow division in a workplace. Try as hard as you can to stay above it. If anyone in your organization begins to see you as someone who invests in gossip, they’re likely to see that action as an unsavory effort to curry favor or gain influence.
Instead, turn that negative energy around and spend time building rapport with each person you work with. This doesn’t mean you need to become best friends with everyone, but nurturing a good, working relationship with all of your colleagues will send a strong message that you’re a team player and are not threatened by anyone’s influence or position.
Speak Less/ Listen More
It’s a common misconception to think that confident people have a lot to say. In reality, confident people often have the right thing to say and spend far more time listening. It’s an important distinction, but it clarifies an important point. If you’re confident in yourself, you won’t feel the need to simply be heard.
The scarcity principle applies here as well. If you’re always talking and making your opinion heard, you may develop a reputation for dominating a discussion, but it is also likely your colleagues won’t take everything you say seriously. If you spend time listening, however, and make the opinions of those around you feel valued, the times you share your own opinion on a topic are more likely to be met with the same respect and enthusiasm.
Nonverbal Communication
There’s a lot to touch on here, but what we choose to wear to work deserves brief mention. Deciding what to wear in a workplace, or any setting, requires having a good handle on your own values, as well as what is expected within your workplace culture. That said, there is some truth to the adage, “dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” The goal here isn’t to overdress or stand out in a particular way, but to be conscious of the professional image we project and make an informed decision about how we want to be seen. Of course, enjoy casual Fridays if they come.
Professional dress is just one small part of the way we communicate, nonverbally, with our colleagues. You’ve probably heard of the importance of a good, firm handshake prior to an interview or business meeting, but simply smiling, and exhibiting strong, upright posture project confidence to the people we interact with throughout the day.
Some questions to consider: How do your face and eyes react when you are tasked with an unexpected assignment at work? When approached one-on-one by your supervisor, do you stand upright and meet their gaze, or do you tend to slink down and lower your eyes instead?
Pursue Opportunities
If you’re confident in yourself and your abilities, don’t hold yourself back when the next opportunity comes. You might have said to yourself, “This opportunity looks great, but I’m just not sure I’m qualified.” In response to this line of thinking, a colleague shared some great advice: “Don’t be the reason you don’t receive an opportunity. Let someone else be the reason.” In other words, if you choose not to pursue that opportunity because you’re not sure if you are qualified, you’ve disqualified yourself.
While it is certainly true you need to be realistic and understand certain jobs will be more of a “reach” than others, that shouldn’t stop you from putting your hat in the ring for an opportunity you are excited about.
What’s the worst that can happen? You don’t get the job, but in addition to the valuable practice that goes into preparing to apply and interview for the position, you won’t experience the pang of regret wondering if you should have trusted yourself more.
Do it. Trust yourself again. Confidence breeds confidence.
