There are hundreds of situations when you need to have tonnes of confidence - or at least look like you do. You could be interviewing for a job, performing on stage or making a presentation at work, and collapsing in a ball of nerves isn't going to help. Luckily, it's much easier to look confident than feel it. And the more you put on an act to convince people you're feeling outgoing, the more you start to feel it for real. It's one of those few things that can work on the principle of "fake it until you make it". So use these tricks to come across as a smooth-talking guy, even if you feel like anything but on the inside.  

Correct Your Posture

  First impressions are always important, and people will notice your posture a lot more than you might think. Say you're going for an interview, the panel will see you walk into a room and sit down before you do anything else. If you're slouching, you can look like you're shy, lazy or uninterested. And maybe all those things are true, but you don't want anyone to know. If you want to radiate confidence, you need to put your head up and shoulders back. Stand and sit as tall as you can. If you have trouble correcting your posture, you could try a brace like the one from Posture Now or do some exercises to strengthen and stretch your muscles.

Jonathan Mueller

 

Take It Slow

  Often when people get nervous about speaking to people, they overcompensate by saying too much too quickly. It's understandable when you're frightened that you might open your mouth, and nothing will come out. While it's a good idea not to leave any awkward pauses, you need to get the balance right. It can be difficult whether you're going too fast when you're speaking, so try it out on a friend first or record yourself. If you're going too quickly, remember to talk slower than you think you need, take some deep breaths and leave adequate pauses.  

Make Eye Contact

  Eye contact can be a difficult thing to get right, especially when you're not comfortable with it. You don't want to avoid meeting people's eyes altogether, but too much of it can get creepy. You should make eye contact when listening or speaking, but it doesn't need to be constant or always direct. Look away occasionally, or look at their face but not into their eyes. Of course, there are always at least two people in a conversation, so the other person will do their fair share of looking away. But you don't want them to have to look away all the time; you're trying to be confident, not forceful.  

Smile

  Lastly, don't forget to smile. You certainly don't want to come across as miserable, even if that's just what your resting face looks like. You don't need to smile all the time, but a genuine smile at the appropriate moments will help your image. If you need to, practice smiling in the mirror, so it looks real and not forced.   Feeling confident might take a lot of work, but it's much quicker to put on an act and look it. Smash your next big occasion by radiating confidence, even if you don't feel it.