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Speaking in front of people with confidence is one of the most common phobias out there. But it is necessarily harmful in the professional business space where you need to put forward your ideas, inputs or questions, then it becomes difficult for you to address those smoothly.
While your confident tone will make you more attractive to the opposite/same sex, it will also earn you more respect and authority in the workplace. If you want to speak confidently with a large audience, you must slow down and have strong conviction and belief in whatever you are speaking.
“True confidence is not thinking that you will get a great result, but it is about knowing that you can handle any result.” – Psychologist and Author, Larina Kase
With that said, let’s get into a few more tips on How to Talk with Confidence?
Keep Practicing
The key to master any skill or idea is to do it often and speech is no exception. When you feel nervous about any conversation, such as giving a presentation to your boss or speaking in front of a large audience, it is recommended to use a stand-in microphone during the event, and record yourself beforehand to notice and improve your pacing and pauses.
Just as with any other skill, practice makes perfect. The more you practice your presentation and speaking skills, the more comfortable and confident you’ll become. Consider enrolling in a professional public speaking coaching program where a coach will help you pinpoint areas that need improvement and give you tailored feedback.
It not only allows you to evaluates your speech for clarity and volume, but practice makes you more confident about speaking your heart out in front of a gathering.
Hold a Power Pose
Maintaining a good posture and holding a power pose is really important. Hold your head high and roll your shoulders back, it will make you look more confident and also improve your quality of sound.
Good postures allow you to breathe deeply through the abdomen, which is also followed by method actors and public speakers to resonate throughout the space. So, while holding the power pose, breathe deeply and maximize the power of your voice.
Slow Down Your Speed
According to Carmine Gallo, author of TED talks, the ideal rate of speech for public speaking is 190 words per minute. Using this formula, he believes that the audience feels like the speaker is talking directly with them and more like a conversation they are having at lunch.
But the risk of speaking too slowly puts the audience to sleep, whereas, talking too quickly can make you sound nervous and will only confuse the listeners. Therefore, 190 words per minute is what you should aim for.
Do Not Express Too Strongly
It is not uncommon that people raise their hands during a speech to ask questions to the speaker even if they have missing information about the topics or if they need approval for an idea or decision. Even though, there is nothing wrong with both the situations, it can make you sound vulnerable.
In order to project your ideas clearly and confidently, do not raise or creep up your voice towards the end of the sentence. Try to maintain an even tone throughout and finish your statements with periods and not questions.
Avoid Filler Phrases
You might have noticed, people who are nervous to speak publicly tend to use filler phrases such as “umm”, “well” or “I mean” or any other kind of negative or useless prefaces often. This makes them sound not confident about what they are speaking and damages the confident tone they are trying to strike.
Instead, focus only on what you want to convey and try to take the pitch in a direction you are familiar and comfortable with and throw away caveats and filler phrases.
Use Variety of Gestures
The body language of a speaker is as important as the message they want to convey. Audiences believe in speakers with positive traits such as warmth and energy as they use a combination of gestures while talking.
Even though some gestures such as touching or fiddling with hair or moving your leg, can cause lack of concentration and confidence. Therefore, the way a person uses their hands and gestures while talking is the best way to communicate any excitement or knowledge about the topic.
Always Stay Hydrated
Even though you might wonder that you are not going for any singing concert or performance over stage, it is also very important to stay hydrated for speakers or anyone who wishes to be confident while talking.
Studies show that people who stay hydrated, helps in keeping their vocal cords moisturized and improves the sound quality. Therefore, drink water regularly throughout the day to avoid feeling nervous or getting stuck up in the middle of the conversation.
Display of Gratitude
It is believed that when a leader shows gratitude, it creates a positive atmosphere around. So, expressing gratitude helps in conveying the message well while moving in the right direction. Thanking people around you, who you are having the conversation with or your co-workers and starting the conversation with a little gratitude such as “thanks for coming”, helps convey your message with confidence from the beginning.
Smile, Please!
While there are many benefits of smiling during a conversation, one is that smiling helps in making your voice sound more pleasant and confident. It makes you appear more friendly, approachable, and composed which makes it more of a reason to smile next time you want to talk about something important with someone.
Use Silence Strategically
Almost everyone has stuck up while delivering a speech as a child or while conveying the most important message of their life. It is not unusual to go silent midway. People worry about forgetting about an important idea or losing their train of thought mid-sentence. But it is important to understand that silence isn’t your enemy.
Silence acts as powerful confidence-projecting tool for retaining and understanding important points. Additionally, the ability to handle your own or the other person’s silence is a reflection of confidence.
Conclusion
Speaking with confidence is only one part of learning how to project the confidence in your personal and professional life, but also the most important. If you adopt the above-mentioned advices and tips, you will definitely see the difference and will come out stronger and even more confident. So, what are waiting for? Start practicing!
