How Do I Sound Confident? Finding & Amplifying Your Voice
How Do I Sound Confident?
by John Farmer & Dan Boswell?
The Problem:
Have you ever had to present to senior management and been really nervous ? You start to question if your expertise is what you think it is, if your data is right (and enough), and if your audience will take you seriously? You wonder if you’ll come across as confident or a poser?
The Skill:
Finding and using your Confident Voice.
Why We Need A Confident Voice:
Being (or at least sounding) confident has an enormous impact on your audience’s perception of you. This drives how much people believe and value what you share with them.
What Results I Get?:
A confident voice and demeanor is much more persuasive.
Your counterparts will be much more likely to trust and act on your communications when using your Confident Voice.
This tends to lead to an enhanced ability to inspire and motivate?stakeholders to action, which, in turn, grows your influence, confidence and reputation.
How Do I do It?
Know your shit and grow that knowledge.?This may be the single best way to get and grow your self-confidence.
We’re not looking for perfection or omnipotence, just the expertise and data to support your proposal and defend it against other opinions and attacks.
Understand that it’s OK to not know something, as long as you’re committed to filling the info / knowledge gaps in a specified time.
Don’t try to be someone you’re not. People that pretend to be confident can come across as obnoxious or insecure.
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We’re not big fans of the advice, ?Fake it til you make it.“, for the simple reason that most people aren’t great liars, and the risk of getting caught in a lie and losing your credibility isn’t worth it.?
Plus being a fake stresses most people out. Fakers know the truth, and it hurts.
Nothing feels and sells better than authenticity.?The more authentic we allow are selves to be, the more confidence we tend to have.
Both verbal and non-verbal (body) language are driven by your level of confidence. Thus, your Confident Voice is projected on two, key levels.
Identify and accept what you’re afraid of…then do something about it. The more you can voice your fears, the easier it is to address the issues and people who are holding us back.?
Sometimes that means collecting more data, revising key arguments, or better understanding your stakeholders’ pain-points and resistance-points.
Sometimes it may be issues and people you can’t control in the short-term.?
But recognizing that makes it easier to accept, which tends to make it less scary and distracting.
All this makes the next tip easier:?
Try to have a conversation. Engage with people above you as peers.?
Think less about you and what you think your counterparts may think about you. (Most likely they have other ?problems“.).
Let your desire to do the right thing for the customer, product, and company guide you. Be you, with the right intentions.
People respond positively to a good listener, that makes them easier to deal with, and, in turn, raises your self-confidence.
These are skills we all can grow and get great at over time, so start where you are and go…
Be Your Absolute Best. Find Your Confident Voice.