Self-Efficacy: Believing in Yourself Matters

Did you know the public figure, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, was a shy speaker?

Yes, you heard that right. The woman who delivered the speech "The struggle of Human rights" and a United Nations delegate was an introvert and described herself as shy. Wonder how she did that? Well, she was able to modify the thought process that made her capable of rising and becoming an inspirational speaker. This ability to believe that you can achieve your goal is known as Self-efficacy.?

Public speaking can be a daunting experience, but there are ways to make it less daunting and more manageable—one fundamental way to increase confidence while speaking is by increasing your self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is an individual's conviction that they can achieve a specific goal. Self-efficacy proves to you that whatever you believe is right. Even if you say "you can" or "you can't," it will be proved right by you in the future. Simply acquiring a skill won't guarantee that you will put it to good use. Believing that you can speak confidently in front of an audience will help you deliver an excellent speech.

Self-efficacy helps you to perform well on your tasks and be persistent toward your goals in the face of obstacles. Moreover, high self-efficacy aids you in visualizing success in the future, and eventually, it will get easier to tune out the negative thoughts which can lead to failure.?

The beauty of self-efficacy is that you can develop it. Albert Bandura, a Canadian-American psychologist, identifies four sources that help build self-efficacy. These four sources are:?

• Practice is progress
• Importance of a role model
• Encouragement is better than correction
• Your judgment toward your emotional arousal

Practice is Progress

The most practical path to self-efficacy is by mastering a skill. Just by learning a new skill, you cannot master it. While delivering a speech, you may get a successful or an unsuccessful result. Evaluating your mistakes and consistently practicing that skill will help enhance your self-efficacy.

Practicing that skill enables you to clarify your mistakes and how to correct them. Practice your speech in front of a mirror or with a friend to get feedback and practice making eye contact, adjusting your posture, and modulating your voice. Rehearsals will help you be more comfortable speaking in front of an audience, and it will be less frightening on the final day.?

Importance of a Role Model

Vicarious experiences mean watching others perform a skill that you are learning. It relates to evaluating yourself by observing others' strategies and coming to a conclusion about whether this method will give you a successful or a non-successful result. You must pick a successful role model to watch and learn a particular strategy. Choosing a successful role model helps in enhancing your self-efficacy. On the other hand, observing an unsuccessful role model will only diminish your self-efficacy.?

An uncomplicated way to apply this method is by observing your peers. Research says that following individuals of similar age, gender, or social background completing a task will help you increase your self-efficacy and finish the job. Observing your peers delivering a speech and picking up their strategies while speaking will give you a remarkable result.?

You can also gain vicarious experiences by following your teachers, reading books related to public speaking, or watching videos online.

Encouragement is Better than Correction

Persuasion or encouragement helps individuals accomplish or complete a task. Verbal persuasion includes feedback, judgments, or appraisals by others that help develop your self-efficacy. Research says that students who are open to feedback while practicing a skill tend to have a better sense of self-efficacy. Along with verbal persuasion, non-verbal cues such as facial expressions can be influential. Try speaking in front of your friends, family, or teachers and gather feedback from them to alter your speech and grasp encouragement.

Your Judgement Towards Your Emotional Arousals

Have you ever felt your heart beating fast or anxious for a second before getting on the stage? These are your psychological and physiological emotional arousal that occurs just before you perform something.

Now you may interpret these feelings in two ways:

Either you think you are frightened to go on the stage and may fail at speaking well. Or you may interpret this as a feeling of preparedness and feel that this is how your body reacts before giving an excellent performance. Most of us always think the first one and ultimately fail at speaking ideally. To consider the second way, you must cultivate a positive attitude. Approaching the stage with a positive mindset will help you communicate more confidently.?

Through a more scientific lens, one can develop a positive attitude by modifying their "self-fulfilling prophecy cycle." It is a phenomenon of predicting a situation and that prediction coming true in the future. Negative thoughts about the performance will bring more anxiety and stress and drain your confidence. Therefore, it is necessary to be more optimistic before performing well.

Finally, remember that public speaking is not about being perfect; it is about delivering your message and engaging your audience. You can give a great speech if you are well prepared, have a positive mindset, and have practiced enough.?

Are you ready to take your public speaking ability to the next level?

About SupeResources Academy LLP:

SupeResources Academy LLP, a corporate entity, is a Personality Development Academy geared towards helping students and working professionals develop a well-rounded personality.

SupeResources Academy LLP, based out of Pune, Maharashtra, India, has been Founded by?PERSEUS UDACHIA?- an Ex-Corporate Professional, a Certified Soft Skills Trainer, and a Licensed Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

SupeResources Academy?offers various online and in-person transformational Personality Development Courses for School Students, University Students, Fresh Graduates, and Working Professionals. While students can enroll directly in the courses with the Academy, SupeResources Academy also conducts various Personality Development Workshops for Schools, Colleges, and Corporates.

Our Flagship Course?–?"Public Speaking & Communication Skills"?is designed to help Students?and Working professionals?develop healthy self-esteem and boost their confidence.