How to Be More Confident
You don’t need to wear sky-high stilettos to feel 10 feet tall. Instead, try these smart assertiveness-building strategies on for size—courtesy of a gutsy panel of experts, including a former police sergeant and a neurosurgeon.
Leif Parsons
3. Psych Yourself Up with a Ritual
Everything comes naturally and you operate on autopilot when you’re feeling good about yourself. To bring yourself into this
mind-set, create a routine to go through before an important event. For example, a tennis player might bounce a ball four
times before each serve. And before every surgery, my assistant and I follow a regimen. It slows down our minds, and we get
into a natural rhythm—making us better prepared to handle any situation confidently.
Anders Cohen, M.D., is the chief of neurosurgery and spine surgery at the Brooklyn Hospital Center. He is a former tennis pro and a physician
for the US Open Tennis Championships.
4. Desensitize Yourself to Failure
When people perform, things do not always go well. Maybe someone drops a cue or forgets a prop. Perhaps the audience doesn’t
laugh. But from those experiences, you can learn not to give failure so much power. Sure, after a weak show you may feel a
bit of a sting, but you’re still walking, still breathing. Once you bomb a show a number of times, you’ll know that you can
survive it. Take that knowledge and use it to fortify yourself the next time you’re faced with a big challenge, like a presentation
at work.
Brad Barton has been an improv performer and instructor in New York City for 15 years.
5. Enlist Others to Help You
In some cultures, there is a practice described as the bestowing of blessings, in which one person stands inside a circle
of her closest friends or allies. Those on the outside share their wisdom with the person in the center. When you need the
confidence to do something new or difficult, you can adapt this model. Over the phone, via e-mail, or on a social-networking
site, ask your friends to express why they believe you will succeed. It’s simple enough, but because there is power in numbers,
you’ll feel energized and more prepared to tackle the task at hand.
Ivars Ozolins is a certified leadership coach based in Encinitas, California.
