In case you missed my last post, here's a quick recap of my main message:
As a speaker, you can exude confidence through what you say, how you say it, and your body language. The more confidence you project, the more your audience will have confidence in you and what you present.
This is really, really important. It's one of the best ways to get people on board.
Funny enough, I noticed a fabulous example of this when chatting to my husband a few days ago.
My husband's the kind of guy who just knows stuff so I often seek out his opinion and expertise on all sorts of random topics...
On this particular occasion, we were discussing the digestive tract and brainstorming fibre-rich foods. (I realise you don't need the details but they lend nicely to my upcoming pun.) Mid-exchange, he poo-poo'd one of my suggestions, I accepted my supposed error, and we carried on. Until another such occurrence...which provoked a little more doubt this time, so I questioned it. But my husband seemed as sure as ever on his stance.
Just as I was about to give in, I remembered all that stuff I told you about confidence.
So I asked him point blank: "Are you sure or are you just saying it like you are?"
I think it caught him a little off guard. But it did make him re-think what he had just stated with such assurance. Which also made him realise he wasn't as certain as he had thought (or come across).
A quick Google search confirmed that I was right in both instances (I love when that happens). But more importantly, this little episode really served to highlight the impact of confident delivery.
To be clear, my husband wasn't purposely trying to mislead me on digestive facts, he was simply stating what he believed to be true. And to be very clear, I do not suggest that you intentionally mislead your audience.
Instead, speak like you believe in yourself, your message and whatever it is you're trying to sell - whether that's a product, a service, or simply an idea.
That's the thing about my husband, he speaks with a lot of confidence and authority. Not in an intimidating, condescending fashion, but in a reassuring, positive way. He gives off the impression he knows what he's talking about - and to be fair, he generally does.
It's why a lot of people trust what he has to say. Obviously, it's not the ONLY reason why...there's more to it than that. (I think it's mostly just his British accent - those darn Brits can win over any audience!)
So bottom line, here's my advice:
Work on your English accent.
Just joking.
Work on the confidence bit.
What you say. How you say it. And body language.
Here are some examples of how to put that into action.
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