Build Your Confidence & Build Your Image

By Brent Kelly

You want others to believe in you, your company, your product or service, and the value you provide. However, the most important question to ask yourself is, “Do you believe in you?”

Do You Breed Confidence in Others?

How others perceive you is in direct correlation to how you view and carry yourself.
You must project your self-image in a way that breeds confidence in others.

Have you ever met someone who looks sloppy, give a wimpy handshake, or can’t look you in the eye? They portray little to no confidence in themselves and therefore portray minimal confidence in the product or service they represent.

I am sure you have heard the phrase, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Although that made a great Head and Shoulders commercial, it is also true.

Whether fair or not, people make quick judgments and those judgments are difficult to alter.

How you think about yourself translates directly into how you act and ultimately how you are perceived by your audience.

That’s why as Tim Sanders says, “You must feed your mind the good stuff.”

This good stuff creates awareness, knowledge, and consistent improvement. All of these characteristics can be translated into confidence.

Confidence vs Arrogance

Often times confidence is confused with arrogance. There is a huge difference between the two.

Confidence is about belief, trustworthiness, reliability, certitude and assurance.

Arrogance is an offensive display of superiority or self-importance and overbearing pride.

As you can see, there is a dynamic difference between the two. Confidence builds belief and trust, whereas arrogance destroys both.

So How Can You Demonstrate Confidence Without Arrogance?

Displaying a high level of confidence without coming across obnoxious can sometimes seem like a fine line, but the key is how you serve.

If you desire to serve yourself and your interests, you will come across arrogant and self-serving. If you desire to serve the customer and focus on their outcomes, your display of confidence will be reassuring to the prospect or customer.

Prospects and customers want confidence in terms of them. How can your knowledge and abilities help them succeed?

Three Questions You Must Ask.

1. What is the image you have of yourself?
2. What kind of image to you think you project?
3. Is that image acceptable to those you seek to connect with?

Think about those questions for a few minutes and answer honestly. If you aren’t satisfied with your answers, come up with ways to boost your confidence and develop a stronger public image.

Remember, your public image is directly related your self-image.

Discover your unique talents and let them shine. At the same time, understand your weaknesses and find ways to improve.

To breed confidence to others, you must first breed confidence to yourself.

Question: How do you breed confidence to others?