Confidence, confidence, confidence!
It’s one of the most widely used words when it comes you job interviews and presentations. When you’re in its bubble, you’re ready to take on the world; your walk has swagger and your smile has charm, it’s a wonderful feeling! However, like any emotional state, it can change within an instant and having a lack of confidence can have a crippling effect on the rest of your mind and body.
If you don’t have confidence, you will likely struggle to express yourself clearly and your body language may give off negative and defensive vibes!
Now I would divide confidence in to two board categories:- there is your inner confidence and outer confidence and they have different ways in impacting your overall confidence levels. For example your inner confidence provides you with the assurance that you’re good at what you do, you’re able to draw upon your past experiences and successes to reinforce your confident state.
Outer confidence is the façade that you put on even though you might lacking it on the inside. Think of it as a boxer entering the ring, showing a lot of bravado and posturing to intimidate the opponent. Now this approach does have it merits when it comes to boosting your confidence. Studies undertaken by Amy Ruddy of Harvard University have shown that professionals who prior to a meeting presentation or job interview who practiced “alpha poses” felt more confident and also were perceived as more confident by those around them.
I’ve been coaching these techniques to my clients for years and I can tell you one thing for sure, they work! An alpha pose can cause a spike testosterone levels in the body which conversely will lower the stress hormone cortisol. Lower stress will allow you to produce a more confident state of mind.
Below are my top 4 poses which you should try just prior to going in for the interview, or even a presentation! Note: you will need to find an empty room (a toilet cubical is perfect) so that you can act out your alpha poses without out the judging eyes of others around you!
Pose 1: The Superhero
Hands on hips, straighten up your spine straight and pull your shoulders back. As you’re doing it, just imagine that you are a super hero!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMXNmhuDpjD/?tagged=supermanpose&hl=en
Pose 2: The Footballer Celebration
Hold your arms up at 45 degree angles from your shoulders, and keep you back straight and shoulders back. Just imagine you’ve scored the winning goal in the world cup final!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBayQyTq7FW/?tagged=confidencepose&hl=en
Pose 3: The Model
Same as the superhero pose except your hands are by your side. Own it!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BB3tJUfrdZw/?taken-by=corporatecatwalker&hl=en
Pose 4: Laid Back
If you have somewhere to sit and put your hands behind your head lean back if possible. If it’s possible, you can go one step further and put your feet up, like you don’t have a worry in the world!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMeoNcyAphj/?tagged=feetup&hl=en
Practicing these poses will help you channel feelings of self-assuredness and confidence. Before your next interview or presentation, if you feel that you need a last-minute boost of confidence, give these a ho – just don’t get caught in the act!
About the author: Farhan Raja is a career coach, former recruiter and founder of Jobinterviewology.com.
