Make It. Never Fake It.

This last week I was asked,

“What are some ways to project confidence when you may not be feeling confident?”

While there are people who would respond, “Fake it ‘til you make it,” I am not one of them.

How can you avoid faking it?

Preparation, preparation, preparation….

“But,” some clients have told me “I’m better when I wing it.”

No, you’re not.

What do I recommend you do?

Before any meeting or interview, think through the worst 3 questions you might be asked—and the answers.

Once you have these in hand, practice your answers out loud.

Why?

Because you may think you know how you are going to answer and only notice once you’re speaking that you have a big plot hole.

Once you’ve arrived, your excellent posture and firm handshake are a given, so let’s talk about eye communication.

“But,” you may be thinking, “it feels weird to keep gazing into someone’s eyes.”

Understood.

Given that, I recommend choosing to look directly into just one of the other person’s eyes. If you are trying to persuade them of something look into their left eye. If you are making a request, look into their right.

(There’s an explanation for this. You can find it in “How to Wow” under “Oh, Those Windows of the Soul”

So you’re sitting tall and leaning in and smiling and enjoying your eye communication and suddenly you’re asked a question you aren’t prepared for: what to do?

First, inhale. Then, speak on an exhalation. This will give your voice resonance and authority.

What do you say?

“I’d like to think about that for a minute because I want to be sure to give you the best answer possible.”

After all, is anyone is going to leave a meeting and say, “Can you believe so-and-so wanted to give us the best answer possible???”

They won’t. You’ve got this.