CONFIDENCE
‘What’s wrong with being confident?’, Demi belts out in her self-empowerment glam rock track. Well, nothing. Confidence is as often said, key.
Self-confidence is the quality of being assured about your abilities, personal judgment, and power. A confident person exhibits competence in a natural and effortless way. At times confidence can be assertive and sometimes, it’s silent.
There is a certain charisma around people who exude confidence; they inspire belief. Some are born with while others build self-confidence over time. It can impact different aspects in life, from personal to professional, and can open doors to new opportunities.
An essential aspect that automatically sparks confidence is knowledge and expertise. And this is vitally important in the line of PR and dealing with clients. We must be confident in the advice we give and our suggestions to do or not do something.
We have to be able to stand our ground when questioned about what we present to others. This is achieved not by simply arguing emotionally, but by being composed and rationalising, drawing from research and preparation to strengthen our points. Preparation breeds confidence. Knowing you’ve done all the groundwork helps build the confidence to respond under pressure when the time comes.
Being confident also doesn’t mean we do not need help. Having absolute trust in your own ability is fine and dandy, but we must accept that we each have our own strengths and weaknesses. Seeking help is not a sign of weakness or lack of confidence. Indeed, it is quite the contrary! It shows we are secure enough to acknowledge our shortcomings and are confident in our peers to deliver on the required scope.
Neither does confidence mean we are infallible. Mistakes do happen. There are times when the decisions we make may lead to less than desirable outcomes. Being confident means we step up to the plate to take responsibility. And in a post-mortem, justify our course of action based on information available to us and accept where it could have been improved. Take repercussion on the chin instead of letting it dent your confidence. We live and we learn.
With all that being said, there is a fine line between being confident and cocky or arrogant. The real key is learning to straddle and toe the line without crossing over, less you be labeled cocksure and lose respect and support of peers. Or worse, turn off potential clients.
Darren