DO IT. Do you wish to speak fluently? Start speaking! Do you wish to come out confident in your interview? Interview yourself through your resume! Do you wish to make people laugh at your jokes? Learn jokes and learn the funniest one! You want to keep a point which may or may not be appreciated by others but you believe that it is important, DO IT.
Was that too straightforward? Well, that’s exactly how we master communication and confidence! Because it’s no rocket science. It’s simple, it’s straightforward and probably you are already good at it. Didn’t you fight for your friends when your parents told you that they weren’t really good for you(well we regret that now though)? Didn’t you cook a very cool story about your vacations to sound super impressive in front of your friends while all you did was to visit your grandma’s place. Didn’t you quickly forget your trouble and became the world’s best motivator when your friend needed all the positivity. Well, in all those moments you exhibited various shades of what we call communication. Standing for a belief, dramatic narration, being driven by the cause and conveying the same. Then why do we find it complex when it’s in a little formal step. If you ask me, it’s because we expect a wrong deal out of ourselves.
We wish to be prepared, in control and wish to read someone’s mind so that we can answer exactly what they want. And we forget that this is people-pleasing, not confident communication.
See, the most important lesson that I have learnt about communication and confidence is that it is very intimate as an experience. You need to enter into a very strong state of “I WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN”. And it doesn’t come easy at all, how would you believe in yourself when all that you see is flaws and failures?
Well, just acknowledging them won’t work, you have to act. If you are not good at grammar, solve high school test sheets of English. If you lack fluency, start watching the interviews to learn different styles of communication. You find it uncomfortable to break the ice, accept it. Over time you would know it better than anyone. Make it happen. Just like you make it happen when you know someone has trusted you with something and not being able to deliver will make you come out as unworthy of trust, make it happen just like you did when it wasn’t needed but you took an extra effort to complete a task and you did that purely because the person mattered to you. Make it happen because here that person is you. How? Start with combating negative self-talk, show immense faith in yourself. Speak only what you mean. Never lie. Think twice before you form an opinion. Trust your opinion. Practice one more time. Be open to defeat or criticism. Imitate your favourite speakers. Treat yourself like a celebrity, take yourself seriously. The list is endless and so is your magic.
Just know that it is right there, within you somewhere and it’s not about just that one interview or one stage show, it’s about every day. It’s about every moment where your opinion deserves your voice. Be driven by the impact it creates. An opinion might save some life, a piece of advice may help someone, a compliment may uplift someone, a comeback may make someone smile, a stern reply may set something right, a confident answer might land you your dream job, and communication might resolve conflict. So, find the reasons and DO IT.
The author is a Communication and Soft Skills coach at Global Education, Content Writer & Editor at Times of India. She is highly skilled in PR, Management, Content Writing, and Communication.
