C is for… Confidence
What is confidence?
When networking it is important to be confident in your networking (being confident in your networking skills makes networking more fun and easier) as well as coming across as confident to those that you are networking with.
How can you demonstrate and develop this skill?
Practising your networking and just putting yourself out there can be amazing for boosting your networking confidence – the more you do it the easier it becomes. If you push yourself outside your comfort zone you become to realise that you can do it, you are not going to mess up and other people just want to meet people and build relationships too.
Showing confidence while networking requires you to work on your communication skills and your body language. Consider how you appear to others. Your level of confidence can be revealed by your behaviour, your body language, how you speak and what you say. Keep it in check.
Action Point: Look at someone you admire or consider very confident and watch what they do. Note to yourself what you are doing in comparison and what signs you might be giving that you are nervous or unconfident.
Skill Development Plan: Confidence
Unfortunately, there is not a quick fix for building self-confidence. However, a lot of things that you do day-to-day (particularly if you are working on your skill development generally) can help improve your confidence.
Examples include:
- working on skills that you need to develop such as communication skills and body language;
- practising your networking and putting yourself out there;
- harnessing the power of positive thinking;
- practising in other situations where confidence is required.
Attending networking events with a wingman can also help boost your confidence and help you push the boundaries of your comfort zone.
WFH Action Plan: Use remote working and remote networking opportunities to practice your networking to build your confidence, in yourself, in your conversations and communication with others and technology.
