The saying, “Fake it until you make it,” holds true – especially when you're an entrepreneur. Why? Because if you’re going to showcase your new business to the world, you need to be confident about it.*ahem* Especially if you’re looking to pitch your business to work with different companies and brands.
Here, we detailed the top three best ways to look, sound and pitch with more confidence to help grow your business.
SOUND MORE CONFIDENT
It’s not necessarily what you say, it’s how you say it. Your tone, your inflection and your pace can dictate whether or not you are confident and comfortable with what you’re saying to others.
The first thing you should work on is speaking slowly. Try taking deep breaths as this slows your heart rate down, which in turn naturally slows your speaking. The benefit of speaking slowly is that it helps you articulate your words more which helps you deliver your message confidently.
Another great tip while speaking is to learn how to eradicate filler words/phrases such as, “like, um, ahh,” or even everyday phrases that you use without even noticing such as, “you know what I mean?”
If you’re unsure of how you sound while you speak, try recording yourself and then play it back to hear where you could use a bit of improvement.
LOOK MORE CONFIDENT
Looking confident doesn’t have much to do with the clothes you’re wearing but it has everything to do with your body language and mindset.
Stand up straight, pull your shoulders back, lift your chin a bit and walk with grace. Your posture says so much more than your actual words off of the first initial interactions. And believe it or not, the way you position yourself helps dictate the flow of the message you’re about to deliver.
In addition, when it comes to meeting other people, make sure to have a strong and firm handshake. A weak one implies that you’re not as confident as you should be – this doesn't exactly mean squeezing their hand with all your might. It just means slightly asserting yourself in a friendly but dominant way.
Make eye contact and always remember to smile. Smiling is a universal language and signals an invitation for openness and interest. And don’t forget to adjust your mindset, people can tell when you are in a good or bad mood without you having to say one thing. Tell yourself you’re confident and not nervous, and watch your whole demeanor change.
PITCH YOUR BUSINESS WITH CONFIDENCE
The first rule of thumb when pitching your business is to believe in yourself and believe in your product. Because once you do, everyone else will follow suit.
Also, it’s important to realize that the key thing in pitching an idea/product is to sell the problem and then pitch your product. This shows that you are knowledgeable about your market and understand where there is a major discrepancy and your product/service is will fill.
Starting a business means unveiling new versions of yourself. Yes, it may be nerve-wracking but in the long run, it’s molding you into the confident person you need to be to get the job done and build your business. Check out this podcast for more great tips on how to become more confident.