What’s more important in influencing someone’s perception of you: competence or confidence? A mix of both? I recently read an article by the Harvard Business Review titled, “To Seem More Competent, Be More Confident” & the key points struck me as powerful & share-worthy. Here are the main ideas from the article & I hope they inspire you to act more confidently because studies have shown that it TRULY pays off.
“If someone asks how you expect to perform, you should give a positive, confident response. A negative forecast may lead you to be perceived as distinctly less competent — no matter how well you actually perform.
Projecting confidence does lead to positive effects, but only when it is non-comparative…praising your competence seems to be fine as long as you do not claim that others are incompetent.
In order to convince others of your abilities, you should make it a habit to communicate that you are good at what you do — without any self-deprecation regarding your core competencies.”
So interesting, right? To summarize, if you demonstrate more confidence, others will perceive your abilities as stronger than if you’re negative about yourself. Practice accepting praise & praising yourself. You can’t afford not to!