In order to adopt a confident attitude, it is essential that you know how to respect a set of guidelines that we will detail below:
- Speak with confidence
“Do you mind if I say something, I just wanted to say, I’m sorry, I was wondering, I’m not quite sure but I think…” It’s obvious that someone who expresses himself in this manner does not convey confidence.
You should use expressions like: “maybe, I think, do you mind if?”, we transmit confidence with our words and the choice of words is important.
It may take some time, but we can learn new vocabulary and expressions that convey confidence.
How can you transmit confidence with your words?
- Through positive statements, avoid example denials by replacing certain words:
- “I can’t” with “I will”,
- “I have” with “I want”,
- “I should” with “I decide”…
- Use confident body language
Recent research shows that both the posture we adopt and our non-verbal language can affect our brain. If your body is uncomfortable, your mind is likely to be too. If you act confidently with controlled gestures and attitudes, your mind will also be confident.
Some very specific advice to keep in mind:
- Always stand or sit up straight.
- Keep your head up.
- Relax your shoulders.
- Distribute your body weight evenly between both legs.
- When standing, keep your hands and arms parallel to your body.
- Keep eye contact with those you are speaking to
- Smile when the context and theme allow for it.
- Speak slowly and not too loudly.
Practice these points until you can use them naturally in any situation.
- Have a confident image
How do you feel about your body? If you are the first one who doesn’t feel good about yourself or your body, it will affect your self-confidence.
Probably, if you compare yourself with other people, you will see imperfections in your body. But even people who may consider that they have a perfect body almost certainly do not consider themselves perfect and find fault with it.
How can you gain confidence with your body? Without a doubt, the best technique is not to try to change it but to accept yourself as you are even if it sounds like a cliché. Think about what your strengths and weaknesses are and don’t compare yourself. The charm and charisma you can give off does not depend at all on your body.
On the other hand, what you can work on is the personality that your clothes and the way you dress can transmit. Try to be yourself, respecting the social codes of your environment and your company, but make a difference. That you feel comfortable and that your clothes allow you to feel comfortable and safe.
When we talk about conflict management we don’t like it, we are uncomfortable with it, but in reality the conflict itself doesn’t have to be negative. What is negative is the bad management of it that can cause economic losses, loss of image or reputation and even loss of the relationship with the other party.
The paradox is given because during our lives we all have conflicts: personal, professional, sentimental, etc. And we are not taught to manage the conflict.
We know that there are techniques to manage conflict, there is a lot of research in this field that shows that there are a number of tools that will allow us to manage and/or avoid conflict. For example, one of them is the one that says that conflict is a universal law and that at the beginning it is very easy to identify and to solve. The more advanced in time, it will be easy to identify but more complicated to solve. Therefore, the sooner we identify the conflict the better solution it will have and the easier it will be to manage it.
The conflict does not understand types of people or companies, the conflict affects everyone of any size, age or position and arises at the time when two parties have differences and do not understand each other.
Differentiating problems, tension, crisis and conflict.
And now, we will begin by seeing the difference between conflict, tension and problem as they are often treated as synonyms and actually are not so.
Problem definition:
Conflict and problem are two words that traditionally refer to negative situations or issues. A conflict is a disagreement or clash, which can be between two or more people or concepts. A problem is an issue or situation that is considered harmful or unpleasant. A conflict can be described as a problem. The key difference between conflict and problem is that a conflict always has two or more parties while problems do not have such parties.
Example of a problem: we have a customer who is waiting for merchandise and it will not arrive because the border is blocked.
Definition of tension:
Tensions are due to divergences, differences, oppositions of points of view, ideas of solutions, objectives, values…
Definition of crisis:
A crisis is a process or a situation in which important changes occur. To solve a crisis situation, it is necessary to be able to move from positions of closure and rejection to positions of openness and listening, from selfishness to positions that make us take into account others.
Example of a crisis: with the appearance of an international pandemic that causes everything to be blocked, it is a crisis because it produces very profound changes.
Definition of conflict:
Conflicts are the result of unresolved crises. So we are moving towards confrontation.
There is conflict when one moves from the acceptance and serene, peaceful, mature and constructive expression of differences, disagreements and divergences, to opposition, antagonism, confrontation, struggle, misunderstanding, aggression, intolerance and rejection.
Example of conflict: when we do not agree on the price to pay for a product and/or service.
Conflict is usually a combination of three situations: tension > crisis > conflict.
This part is fundamental, nobody buys for buying’s sake if it is not to satisfy some need. When we decide to buy a product or a service, it’s because we hope that it will bring us some benefit either physical or intellectual. If we can identify that need or that lack, we have already got all our motivation. Why? Because we will be able to offer that benefit through that product and we will solve objections.
It is very important to identify the needs of our potential buyer:
– Why are they interested in my product?
– What needs, fears or ambitions do they have?
We will now explain how to discover these needs through three techniques:
- Research. You can search for information about what people want through the Internet, via Google, social networks, etc.
- Put yourself in your client’s shoes. Try to empathize with your client and you will be able to find out more about them.
- Ask your question. Ask open questions instead of closed ones so that you don’t limit the answers and you have a better chance of finding out why.
Propose your products/services
Although you can find an infinite number of ways to put these types of techniques into practice, one of them is to follow the CAB method (Characteristics, Advantages and Benefits) that we have designed at TPG, we are going to see it in more detail:
- Characteristics of the product. What is the product like, what defines it? Except in totally innovative products or services, it is not going to provoke the final decision of the buyer but this phase is necessary.
- Advantages of the product. What does it provide more than other products? Never talk about devaluing other products in the market but show emphasis on the virtues of our product. Each one of the advantages we want to emphasize must be interesting to the buyer.
- Benefits for the client. It is a consequence that comes linked to the previous point mentioned but specify with the client in question.