Self confidence is something everyone should have to succeed in life; in fact, the more self confidence you have, the better are your chances of success. However not everyone is blessed with a good amount of self confidence. And moreover, it is the youngsters joining a new organization or office that need some bolstering in their self confidence. It is up to you as a mentor to help them develop self confidence and self-development and make a complete person out of them.
Of course, people who are naturally introverts, those who look at things pessimistically and those undergoing lots of personal trauma tend to lack self confidence. However with the right atmosphere and guidance, it is quite possible to determine the weaknesses of a person and turn these weaknesses to strengths.
Teach your youngsters that having a good dressing sense is an important factor in developing self confidence. Though the clothes they wear don’t actually make them, clothes greatly affect the way they feel and think about themselves. When one doesn’t dress well, this affects his attitude and method of interacting with other people. With poor dressing sense, they will not talk or walk as confidently as they can or should. So teach youngsters to dress well and sharply. This does not imply that they have to invest in design wear clothing; all that have to be done are small improvements in day to day routines like bathing and shaving frequently, wearing clean clothes and being aware of the latest trends in fashion.
Advice them that it is always better to invest in a few quality pieces of clothing than buying a bunch of cheap clothes. Let them understand that though the initial investment may be high for these expensive clothes, they don’t wear out easily and are usually longer lasting than cheap clothes. Moreover, the less they buy, the less is the clutter in their closet.
Youngsters who tend to walk slowly or like they are in pain or tired give the impression that they are not interested in what they are doing. It also gives a picture of lack of self confidence on the part of the youngster. This is why they have to be instructed to walk with an energetic and purposeful walk. This is because this gives the picture that the youngster is self-confident. Even when in a hurry, walking even 25% faster makes them look and feel like they were more important.
Similarly, getting things faster shows that they have confidence and know what they are doing. And what better way to increase the speed of one’s work than by making use of mobile productivity tools like PDAs, notebooks and PCs with the latest in productivity software.
Another factor that helps instill and show confidence in the youngster is their posture. People having slumped shoulders and exhibiting lethargic movements indicate lack of self confidence. Such people are usually uninterested in whatever they do and at the same time; think that they are not important in any way.
This is why by practicing good posture; they develop a feeling of confidence in themselves. Make them develop a habit of standing straight, heads up and maintaining eye contact with others. All of this brings about a positive impression on others while making them feel more alert and empowered.
The best way you could instill confidence in youngsters is by giving them a motivational speech. However this is something that is done occasionally, and not everyday. So get your youngsters to create personal commercials about themselves that run about 30 – 60 seconds long. These personal commercials should highlight their strengths and goals in life; and be recited either aloud in front of the mirror or in their head whenever they need a boost in their confidence.
Harboring negative feelings of oneself tends to project the same feelings towards others through insults and gossiping. This is why youngsters should be taught to develop a habit of praising other people and to avoid backstabbing gossip. Developing a habit of complimenting others around them also helps in increasing their confidence as they become well liked by others. This itself is sufficient for instilling confidence in themselves.
Recalling past successes in life, the youngster’s loving relationships with friends and family, whatever unique skills they may have and their positive momentum in life helps instill self confidence with them, they realize how much they are worth in life, and thus get motivated to do much more in life.
It may be surprising, but sitting in the front row in schools, offices and public gatherings all help in self development. This is because people usually look for the back seats out of fear of getting noticed. This indicates lack of self confidence; they have to sit in the front row to overcome this fear by being visible to important people in the front of the room.
Learning to speak up and voicing one’s opinions show that they are not afraid of any judgment others will make of them. It indicates greater self confidence and the capacity of becoming a public speaker. In addition to this, it indicates that they are confident in their thoughts and have the potential of leading people because of their self confidence.
Following all this tips will indeed increase and instill self confidence in your youngsters and make you a good mentor to them.
