Do you have a hard time sharing your thoughts and feelings with others?
If so, then you need to learn how to be more outspoken and confident.
And that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today.
I’m about to share with you the exact same process that I’ve used to be stand up for myself and communicate more effectively.
What You'll Learn In This Post
1. Raise Your Self-Esteem
Most people who have a hard time speaking up don’t feel good about themselves.
They have low self-worth because they beat themselves up mentally.
That’s why they remain quiet because they don’t believe that what they have to say is important.
If you want to know how to be more outspoken and confident, you need to learn how to like yourself.
One of the best confidence-building exercises that I know is to focus on your positive traits.
Start making a list of what’s good about you and all the things that you’ve accomplished so far.
When you do this consistently long enough, you’ll improve your self-image.
You’ll begin to appreciate yourself more and more.
You’ll see yourself as someone worth getting to know and you won’t be as intimidated by others.
You also won’t tolerate abuse from anybody because you know you deserve better.
When you like who you are, you’re a lot more likely to say what’s on your mind.
2. Define Your Preferences
In order to get what you want, you have to know what you want first.
You’ll find it hard to express your needs if you haven’t taken the time to identify them.
That’s why developing self-awareness is so important.
The more you know who you are and what you’re working towards, the more comfortable you’ll feel in your own skin.
Check out this podcast interview with Dr. Robert Glover, Author of No More Mr. Nice Guy, where talks about how to stop being a nice guy.
If you’re wondering how to be more outspoken and confident, start the process of defining your preferences.
The best way to do this is by paying attention to your emotions.
What you’ll want to do is to make time to reflect on previous events and circumstances.
And then, figure out which ones made you feel good and which ones made you feel bad.
If you don’t do this, you’ll always feel like there’s something off but you won’t be able to put your finger on it.
Not to mention, if you’re not clear about what you value, then you’ll be easily persuaded by others.
That’s why you need to have clear and specific boundaries.
The more you know what your priorities are, the less you’ll care about what other people think.
3. Rehearse What You Want To Say
Having difficult conversations with others isn’t always the easiest thing to do.
This is especially true if you tend to be passive and don’t have a lot of experience interacting with people in general.
If you want to figure out how to be more outspoken and confident, consider preparing ahead of time.
From Shy To Social
Discover proven steps to approach and talk to anybody no matter how shy you are.
To help you communicate effectively, make sure you practice what you want to say.
That’s why I recommend you jot down everything that you’re thinking about.
It’s much easier to analyze what’s going on in your head when you can actually see your thoughts on paper.
This will help you calibrate what you want to say and be able to make adjustments accordingly.
As a result, you’ll be able to get your point across in the most effective and tactful manner.
4. Shift Your Focus
Most individuals who struggle socially think that all eyes are on them.
They assume that people just notice every little thing that they do.
That’s why they stifle their personality to avoid being criticized by others.
If you’re wondering how to be more outspoken and confident, you need to shift your focus.
Get out of your head and stop overthinking social interactions.
Believe it or not, nobody is paying as much attention to you as might think.
The reality is, everyone is so concerned about themselves anyway.
They don’t have time to worry about you.
That’s why it doesn’t matter if you make a mistake.
I can assure you that most people would’ve forgotten about the incident by the time they get home.
Think about it.
Unless it was recent or something really bad happened, you probably don’t remember embarrassing things that others did, right?
By keeping this perspective in mind, you’ll figure out how to be less self-conscious.
You’ll become more courageous instead of always playing it safe.
As a result, you’ll act like yourself around people and show your true personality more.
5. Get Some Feedback
You don’t know what you don’t know unless someone shows you how.
If you want to figure out how to be more outspoken and confident, it’s important that you get some feedback.
One of the best ways to do this is to role-play what you want to say with someone that you trust.
And then, ask them what they think you did well and what you still need to work on.
I know it’s difficult but do your best to keep an open mind and not take anything personally.
Use the information they gave you as an opportunity to improve the way you communicate.
But if you want to get results much faster, consider working with a social skills coach.
That way, there will be no more guesswork because you’ll have a proven plan to follow.
You’ll get expert guidance which will prevent you from making unnecessary mistakes.
You’ll also have someone keep you accountable so that you don’t procrastinate.
As a result, you’ll make progress a lot faster and finally get this part of your life handled.
6. Keep Your Delivery Calm
Remember, the majority of your communication is non-verbal.
It’s not just what you say but how you say it matters too.
If you want to know how to be more outspoken and confident, you need to keep your delivery calm.
If you communicate in an aggressive way, nobody will take you seriously.
The person you’re talking to will either shut down or become aggressive back at you.
Check out this video if you want to know how to express yourself with words.
That’s why you have to manage your emotions.
As hard as it may be, you have to be able to restrain yourself.
This is especially true when you’re in the middle of an uncomfortable interaction.
That being said, make an effort to maintain that calm tone and friendly voice when you speak.
Whatever you do, avoid yelling or swearing at all costs.
People are a lot more willing to hear what you have to say if you treat them with kindness and respect.
If necessary, I recommend you reschedule difficult conversations until you’re in a better headspace.
When you feel more relaxed, you’ll be able to think rationally and communicate effectively.
This will prevent you from saying or doing things that you might regret later on.
The last thing you want is to ruin your relationship with others and damage your reputation.
7. Avoid Being Judgemental
At the end of the day, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
That’s why you have to make an effort to see where other people are coming from.
If you want to learn how to be more outspoken and confident, you have to be empathetic.
Just because someone has a different perspective on a particular topic doesn’t invalidate what they think.
The thing is, you don’t even need to agree with them.
Stop trying to change their mind and want to prove them wrong.
You just have to put yourself in their situation and see things from their point of view.
As the saying goes, a person convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.
That’s why whatever you do, avoid getting into an argument with someone.
Be light-hearted, respect your differences and focus on finding commonalities instead.
That’s a more productive conversation to have than getting into a heated debate about something controversial.
8. Practice Active Listening
How nice does it feel when you know someone is giving you their undivided attention?
It’s pretty awesome, right?
If you’re wondering how to be more outspoken and confident, practice active listening.
The next time you interact with someone, put your phone away and be present.
Really try to see where they’re coming from.
Lean forward to show interest and nod in agreement to validate what they’re sharing.
Also, whatever you do, avoid interrupting someone when they’re talking no matter how excited you are.
Take a moment to pause and wait a few seconds before you respond.
You don’t need to rush yourself to say something just to fill in the void.
When you do these things, you’ll make whoever you talk to feel important.
By being interested in others, they’ll be interested in you as well.
If you want to know how to be memorable in social settings, this is one of the best ways to do it.
9. Embrace Your Quirks
Remember, the world will be a boring place if we’re all trying to be like each other.
If you want to know how to be more outspoken and confident, you need to embrace your quirks.
Stop trying so hard to fit in and seek approval from others.
Tired Of Feeling Lonely?
If you’re struggling socially and would like some help, let’s connect.
The truth is, it doesn’t matter who you are and what you do.
There’s no way you’ll be able to get along with everybody so don’t even try.
Some will like you, some won’t and that’s totally okay.
Accept who you are and don’t be afraid to speak your mind.
Now I’m not saying you should impose your ideas on others.
But I am encouraging you to have your own opinions.
Make an effort to talk about things that are important to you.
By doing so, you’re sending a strong signal to others that you feel comfortable in your own skin.
Ironically, the less you care, the more charismatic you’ll appear to be.
By speaking your truth, you’ll find the right relationships for you much faster.
10. Anticipate Discomfort
Nobody is good at anything when they’re just starting out.
That’s why you need to put your reps in and keep practicing.
Keep in mind that learning how to improve your communication skills will not happen overnight.
That’s why you have to be patient and persistent.
Check out this video if you want to learn how to stand up for yourself and set your boundaries.
My recommendation is for you to just focus on the process instead of being so attached to the outcome.
It’s no different than working out if you haven’t been to the gym in a while.
Your body will be a bit sore at first.
But that feeling goes away if you keep training consistently.
If you want to figure out how to be more outspoken and confident, the exact same ideas apply.
Instead of resisting discomfort, you should embrace it.
That’s a sign that you’re growing and making progress.
Conclusion
If you’re wondering how to be more outspoken and confident, I just shared with you my best tips.
Feel free to go through them again and implement them as much as you can.
And now, let’s turn it to you.
Which one of these tips are you going to implement first?
Are you going to rehearse what you want to say or not being judgemental?
Send me a message on Instagram and let me know.