Whether you’re going in for job interviews, meeting with new clients, or trying to impress your bosses, sometimes, it can be hard to stay positive.

Look, I’m going to be honest — the team at Digital Strike is full of pretty positive people. Even when something breaks or we have to process difficult feedback, we usually have a smile on our face. Sometimes, we even find a way to laugh off catastrophic events (like that time one team member lost an entire 35-page presentation to the Internet gods).

But when a meeting with a high-profile client comes up, or we have to give an important presentation to our peers, there’s always a little part of us that would like to run out of the room.

Thanks to a great presentation by Tommy Balestreri, however, we have some tactics for staying positive. As one of our Digital Strategists, he prides himself on his love of positive content, and he is constantly reading books on the subject.

Because none of us can escape the nerve-wracking meeting, we’ve adapted Tommy’s presentation into the short list below to help build your confidence before you can say, “Hello.”

  1. Fake it ‘til you make it.

    It’s important to walk into job interviews and other meetings looking relaxed and smiling. On top of that, the simple act of changing your body language will also influence your mood.

    Power poses reduce stress, increase confidence, and are incredibly easy. Even when a study was published to counteract Amy Cuddy’s research on the benefits of power posing, she released an additional study with plenty of evidence. Cuddy’s analysis found that there was a definitive link between her poses and feelings of power.

    two happy-face emojis in a box of emojis
    And while you’re at it, smile before the meeting. According to a report by NBC News, smiling can boost your immune system, increase your feelings of happiness, and diminish your anxiety. You don’t even need to feel happy — just faking the act of smiling will do these things.

  2. Be prepared.

    As Scar from the acclaimed Disney Film “The Lion King,” notes, it’s important to be prepared. Even villains can teach a great lesson.

    What do we mean by “be prepared”? We don’t mean “put together a to-do list” or “create an agenda.” Have goals, and write them down. People who can strongly identify their goals are “anywhere from 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to successfully accomplish their goals than people who don’t” according to Forbes.

    The goal could be as simple as “introduce myself” or “create rapport with a new client,” or the goal could be as specific as “create a website.” The goal will help you create your agenda and give you some direction.

  3. Don’t throw away your shot.

    Keep yourself motivated so you don’t “throw away your shot” (thanks, Lin Manuel-Miranda!). In other words, stay motivated.

    The goals we mentioned above will help keep you motivated and give you something to take ownership for. But remember, you’re not this meeting — don’t fence yourself in. Give yourself permission to make mistakes and have fun along the way. 

    Do not give up if something goes wrong. If you stumble in a job interview or accidentally say something you shouldn’t, don’t let that keep you from moving forward. According to Jack Canfield’s book, “The Success Principles,” 94 percent of salespeople lose out on a sale because they don’t have the motivation to keep asking after the third “no,” even though 60 percent of all sales are made after the fourth ask.

  4. Stay grateful.

    Before walking into the meeting or interview, keep an attitude of gratitude. For example, what are you thankful for? What is your favorite thing about yourself? Has anyone done anything nice for you lately?

    hand writing in journal
    Write these messages of gratitude down so that you can visualize them. Harvard Health found one study where, after ten weeks of writing down what they were grateful for, participants were more optimistic about their lives. In other studies, people performed better at their jobs, were physically healthier, and more comfortable expressing themselves.

 

I’m already more positive after reading this, aren’t you? Use these tips to make sure any job interview or meeting you walk into is a breeze — after all, mood is half the battle.

If you’re interested in joining this team of positive people, contact us here.

 

Interested in hiring this crazy confident team? Drop us a line! We’ll create a personalized solution for you (and you’ll get to witness our positive prowess).
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