Soft Skills Part 2 Self-Confidence

What is Self-Confidence? It is a feeling or belief in your powers and abilities. Increasing your self-confidence can make you feel better about yourself.

Activity: Self-Confidence Quiz Take the online quiz from Mind Tools to find out how self-confident you are. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/ar ticle/newTCS_84.htm The learners will need internet access to complete this activity. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_84.htm If you have trouble accessing this survey, search for an alternate online survey using the search terms "self-confidence quiz".

Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit. – E.E. Cummings Ask the participants to talk about what they think this quote means.

Activity: 10 Qualities Circle 10 qualities that you have from the list provided. Look up each quality in the dictionary and write a definition. If you change your mind about a quality after you look up the definition, choose another quality. Once you have ten qualities that apply to you add them to the spider diagram. If you have access to a computer, you can create a Wordle with your qualities. Discuss the fact that everyone already has many good qualities.  Recognizing your good qualities is a building block to building self-confidence.

Once you start developing a general level of self-confidence in yourself, you will not only believe you can succeed, but you'll also recognize and enjoy the successes you've already had. Recognizing your successes will help you build on them for future successes. Working on your self-confidence on a regular basis will create momentum and continued success. You can already do many things. The next activity will help you think about that.

Activity Three things…. Once the learners have completed the activity, have each learner share one thing from each topic with the rest of the group.

SWOT Analysis A great way to start working in your self-confidence is to do a SWOT Analysis A SWOT Analysis is a tool you use to determine Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats as they relate to your level of self-confidence.

Strengths What advantages do you have that others don't have (for example, skills, certifications, education, or connections)? What do you do better than anyone else? What personal resources can you access? What do other people see as your strengths? Which of your achievements are you most proud of? What values do you believe in that others fail to exhibit? Are you part of a network or a group? Consider your strengths from your own perspective, and from the point of view of the people around you. Don't be modest or shy – be as objective as you can.

Weaknesses What tasks do you usually avoid because you don't feel comfortable doing them? What do the people around you see as your weaknesses? What areas are you weak in your education and skills training? What are your bad work habits (for example, are you often late, are you disorganized, do you have a short temper, or are you poor at handling stress)? Do you have personality traits that hold you back? For instance, are you afraid of speaking in public? Again, consider this from a personal perspective and an external perspective. Do other people see weaknesses that you don't see? Be realistic – if you don’t identify your weaknesses you won’t be able to work on them.

Opportunities Do you have a network of contacts to help you, or offer good advice? What new technology can help you? Or can you get help from others or from people via the Internet? Do you have specific skills (like a second language)? You might find useful opportunities in the following: Networking events, educational classes, training or conferences. Look at your strengths, and ask yourself whether these open up any opportunities – and look at your weaknesses, and ask yourself whether you could open up opportunities by eliminating those weaknesses.

Threats What obstacles do you currently face at work, home or school? Are any of your co-workers competing with you for projects or roles? Is your job (or the demand for the things you do at home or at school) changing? Does changing technology threaten your ability to be successful? Could any of your weaknesses lead to threats?

Activity: Do a SWOT Analysis Use the information in the SWOT Handout to complete a SWOT analysis. After the learners have completed the SWOT analysis have them share the results with the group or in partners.

Can you think of any setbacks you have experienced that affected A setback is something that interrupts or delays something from happening. Setbacks are a natural part of life. Setbacks can affect your self-confidence if you let them. Can you think of any setbacks you have experienced that affected your self-confidence? Have the learners share examples and share some examples of your own to show that everyone experiences setbacks in life.

How to Deal with Setbacks When you have a setback ask yourself the following questions: How did this make me feel? What can I learn by this? Is there a silver lining? Do I need to change something (e.g. a goal) because of this? Can I find anything humorous in this? You should never take life too seriously!

Activity: Dealing with Setbacks Work with a partner and come up with a solution for each of the setbacks you are given.

Tips to Improve Self-Confidence Don't compare yourself to other people. Focus on what you can do, not what you can't do. Write down one small goal each day or each week that you can accomplish. Keep track of your accomplishments in a journal. Think positively.

Activity: 10 Ways to Instantly Build Self-Confidence Read the article “10 Ways to Instantly Build Self-Confidence” and answer the questions that follow.

As you begin to recognize how much you've already achieved – and understand how much potential you have – you will have the confidence to set goals and achieve the things you desire. The more you look for reasons to believe in yourself, the easier it will be to find ways to motivate yourself and become more self-confident.

This Power Point was created by Laubach Literacy Ontario. ​ The resources can be downloaded free of charge at www.laubach-on.ca.  ​  ​ This Employment Ontario project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario and through the Canada-Ontario Job Fund Agreement. All website links were accurate at the time of development. ​ All of the images and clip art used in this Power Point are from Clipart.com and Microsoft Office.com.​