Vanya Wryter Consulting Services

3 Quick Tips to Appear More Confident

How confident do you feel? Do you picture yourself as a self-assured Boss who is unafraid to take on challenges, marching to the beat of a rockstar song? Are you just like the Instagram influencer whose perfect poses garner thousands of likes? Or do you wish you had that level of confidence?

Confidence can be achieved. You may not feel that confidence flowing inside right away, but with these three quick tips, you’ll appear more confident, and that’s a first step!

1. Pose to occupy space and show confidence

To appear more confident, expand yourself. When you’re standing, don’t hunch over, arms folded, or lean into a wall like you’re trying to disappear. Instead, stand up straight, one leg slightly out, or one arm in a triangle shape. You get the idea. Take up a little more space, and keep your eyes ahead, not to the floor.

Your posture is important. If you are walking, take bigger steps with back straight, and eyes forward. Once again, the idea is to take up space. When sitting down, you can put an arm or both arms onto the armrest.

Make sure you show your hands when sitting, standing, or walking. Hiding your hands or standing with hands folded suggests shyness.

For ideas about poses that make you look confident, check out YouTube videos or tips from Instagram influencers on how to pose for the camera.

2. Speak with authority

The words you choose and how quickly you say them can make you appear confident or apologetic. Speak with authority by checking for some expressions that you may be using in your everyday speech.

For example, don’t start sentences with, “I think.” Whatever you want to say, say it without those two words. So instead of saying, “I think that’s the best solution,” jump right in with, “That’s the best solution.”

Another expression to avoid is starting your sentence with “sorry.” Instead of saying, “Sorry I’m late,” try, “Thank you for waiting.” And instead of, “Sorry I forgot your name,” try, “I’m working on remembering names better. What was yours again?”

Another way to appear confident is to slow your speech. Don’t rush your sentences as if the world will end in two minutes. Also, well timed pauses and moments of silence can carry a heavy punch. For example, following “hmm” with silence as if you are thinking before you speak can give you an appearance of authority.

3. Use tonality to convey confidence

Your tonality influences how confident you sound to others. Speak a little more loudly, without yelling, to give your voice more strength. Speaking too softly or mumbling makes you appear timid and fearful. Open your mouth wider and you’ll sound louder already.

Avoid speaking with an upward inflection, as if you are constantly asking questions. If your sentences sound like questions, then people think you aren’t certain about what you are saying. When you speak with a downward inflection, you voice carries more certainty and conviction.

If you aren’t certain how you sound, record yourself speaking. If you haven’t heard yourself speaking before, it may be a little uncomfortable at first, like meeting a twin you didn’t know you had. However, listening to your tonality and how you speak is a way to quickly improve.

Summary

You can appear more confident with three quick steps. Start with your posture. Taking up more space makes you look more self assured. Speaking more slowly, timing your pauses, and using a downward inflection will give your voice more authority and conviction.

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to make sure you don’t miss the next post!

Skills Insight of the Day #7 – Singing

Should singing be a job skill requirement?

It’s a few days before Christmas and Christmas songs are everywhere for the next few weeks. When I was in elementary school, we had to sing Christmas carols in December and Happy Birthday throughout the year. I still sing – I mean lip sync – the birthday song.

When I was a kid, I didn’t know I would be learning a life skill when I learned the words to Happy Birthday. I’ve sung it a thousand times by now at celebrations for family members, friends, and classmates, and I’ve heard it at my own birthday. When school was finished, I sang it at work for coworkers.

Singing is a useful skill to have. If you’re on a road trip, it brightens the mood when you and your coworkers can sing to some tunes. If your first job is babysitting, singing to children is a job saver. Humming to tunes while at your desk (back when working at the office was popular pre-COVID) was also useful. The coworker who hummed seemed pleasant and approachable.

At one point, I had an Asian boss, and if you’re familiar with karaoke and Asian culture, you know what’s next. I found myself listening to coworkers and the boss blasting karaoke songs in a room one birthday party evening.

I discovered that my coworkers (whether they were Asian or not) sounded like professional singers, maybe because of the electronic equipment that enhanced your voice. More likely they sounded pro because they karaoke a lot. They flipped through the song list with the familiarity of someone looking for dishes in their own kitchen.

It was karaoke again when friends from one of my business groups chose singing to be our skill of choice for a talent show. So I found myself lip syncing again, hiding my ugly truth from everyone. An Asian who can’t sing but pretends to is probably the most awkward kind of Asian. I’ve heard Asian friends who love karaoke and aren’t ashamed to sing off key. That’s not me.

Over a lifetime, I’ve perfected the skill of pretending to sing. When you’re in a small group singing Happy Birthday, the ability to lip sync is tested to the extreme. The secret is to stand next to someone with a booming voice. (Like a little fish swimming under the protection of a giant fish.)

Back to the original question. Should singing be a job skill requirement? Maybe, maybe not. It does have its advantages. At the very least, you should be able to sing Happy Birthday.

What do you think about singing as a life skill? Share your thoughts in the comments.

4 Tips to Stay Productive During the Pandemic

How productive have you been this year? Did you accomplish all that you set out to accomplish in 2020? Or were you like many others who tossed out your original game plan and settled for fewer expectations when the pandemic hit? It’s been a challenging year but there are a few things you can do to keep yourself focused during the coming months. Here are four tips to stay productive during the pandemic.

1. Set Daily Goals

Setting daily goals is important, especially if you lost your job, suffered a business loss, or feel depressed these days. Setting at least one major goal, or three doable goals for each day will take your mind off the surrounding negativity and give you a sense of purpose.

The goals can be simple. They must be doable. For example, change from pajamas into something you would want to be photographed wearing. Clean up the kitchen. Finish a Netflix series. Apply for one job.

Finishing some episodes of a TV series won’t save the world or pay the bills, but if you’re feeling down, it feels good to check something off a to-do list. Applying for a job would be more productive job-wise, but if you’ve been job searching for months, one more job application could feel like an Everest climb.

2. Establish a Schedule

Establish a schedule for the weekdays and the weekends. What hours of the day will you set aside for work or searching for work? What times will you set aside for housework, exercise, and fun time?

If you can, schedule time for personal development to learn a new skill or language. Absolutely put aside a few minutes a day to reflect on your accomplishments and what you’re grateful for. When you take the time to reflect on positive things, your productivity will increase.

3. Watch the Time

It’s easy to lose yourself in pointless activities just to pass the time. Pointless activities include playing video games, watching back-to-back streaming programs, or wasting time on social media.

Set a goal: you’ll watch one episode of a series and then go for a walk. You’ll play video games for 30 minutes and then cross something off your to-do list. When you watch how much time you’re spending on what you do, your productivity will increase.

4. Reward Yourself

Remember to reward yourself whenever you accomplish a task or keep to your schedule. Rewarding yourself is important for your mental health and positivity, especially during these times when there is so much to get stressed out about in the news.

Rewards can be simple. Reach out and call a friend. Watch a movie for family night. Have a chocolate (or a handful if you were super ambitious and got a lot done).

Summary

Staying productive during the pandemic is important for keeping positive. There is a lot that you could be negative about in these times. To maintain focus, set goals and a schedule, watch your time, and reward yourself.

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to make sure you don’t miss the next post!

How to Dress for Remote Work – Fashion Trends for Pandemic Life

If you’re wearing pajamas while sitting at your office, you might not be dreaming – you’re likely awake and remote working in 2020. After all, if your coworkers and boss can’t see you, do you need to dress up? Wouldn’t you rather be comfortable and practical in your fashion choices for remote work? This shift in priorities during pandemic life has created some memorable fashion trends to look back on years from now.

What used to be one of the bigger tasks of the day is no longer a big task. I no longer waste time or energy on planning what I need to wear to the office: no need to bring an extra sweater for that team meeting in a freezing room… no need to plan out which days to wear which blazers or sweaters so I don’t wear the same thing two days in a row … no need to bring an extra pair of shoes to wear after I take off my clunky snow boots. Fashion has become much simpler.

I roll out of bed, put on my comfy sweater or hoodie and loose-fitting pants, comb my hair, and I’m good to go. Are other workers as casual when they work from home? How are others dressing for remote work? Let’s take a look at some fashion trends for work and fun during the pandemic.

Should there be a dress code for remote work?

As an entrepreneur, I’m used to wearing what I like, but companies are talking about having a dress code for remote work. As working from home (WFH) continues into 2021, companies are talking about implementing official, gender neutral policies for what you wear during work hours.

Wearing professional clothes while WFH helps with a mindset shift as you mentally switch from being at home to being at work. If you live with family or roommates, your clothes also signal to them that you’re in work mode.

Just how much is the mindset shift determined by what you wear? A survey found that people who dressed business professional, business casual, or smart casual felt 80% productive throughout the day. Those who wore gym clothes felt 70% productive throughout the workday. And those who rolled out of bed to work in their pajamas only felt 50% productive throughout the day.

Dressing up, even to work from home, seems to be the best option to maximize productivity. However, a case could be made for dressing more casually as well. Some workers may have to look after a child or two while working. And friends have told me how much more productive they have become by doing housework during their breaks instead of crossword puzzles in the staffroom.

The answer to what to wear seems to depend on your pandemic lifestyle. Also, it might not matter as much if your coworkers can’t see you!

How to dress for virtual meetings

Whether your meetings are scheduled or you’re on call, it’s a good idea to dress up a little for virtual meetings when working remotely. How much you dress up depends on who you’re meeting with.

When networking or meeting new clients, I may wear a blazer or a fancy sweater. When meeting with team members, I sometimes wear my good hoodie (not the faded one with some holes). In the summer, team members showed up in a t-shirt or even a tank top! The formality depends on your workplace.

During the pandemic, there is the expectation that your coworkers are seeing a more personal side of you. I’ve seen family members walk across the room in the background. Family pets have made an appearance. A friend said her coworkers are now familiar with her husband’s superhero t-shirts as he crosses the screen in their tiny, shared home office.

Many are also familiar with dressing from the waist up for meetings. If you’ve done this, then you know the drill. Business formal or business casual from the waist up. It looks impressive but remember not to get up if you’re just wearing jogging pants or PJ bottoms. If I need to get up, I slide to the side and off screen before I stand up. (Yes, I am guilty of blazer and blouse plus pajama pants.)

Something I never considered as part of my wardrobe before the pandemic is my background. Your coworkers get a peek into one part of your home during a virtual meeting. I’ve learned to accessorize my look with an assortment of virtual backgrounds that I project on my green screen. I have daytime rooms for day meetings and nighttime rooms for meetings after dark. I even have seasonal rooms. At the moment, I have a Christmas-themed living room. People have complimented me on my backgrounds.

The handy thing about having eye-popping or realistic rooms is people tend to look at your background more than you. I can dress down and my ultra modern kitchen background gets attention and makes me look more professional.

Fashion trends during the pandemic

During the pandemic, people are not really going anywhere. No more vacations, big weekend birthday parties, sports events, concerts, or dancing at night clubs. If you’re really in the mood, you could spend a half hour dressing up to go get your groceries for the week. The effort seems a bit of a waste, however.

Practical, casual clothing choices have become the fashion trend, not just at the home office when remote working, but also when you go out. If you bought a fancy outfit to wear to the next party this year, it likely spent 2020 in your closet.

Depending on your tolerance for germs, you may have a simple or complex routine for outings. When you get home, you may want to wash your clothes to ensure you’re COVID free. The regular use of hot water and detergent probably deters you from wearing expensive, handwash items. And don’t forget part of your face could be covered by a mask.

When I go out, I see people who are dressed for comfort. Baggy and loose instead of body hugging and tight. Practical and comfortable instead of expensive and fancy. I haven’t seen people in suits lately. Post pandemic, casual clothes could remain the fashion trend for work, home, and going out.

Summary

Work and home life easily merge into each other during the pandemic. Dressing for remote work could mean dressing up or being comfortable and casual. With lockdowns and restrictions affecting our social lives, fashion trends have become more relaxed and practical and this trend may continue into the new year.

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to make sure you don’t miss the next post!

Skills Insight of the Day #6 – Teamwork and Connecting

It’s December, but this year isn’t finishing with company Christmas parties at a hotel or restaurant. Instead, companies are opting for virtual parties in which you hang out with your team but you order your own food to eat at home. I get it – connecting and team building are an important part of company culture, but do you think Zoom parties are as effective for socializing and networking?

Pre-pandemic, you could at least escape to the bathroom, walk around the hotel halls for some fresh air, or hop from table to table after dinner. With virtual meetings, however, there is no escape. Your camera is watching you. Your coworkers can see you if they are looking at your little space on the screen. You are a creature on display in your little rectangle of a cage.

Teamwork and communication are important soft skills for the workplace, but can you build those as effectively online? This year, one company wants their workers from the same department to all buy their dinner from the same chain restaurant and then expense the meal. In a sense, you are all eating together in the same restaurant. Sort of. You’re just eating at home, but at work. Sort of.

Only one person can speak at a time. Whether you are in the main room or breakout rooms, only one person speaks. You can’t start a conversation with the person next to you at the table while others are talking. You can’t wander off to get seconds or dessert or get a breath of fresh air.

Maybe you’ll get a screen shot of everyone sitting and smiling at the camera at the end of the evening. It’s not quite the same as funny group poses at the photo booth. Or photos as you stand in a group, arms over each other’s shoulders, in front of the Christmas tree.

But you can play games such as guess the Christmas song from the emojis on the screen. You can listen as everyone takes turns giving their reflections about the past year. Where would they want to go for their next vacation? What’s their favourite Christmas tradition? Funnily enough, when asked what they wanted for 2021, everyone at the Zoom party unanimously said, “An end to the pandemic.”

If this is like the company Christmas party you had this year, what did you think? Can you connect with your coworkers the same way as in person? Comment below!