Like many people, I used to struggle to speak up confidently about my work.
If I didn’t know something with 100% certainty, then I communicated it with a lot of warnings, doubts, and insecurity. I felt I needed to know every little detail about the topics to share my point of view, ideas, or thoughts.
If there was a problem to solve, I usually had difficulty expressing my ideas. And probably, I don’t need to tell you that that wasn’t the best position to be in when I was working as a research scientist, a position that by default requires not only knowledge but being assertive, sharing ideas, and tracing a route for finding solutions.
And I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how important confidence is for job interviews. Or how important it is to communicate our ideas and achievements with assertiveness.
Then, a conversation with a mentor changed everything.
She explained the power of separating confidence from absolute knowledge. So basically, I can speak with confidence even when I was unsure about every detail.
This aha moment transformed my approach. My self-doubt decreased and was replaced by the ability to confidently share my expertise.
The main learning point is:
Being confident when talking about a particular topic and being knowledgeable about that topic isn’t the same thing.
Lina Marieth Hoyos
You can speak confidently and add doubt about what you don’t know. You can speak with confidence even when you don’t know everything about the topic.
Or in other words:
Separate content from confidence ⬅ 🤯
That helped me understand that even if I’m not 100% sure about a topic, it’s still possible to talk about it and act confident while sharing it.
And that completely changed my perspective and helped me relieve my self-doubt and uneasiness.
What about you? Have you struggled to talk confidently about your work? Do you communicate confidently during job interviews?
Do you have any tips for acting confidently?
Add your thoughts in the comments 👇
Newsletter I’m reading
I’ve been enjoying reading Her AI Insider, a newsletter to demystify AI concepts, break down complex topics, and provide a relatable, woman’s perspective on this rapidly evolving field. I love how Erin Stanton is making AI approachable and understandable.
https://heraiinsider.substack.com/
Quote of the week
A hallmark of wisdom is knowing when it’s time to abandon some of your most treasured tools and some of the most cherished parts of your identity – Think Again by Adam Grant.