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There are lots of ways to improve your self-confidence over the long-term but sometimes you need an instant boost. You cant walk into an important work meeting,(or a class at college or a room full of strangers at a party) whilst frantically re-reading a self-help manual, or making a last-minute phone call to your life-coach. So here are ten secrets to boosting your self-confidence in just a few seconds

10 Secrets for Instant Self-Confidence1. Smile

The one-second tip for when youre feeling nervous and unconfident is simply to smile! You dont just smile because you are happy and confident you can smile to make yourself feel better. The act of smiling is so strongly associated with positive feelings that its almost impossible to feel bad while smiling.

Smiling is much more then just a facial expression. The simple act of smiling releases feel-good endorphins, improves circulation to the face, makes you feel good about yourself in general and can definitely increase your self confidence. you will also appear more confident to others while youre smiling.

(5 Easy and Effective Ways to Improve Your Self-Confidence, LovnLivin.com)2. Make eye contact

As well as smiling, meet the eyes of other people in the room. Give them your smile; youll almost certainly get one back, and being smiled at is a great self-confidence boost. Like smiling, eye contact shows people that youre confident. Staring at your shoes or at the table reinforces your feelings of self-doubt and shyness.

This tip is particularly useful for work-related situations make eye contact with interviewers, or with the audience for your presentation:

Eye contact helps take the fear away from the speaker by getting the audience closer to him. Stress is mainly a result of being with the unknown and uncontrollable. Eye contact gives the speaker a picture of the reality that is the audience. It also helps in getting the attention of the audience.

(Confident Eye Contact, Unlimited Confidence)3. Change your inner voice

Most of us have a critical inner voice that tells us were stupid, not good enough, that were too fat, thin, loud, quiet Being able to change that inner voice is key to feeling self-confident on the inside, which will help you project your confidence to the world. Make your inner voice a supportive friend who knows you ful

ly but also recognizes your talents and gifts, and wants you to make the best ofyourself.

You still want to be able to hear the message, so dont make it so chilled and laid back that you never take any notice of it. You can even choose 2, 3 or as manyvoices as you want for different occasions. Your voice should always support yo

u, always be helpful, never aggressive and it never puts you down.

(Shut the Duck Up, Pick the Brain)

4. Forget other peoples standards

Whatever the situation thats causing you a crisis of self-confidence, you can hel

p yourself immeasurably by holding yourself to your own standards alone. Other people have different values from you, and however hard you try, youll never please everyone all of the time. Dont worry that people will think youre too overweight

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, underweight, too feckless, too boring, too frugal, too frivolous hold yourselfto your standards, not some imagined standards belonging to others. And remembe

r that commonly-held values and standards vary from society to society: you donthave to accept them just because the people around you do.

Peoples values define what they want personally, but morals define what the society around those people want for them. Certain behaviors are considered to be des

irable by a given society, while others are considered to be undesirable. For the most part, however, morals are not written in stone, or proclaimed by God above, but instead reflect local sensibilities. Different societies have different ideas about what is acceptable and not acceptable.

(Values and Morals Clarification, MentalHealth.net)

5. Make the most of your appearanceEven if youve only got a minute or two, duck into the bathroom to make sure yourelooking your best. Brushing your hair, giving your face a good wash, retouching

your makeup, straightening your collar, checking youve not got a bit of parsley stuck between your teeth all of these can make the difference between feeling con

fident in your physical appearance and feeling anxious about an imagined flaw.

Perfect your physical appearance: Theres no denying that ones grooming plays a crucial role in building confidence. Although we know whats on the inside is what truly counts, your physical appearance will be the first to create an impression.

(Building Blocks to Self-Confidence, Complete Wellbeing)6. Pray or meditate briefly

If you believe in a higher power, whether God, or another spiritual force, it can be a real boost to self-confidence to say a silent prayer. (You could also med

itate instead of praying.) This helps you to take a step back from your immediate situation, to see the wider picture and to seek help from something or someonegreater than yourself. This is a Christian prayer, but you could write somethin

g similar that fits your own religious beliefs or spiritual tradition:

Dear God, thank you that you love and accept me as I am please help me to do thesame and help me to grow to become the person you want me to be so that my God-

confidence and self-confidence will increase greatlyall for the glory of your name and not mine. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Amen.

(Daily Encounter, Strengthen Your Self-Confidence, Acts International)7. Reframe

If something unexpected happens, its easy to let it knock your fledgling self-confidence. Perhaps you spill your drink on someone, you arrive late for the big meeting because of traffic problems, or someone who you wanted to speak to gives you a cold brush-off. Try to reframe the situation; put it in the best possible light: often, events are only negative because of the meaning we attach to them.

(Tim Brownson, A Daring Adventure)8. Find the next step

Keep your self-confidence up by taking gradual steps forwards, rather than freez

ing when faced with what seems like a giant leap. If youre not sure what to do, look for one simple step that you can take to make progress. That might mean making eye contact at a party, introducing yourself to a stranger, breaking the ice

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in a meeting, or asking a question of your interviewers that shows your knowledge of their industry and company.

Start taking action even if you dont have a clear idea of what needs to be done.Start moving towards your goal. Make corrections later.

(6 Keys to Develop the Action Habit, Illuminated Mind)

9. Speak slowly

An easy tip for both seeming and being more self-confidence is to speak slowly.If you gabble, youll end up feeling worse as you know youre being unclear to youraudience or to the person youre in a conversation with. Speaking slowly gives youthe chance to think about what youre going to say next. If youre giving a talk orpresentation, pause at the end of phrases and sentences to help your audience t

ake in what youve said.

A person in authority, with authority, speaks slowly. It shows confidence. A person who feels that he isnt worth listening to will speak quickly, because he doesnt want to keep others waiting on something not worthy of listening to.

(25 Killer Actions to Boost Self-Confidence, Zen Habits)10. Contribute something

Have you ever sat through an entire class at college or meeting at work withoutsaying a word? Have you had an evening out where friends chatted happily while you sat and stared silently at your drink? Chances are, you werent feeling very self-confident at the time and you probably felt even worse afterwards. Whatever the situation youre in, make an effort to contribute. Even if you dont think you have much to say, your thoughts and perspective are valuable to those around you.

By making an effort to speak up at least once in every group discussion, youll become a better public speaker, more confident in your own thoughts, and recognize

d as a leader by your peers.