Six Behaviors To Increase Your Confidence: Emily Jaenson (Transcript)

Here is the transcript and summary of Emily Jaenson’s talk titled “Six Behaviors To Increase Your Confidence” at TEDxReno conference.

In this TEDx talk, Emily Jaenson shares six behaviors that can help others boost their confidence. The speaker shares stories and examples to illustrate these behaviors, which include counting oneself in, giving yourself 20 seconds of courage, taking a seat at the table, cheering for other people’s success, using past successes to bolster confidence, and celebrating achievements.

Listen to the audio version here:

TRANSCRIPT:

When I was in high school, my mom asked me to order a pizza for the family on a Friday night. I looked up the phone number in the phone book and promptly handed the phone to my older brother to place the call. I was too shy to talk to a stranger.

Fast forward to college at the University of Illinois, my first time away from my small town. I spent the first several weeks crying in my dorm room, too homesick to partake in early freshman partying. The one frat party I did attend was so disappointing, I wanted to trade in my books, abandon my major and head back home to my small town.

The confident behaviors I needed to pursue this dream were not yet available, and when I looked around at the confident students walking around me around campus, heads held high, pursuing a dream that they had set out to achieve, I wanted that kind of confidence too. But my behaviors did not align with these confident attitudes.

Crying in my dorm room, shying away from social engagement, not showing up for class because I was worried others were smarter than me, these were not going to lead me to achieve my goal, so all I knew is that I needed to change.