Walk tall, stand proud, keep your chin up. These are just a few of the popular sayings people use to encourage someone to make the right impression. What these sayings show is how important our demeanour and non verbal communication is in communicating who we are too the world. If you are rich or posh enough your family may have enrolled you on elocution lessons as a kid, which would have taught you how to carry yourself with class and confidence to those around you. However, I imagine that the majority of you reading did (like me) not get the benefits of lessons in etiquette. Of course you do not have to speak like Prince Charles to convey confidence to the world but body language and tone of voice is important and here is why.

It has been said that first impressions count and there is a lot of truth behind this . You might be interested to know that within just 5 seconds of meeting someone we form a judgement that affects our behaviour. It certainly is not easy getting noticed in our busy over crowded modern worlds. With an ever increasingly competitive job market making the right impression can make or break your chances of having a successful interview or conducting a business deal.

If you want proof of this just watch an episode of Dragons Den and see how the most successful entrants to the den are the ones who can put on a polished performance. This is because as well as having an attractive product they also appear to be the sort of person that an investor wants to do business with. To be a success in life we need to learn how to sell ourselves .

So where to start well first of all lets look at what not to do. First of all confidence is a form of strength which is why it is so attractive to people. With that in mind you should try to conduct your behaviour in a way that avoids you looking shy or weak. Examples of this type of body language include Hanging your head and slumping your shoulders forward, avoiding eye contact. These kinds of actions give the impression that you do not believe in yourself. Now imagine you are going for a job interview bearing in mind what we mentioned earlier about the need to sell yourself. It does not take a genius to work out that you can't expect people to believe in you as a 'investment' if the investment does not believe in itself. Likewise in your personal life people pick up on signals straight away. So what should you be thinking of doing then?

Well keeping your head held high is always a confident gesture as is standing with your shoulders thrust back. Perhaps the most important of all is eye contact. Maintaining eye contact when speaking and listening creates a sense of intimacy purpose and honesty between yourself and the other person. Indeed one recent study asked a group of investors what they looked for in a successful pitch. Ranked among the most looked for things was you guessed it eye contact.

In your day to day life it is important to maintain your air of confidence at all times so that it becomes a natural aspect of your personality. This applies in all situations including stressful ones. It is said that you see the measure of someone when their back is to the wall and I personally agree with that statement 100%. In stressful situations some people begin to panic and choose to engage in activities such as blaming others and finger pointing; rather than looking for a solution to the problem in a rational and composed way. Indeed if you want to be a respected and effective leader then the way you deal with stress is what will decide whether you are cut out for it. By choosing he former over the latter you are displaying weakness and a lack of confidence. By making a conscious effort to remain calm under pressure then you are far more likely to project the right vibes to others.

Even if your outward appearance is not a true reflection of what is going on inside, you will still communicate the right signals to inspire those around you. That is the amazing thing about confident body language. With a simple gesture you can inspire confidence and admiration in those around you.