What did I learn from previous presentations?

Previous presentations included talks of Dr Tanya Abrahamse (CEO of the South African National Biodiversity Institute) on the "World of work", of Dan Sonnenberg (General Manager of Matrix Plus Consulting) on "Introduction to Business", of Abey Mokgwatsane (Group CEO VWV) on "Building Sustainable business", and that of Fiona McDonald (Independent Management Consulting Professional) on "Networking".

From all of them, there is one thing that I have learnt in order to feel comfortable at the workplace: ‘self-confidence’.

First of all, it is important to do not confuse ‘self-confidence’ with ‘arrogance’. ‘Self-confidence’ goes with humility and the feeling that you know what you are doing or what you want.

Second, ‘self-confidence’ is a key step to improve your networking skills. Self-confidence is about how to start a conversation with people you don’t know, how to be curious about people in a confident but humble manner. With enough ‘self-confidence’, your network can grow as quickly as possible and your chance of success is higher. Self-confidence is a key component of communication. As communication skills are, nowadays, so vital in the world of business, it seems therefore important to build his/her self-confidence.

But the key question remains for me: ‘how can someone build this self-confidence when he/she is by nature shy or when he/she does not trust himself/herself’?