Confidence boosting special

Feeling good about yourself on the inside will make you feel great on the outside. You can also add to the internal changes you're making by deliberately looking and acting more confident. If you add extra zing to the way you come across, people will respond to you more positively - and that in turn will then make you feel even better about yourself!

To begin with, feel good about your physical appearance.

1. Don't make comparisons with others - accept yourself. In particular, don't compare yourself with models, celebrities and anyone who has their photos in the papers - they all get airbrushed so what you see is not reality!
2. Of course be proactive in looking good. But only change what is healthy for you to change; going over the top with, for example, starvation diets or extreme cosmetic surgery is a sign you need to work at being more comfortable with whom you are.
3. Being actively kind to your body will help you feel better about it. Indulging in sensual activities such as dance, massage - and loving sex - will work wonders for your body confidence.
4. Remember that after the first ten seconds, most people won't judge you on the way you look. If your personality shines through, you will make a good impression and people will respond positively to you.
5. If in any situation you find yourself feeling bad about the way you look, use this quick strategy. Remember a time when you felt really confident in your appearance, then take a deep breath and as you let it out, let yourself feel good.

Then add in confident body language - to make yourself seem confident even when you're not.

1. Stand tall. A confident posture is one with head held high and shoulders back. Place your feet about a foot's length apart so that you're well balanced. Keep eye contact with the other person.
2. Look happy. A positive expression will not only give the impression of confidence and make you feel better about yourself, it will make you approachable, and make people want to be with you.
3. Work to lose the nervous habits that signal a lack of confidence. Get a trusted friend or colleague to tell you one thing you do that makes you seem nervous - fidgeting with jewellery, saying 'you know' all the time. Then work to reduce that.
4. Be confident enough to take up space. Don't shrink into a corner, but allow yourself to take centre stage with broad gestures and a clear, definite voice tone.
5. Make sure you are taking your share of any conversation - not grabbing attention but talking equally along with others. So in a twosome you should be talking roughly 50 per cent of the time, in a threesome roughly 33 per cent and so on.

Finally, put the icing on the cake by dressing confidently.

1. Don't hide inside your clothes, choosing too-big sizes because you hate your figure. Dress gurus suggest that whatever size you are, outlining your shape will make a more confident - and so more effective statement.
2. Yes, black is the new black. But brighter colours make a statement that you are happy to be noticed because you know you look good.
3. In work situations, wear whatever fits with the office culture (jeans, skirt, suit) so you're accepted by your colleagues. But always dress slightly above your level, with the best clothes you can afford, to make the statement that you're worth it.
4. Have your own individual take on styling so that you're not slavishly following fashion. Develop a signature element that marks you out - wonderful earrings, a classy scarf or a signature scent.
5. If choosing between a conservative look and a stunning one, resist the temptation to play it safe. Dress to turn heads and you will - which in itself will boost your self-esteem.
   
   
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