How do I sound more confident?

the cydonian — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 02:29:28 -0800

Short question: how do I start sounding more confident? I've been a deskbound coder for the last two years, and have been transitioning into a people-oriented consultant role in the past few months. Among other things, I'm to guide users and colleagues in using my work, and this is where I seem to be faltering a lot.

The feedback I get is that I apparently don't convey a sense of confidence when I'm interacting with users and colleagues; I mumble a lot, fidget, and generally talk quite fast, without really answering the concerns raised. My question, ye Metafilterers, is this: how do I start sounding more confident in semi-formal, and perhaps, formal, conversations? How do you boost your confidence levels in general at your workplace?

Might add here that I've given public speeches and oratories before (been in the university debates team), so I've always thought I could articulate myself well. It's just now, when I'm asked to talk about the application domain, that I seem to falter a lot.

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How do I sound more confident?