--- title: What Are the 3 Quick and Easy Ways to Boost Self-confidence? description: “Trash talk” works canonical: https://time.com/3431015/3-ways-to-boost-confidence/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-29T04:01:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T07:56:06.240Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 3 Quick and Easy Ways to Boost Self-confidence og:description: “Trash talk” works og:url: https://time.com/3431015/3-ways-to-boost-confidence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3610cd355e07ebc/6986a58255a8597372a82d00/146271938.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3467 og:image:height: 1950 og:image:alt: 146271938 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 3 Quick and Easy Ways to Boost Self-confidence twitter:description: “Trash talk” works twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3610cd355e07ebc/6986a58255a8597372a82d00/146271938.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Are the 3 Quick and Easy Ways to Boost Self-confidence? > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Sep 29, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  Body language plays an important role in confidence Body language plays an important role in confidence Image Source—Getty Images/Image Source by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Sep 29, 2014 4:01 AM UTC As a general rule, you’re better off [being moderately overconfident](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-confident-should-you-be-at-work-today). Overconfidence is [performance-enhancing](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-very-confident-not-confident-enough) and [increases productivity](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-overconfidence-increase-productivity). But what about when you’re not feeling so high on yourself? What can quickly and easily boost your self-esteem? **1) Look At Your Resume** Reviewing your credentials can remind you how talented you are and induce a “reverse stereotype threat” that boosts confidence. Via [Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416596178/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- And: --- > “” --- **2) Stand Up Straight** Your mind moves you, but how you move also affects your mind. Recent research in the area of embodied cognition confirms we can improve [how we think and behave by changing how we sit, stand and move](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/is-improving-your-life-as-easy-as-changing-ho/). The military makes soldiers stand up straight for a reason: there’s an [implicit connection between posture and power](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-connection-between-posture-and-pow) that has been demonstrated [time and time again.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-posture-the-key-to-power) Want to [increase confidence](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-quickly-and-easily-increase-confidence)? Make yourself [tougher](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-a-quick-and-easy-way-to-make-yourself-t)? Write a better [self-evaluation](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-easily-improve-your-ability-to-write-a)? [Impress](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-boost-personal-power-through-body) others? Stand up straight. **3) Talk To Yourself** Might seem crazy but [it works](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/10-ways-talking-like-youre-insane-can-improve/). Talking to yourself out loud can [make you smarter](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-thinking-aloud-make-you-smarter), [improve your memory](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-mumbling-to-yourself-improve-your-memory), [help you focus](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-two-proven-tricks-for-focusing-your) and even [increase athletic performance](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-talking-to-yourself-improve-performance). What should you say to increase confidence? Be [positive](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/05/can-talking-to-yourself-improve-performance/). And when you have doubts about your ability, you should [doubt your doubts](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/01/how-to-quickly-and-easily-feel-more-confident/). Self-talk is one of the skills that [helped Navy SEAL candidates pass](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/12/what-four-psychological-techniques-did-the-go/) their grueling “Hell Week.” And talking to yourself isn’t the only type of talking that can boost confidence. Seeing your opponent as inferior [improves your own performance as well](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-trash-talk-actually-improve-our-performan). So, yes, “Trash talk” works. **Are You Confident About Confidence?** Is confidence really that vital? People prefer others [who are prideful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-people-like-others-who-are-prideful). Self-esteem [can be sexy](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-self-esteem-sexy). Some research shows [people prefer confidence to actual expertise](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/11/do-we-prefer-confidence-or-expertise/). Confidence can be enough to get you made leader of a group — even if you don’t know what you’re talking about: Via [The Invisible Gorilla: How Our Intuitions Deceive Us](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307459667/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)**_._** **Join more than 100,000 readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). Related posts: [10 ways science explains why James Bond is so irresistible to women](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/10-ways-science-explains-why-james-bond-is-so/) [Are hope and despair both self-fulfilling prophecies?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/11/hope-despair-prophecies/) [What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3431015/3-ways-to-boost-confidence/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3431015/3-ways-to-boost-confidence/"},"headline":"What Are the 3 Quick and Easy Ways to Boost Self-confidence?","datePublished":"2014-09-29T04:01:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T07:56:06.240Z","description":"“Trash talk” works","url":"https://time.com/3431015/3-ways-to-boost-confidence/","keywords":["Psychology","advice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3610cd355e07ebc/6986a58255a8597372a82d00/146271938.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3610cd355e07ebc/6986a58255a8597372a82d00/146271938.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"146271938","caption":"146271938","creditText":"Image Source—Getty Images/Image Source","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3431015/3-ways-to-boost-confidence/","name":"What Are the 3 Quick and Easy Ways to Boost Self-confidence?"}}]}] ```