Have you ever felt nervous in front of a crowd? How about in a situation where they expect you to be a leader?
Many people lack the confidence to believe that they belong in front of a group, especially a group that expects leadership of them.
Unfortunately for these people, leadership skills and confidence in front of a group are key elements of becoming successful in life. Many opportunities for success financially, socially or otherwise, come from having charisma.
There are many ways to build self-confidence, and subsequently your charisma, but which method is most worthy of your time?
Our belief is that martial arts is the best answer to this question. Martial arts are not only one of the best ways to develop the aforementioned qualities, but they provide a perfect focal point for any other skills you desire as well.
The reason a martial arts school is such an effective place to develop confidence and leadership is because we provide you with a belt-based ranking system that educates you on many martial arts concepts as you advance, and after a certain rank is obtained, you then have the opportunity to teach classes as an assistant instructor. Your role is simply to teach all the things you have learned since your first day to the new students.
It’s a perfect situation where you are teaching something you are clearly more experienced in to a group of people who are interested in hearing what you have to say. Discipline and respect for the instructor is also something the students pledge at the beginning of each class by reciting the school’s creed, so you will never have to worry about being disrespected by a student.
Here is some paraphrased martial arts knowledge on leadership and public speaking from Master Farhad Dordar:
Many students have different initial impressions of martial arts. Some students may be intimidated at the prospect of becoming a martial artist, and this why being able to speak well is so important for instructors.
Everyone gets nervous when they think of speaking in front of a crowd. Make it your goal to learn how to speak effectively. Once you have set your goal to become an effective public speaker, think positively and believe in your ability to succeed. Confidence is important. By changing the way you think, you can change your life. Belief creates the ability to improve, and belief and ability improve with practice. Take any opportunity you can to talk in front of a group.
Preparation will help you to be more confident. In order to speak, you need something to say. Don’t worry about memorizing what you want to say word for word. It creates more stress and discomfort if you forget what comes next in a speech by relying on memorization, because you won’t know where to go next. We want to sound like our speeches come from the heart, and that we are passionate about the subject. So what is the best way to prepare?
• Research your topic and dwell on it until you become passionate about it.
• Write ideas down and note what you have learned about the topic so you have a rough idea of what to talk about.
• Work on truly understanding the topic, because this increases your belief in yourself while discussing it.
• Practice elements of your speech in casual conversation with fellow instructors or friends. The more natural it becomes to talk about a topic, the easier it is to present it to a group.
• Make adjustments to your posture in front of a mirror while pretending to give a speech. Practice, practice, practice!
Remember that while giving a speech, you need to relax. Monitor your speech and ensure that you are not speaking too quickly or too slowly. Project your voice to grab attention. If you can show the class that you are excited about your topic and confident speaking about it, then they will pay closer attention and become interested in what you are saying.
So, don’t fail to acknowledge the perfect environment that a dojo creates for developing these kinds of skills. With all of our promotional offers going on throughout the year, you must be confident enough to at least give it a try, no?
