In this way, you appear self-confident at important appointments/negotiations

Important appointments, as is the case with negotiations and applications, often give people a queasy feeling, stage fright or even fear. This complicates the sovereign appearance that is necessary to achieve the goal. Luckily, there are several tips and actions that will help make a confident appearance a reality. These tips include an orderly daily routine on the day in question, good planning of your own concerns and absolute awareness of the situation.

Forming a basis: How to achieve self-confidence through an orderly day

Order on the outside brings order in the world of thoughts. Just imagine a daily routine where you wake up late, don’t have time for breakfast, are unfocused at work and perform poorly, and on top of that you have to keep that important appointment afterwards. With this process, it is all too obvious why the appointment will be difficult. This can be explained at various levels:

Biological view/medical view: Stress causes the release of adrenaline and noradrenaline, which, as neurotransmitters, initiate processes that inhibit thought processes.
Psychological view: A series of many negative experiences in one day increasingly leads to pessimism, which, according to various models – e.g. the law of attraction – is reflected in the actual occurrence of negative results.
Hygienic point of view: Apparently, a stressful day has a hygienic effect on the outside through sweaty hands and armpits, which is directly noticeable at the appointment.

Ideally, plan the day as relaxed as possible. This in no way means that you should avoid your duties. In all likelihood this is not even possible. But relax your daily habits where possible: for example, talk to your partner about whether he or she will pick up the children from school this time. Also, avoid foods that put a strain on the digestive tract, which is the case with fatty foods. Also, do everything that day with a more generous schedule: get up earlier, catch a train earlier, and be there earlier. Ideally, you should choose a place that you are familiar with for the appointment – if the choice is yours. In In your familiar environment, your subconscious plays an important role, giving you a feeling of security that you won’t be able to identify at first – but it will be there nonetheless.

Prepare concerns: Planning the meeting is the be-all and end-all

If you prepare yourself optimally for the issue, you will compensate for the lack of routine and automatically demonstrate considerable confidence when performing.

Surely you’ve heard of these people who, despite making an excellent first impression, still couldn’t convince? The reason for this is that in the end it is the technical aspects that decide. You will be confronted with decisions that are based on common sense, especially with bank consultants, heads of human resources departments, high-ranking officials and many other groups of people who hold management positions orientate. Emotional aspects are excluded, the technical ones remain. How do you convince at this point?

Since one of the most likely scenarios is a loan application – be it for your own home, for a business start-up, for the dream car or for other reasons – here are tips geared towards this situation:

Carefully consider credit requirements and present a financing plan!
Ideally, provide collateral as reserves (money, real estate, etc.) in order to inspire confidence in the bank advisor!
Every statement – even private information – carries weight! Only say things that allow positive conclusions to be drawn about your solvency and reliability.
Prepare in advance: Go through the conversation before it takes place and in company. Have good counters ready for counter-arguments!
Do you have all the required documents and evidence that even go beyond the requirements with you? They show organizational talent and transparency.

With slight modifications, the same advice can also be applied to situations such as job interviews, investor meetings, lectures or the like.
Incidentally, anyone who is struggling with an all-round serious appearance when it comes to finances can first test and play through loan inquiries and the like online with companies such as Smava GmbH. It is not uncommon for loans to be possible in this way without any personal discussions and on very good terms.

Absolute mindfulness in the situation: “read” the other person

NLP is probably more in demand in negotiation and business areas than any other psychological model at the moment. Despite the criticism, the benefits are immense.

When you read a person, it means that you can deduce important information from their behavior – no matter how small gestures and facial expressions. The tonality of the language and reactions to certain occurrences also play an important role in studying the other person. Interestingly, some behavior patterns are found to be innate; in fact, a great many. This means, for example, that the vast majority of people get the characteristic frown lines between their eyebrows when they are angry.

There are now several models that allow for a remarkably detailed analysis of people. Although this usually requires a certain amount of practice, it unfolds its full effect. One of these models is Neurolinguistic Programming, or NLP for short. Business NLP has become increasingly important in recent years. Numerous aspects are included here, which enable a precise analysis of the dialogue partners and actions tailored to them. Because of its efficiency, NLP has even been accused of being a manipulation method. But whatever is behind it: You can use it for your goals if you deal with it!

Experience will tell

Over time – the more frequently important appointments are kept – one’s own performances improve. This is due to the essential point that with experience comes a routine and serenity that doesn’t exist at first because it can’t exist. But with the tips mentioned, the deficits of a lack of experience can be compensated:

Good preparation replaces routine
The calm design of the day gives serenity
An overall well-organized performance provides the knowledge that a confident performance is possible

Because in the end it’s always like this: The more adequately you organize things, the more self-confident you will be! The decision as to which way to go and how the meeting ends is therefore always up to you personally.