Three Tips For Becoming More Confident In Class

Norah Nowarah | Toronto, Canada Do your hands shake during class presentations? Do you look to your feet once the teacher asks a question? Do you wish you could share your opinion with no thought as to how you look or who is looking at you? I, including many others, have. Currently in my senior year of high school, I can provide you with some tips that I have noticed helped me in developing confidence within a classroom environment. 1. Get to Know Your Teacher Developing a relationship with your teacher can be very beneficial. Being comfortable speaking to them will go a long way throughout the semester. From my experience, once you are friends with the teacher, it becomes significantly easier to get questions answered, conduct class presentations, and participate in class discussions. For instance, if you are presenting in front of the class and are very anxious, you can look to your teacher and feel at ease (as they will provide a sense of ‘everything is going to be okay’). 2. Get to Know Your Peers While this may be difficult, often times it takes nothing more than an introduction to spark a friendship. There is always an opportunity to socialize in every classroom, take the opportunity to make small talk, whether that be reading school or the weather outside. Once you become comfortable around them, you become comfortable expressing yourself in front of everyone else. Once again, they are there to provide moral support, making you more confident in return. 3. Push Yourself to Participate in Class As I have previously discussed in my article “What I Have Learned About Speaking Up”, it pays to make yourself participate in class. While it may be difficult to do so at that very moment, you will be very proud of yourself afterwards. In addition, the more you try to participate, the more comfortable you will become in sharing your opinions, ultimately making you more confident. Feel free to read my article on speaking up for a more thorough explanation of my experiences. While these tips may be easier said than done, you always have the opportunity to try. We constantly look for areas of self-improvement. Simply giving these tips a go indicates that you are indeed looking to boost your confidence in class and are capable of doing just that.