
Meeting New People
Meeting people for the first time can be a daunting experience.
Looking Confident
Body Language
When we meet new people first impressions are formed from the moment we set eyes on them. Your posture, facial expression, eye contact, and gestures can speak as loud as, over even louder than, the words that you say.
Here are some tips on how to try and control your body language so that you can make yourself appear more confident than you actually feel. But, always remember if you try and control your body language too much it will end up looking fake.
Face It
Your face is the most expressive part of your body. When we are nervous our face might take on a stiff, tense expression. People can mininterperated this for a sign that you are upset, angry, disinterested or disapproving.
To help stop people coming to this impression you can make a big effort to smile. This will soften your face and make you look more welcoming, friendly and confident to others – even if you don’t feel so. If smiling makes you feel fake then you can always just try to relax your facial muscles.

Your Eyes
Our eyes are a good guide as to how we are feeling. When we are in a situation that we feel uncomfortable with we often tend to look away from the person we are speaking to. So, if you are wanting to look confident or calm then it is good to look at the people you are with, and don't be afraid to look around you from time to time. Try not to let yourself shy away into a comfort zone of not looking at people.

Hands
When we are feeling under confident and nervous the way we use our hands can show this. So, if you are trying to look confident try and think about the way you are moving them. Try not wring your hands together or fidget with the sleeves of your clothing etc. A lot of people who are nervous when talking to people use the trick of getting a paperclip, or something like that which is small, so they can subtly fidget with that without anyone knowing.
Posture
When we are in a situation that we lack confidence our body looks the way that we feel. When we feel like all we want to do is hide we start to hunch our shoulders and keep our heads down.

Get Confident Online BBC Course.