Use These 3 Powerful Phrases To Sound Like A Confident Leader

Confident leaders change their vocabulary and choose to never downplay or second-guess themselves

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We all have leaders whom we admire for some aspect of their personality and leadership style. They have an aura, a presence about them; when they walk into a room and speak, people immediately pay attention, value, and listen their opinions and thoughts. This doesn’t come by accident. It is the result of years of honing and crafting their unique voice and their personal brand as leaders. Stakeholders, teams, and customers eventually come to esteem what these leaders bring to the table and view them as highly credible and trustworthy in their respective industries.

Whether in management or a more senior role such as an executive or start-up entrepreneur, there are some essential elements of a leadership persona that you need to change and refine, including mindset, skills, experience, and your vocabulary, if you desire to be taken seriously and have more opportunities open to you.

Many times, we second guess ourselves, and cause others to lose faith and confidence in us because we unintentionally hurt our chances of success through our words. We over-apologize, refuse to take credit for our career accomplishments, and our words betray uncertainty.

If you’re assuming a leadership role or plan to in the near future, there are three key phrases that need to be ditched from your vocabulary and replaced with more assertive and confident phrases:

“I’m Not Sure, But…”

Saying, “I’m not sure” and leaving the phrase as it is causes you to lose confidence in yourself and foster’s impostor syndrome, where you are more capable than you think you are but you don’t believe it yourself. Often, when someone asks us a question on the spot, we actually do have the answer or at least have the resources to the answer, but we are thrown into a state of alarm and confusion because we are scared of getting it wrong and being embarrassed, which is understandable. The most important thing to remember here is that as a leader, you’re not expected to know everything. You are rarely the subject matter expert in all things. You need to be comfortable in delegating and finding resources that can boost your knowledge and operational expertise, so if a question is posed to you in a meeting for example, and you have a mind blank or don’t know the answer there and then, you can say: “I’m not sure, but I can definitely check and find out for you, and I’ll get back to you by Monday.”

Do you see what’s different with this phrasing? This improved way of saying “I’m not sure” still keeps you in control of the situation and eliminates embarrassment. At the same time, it demonstrates that you are an eager learner, and are self-aware enough to recognize your knowledge gaps and promptly rectify them, while adding a deadline that ensures you can be counted on.

“I Look Forward To Hearing Your Thoughts”

Sometimes when we’re explaining ourselves and want to make sure the other person fully understands a process or concept, we will say, “Does that make sense?” This is another way we cast self-doubt on something we’ve just said. The best way to ensure the other person has understood what you’ve relayed, is to say, “I look forward to hearing your thoughts.” You can also ask, “What are your thoughts on that?” Or, “Let me know if you need further clarification.”

“Here’s My Perspective”

As noted earlier, we tend to over-apologise, especially for matters that do not require apologizing for, such as our presence or for voicing our opinions. This is especially the case for women, who generally tend to have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem than men.

For example, how many times have you noticed yourself saying in a meeting, “Sorry, can I just chime in here?”

Starting off with “Sorry” before announcing that you’d like to share your view, gives you the appearance of being timid. Show your assertiveness by replacing this phrase with, “Here’s my perspective.” Or you could say, “I’d like to chime in here and add…”

Another great way to introduce your perspective and encourage a broader range of opinions is to say, “What if we ___?” This prompts a conversation that opens up further exploration and discussion within your group and welcomes fresh perspectives, including your own.

Subtle changes to your vocabulary will boost your overall confidence, which in turn will reflect in … [+] your performance at work, and cement your personal brand.

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As you grow in your leadership and career development journey, you’ll begin to notice that making these subtle changes to your vocabulary will boost your overall confidence, which in turn will reflect in your performance at work, and cement your personal brand.