confidenceiskey200-blog

[confidenceiskey200-blog]

What would we have done differently?

Overall, we think that our workshop on Confidence went very well. Since we were the first ones to present, we didn’t really know what to expect. We did not have model to go off of. We were setting the standard for the rest of the presentations and we think that we set the bar fairly high.

A major thing that we wish we had done differently was to actually rehearse the presentation first. We discussed it thoroughly, but did not actually practice it out loud to get the timing down. If we had done this, our timing would have been better. Instead of just having Ben demonstrate each power pose, we should have done all of them together as a class. By standing in these poses, students would have felt the effect of it much better and it would have taken up more time.

We also think that we should have made the first activity shorter and included a second activity. By including two activities, you can put content in the middle to break up the monotony at the beginning and the end.

We also should have included more content and used more real life examples. After seeing the other groups present, we felt that this would have been great for our workshop. Using references, such as To Kill a Mockingbird or Tyler’s personal experience with club volleyball, was a great idea and really helped to understand the material better.

[confidenceiskey200-blog]

Reflection

When the students returned, we reviewed what happened and what they thought about the activity. Some of the reflection questions that we asked included:

1.Did you find this activity engaging?

2.Do you feel more confident now?

3.Will you continue to do the power poses for 2 minutes every day?

4.What can the class take from the workshops we did?

5.How they think they can portray more confidence in their everyday lives

What we learned about running this workshop:

As leaders in a leadership class, we learned more about what it takes to keep a group of college students entertained for 50 minutes. This is something that is actually harder than we thought it would be. When we started off, we had a set plan of how every little detail would be timed out. As soon as Ben started talking about the power poses, we knew we were going to have to adjust our timing. That is why we only had the class do one power pose and Ben demonstrated the rest because we felt that it wa more important that the class have ample time to complete the main activity. We knew that we enjoyed class the most when we were up, moving around, and even when we could leave because no one likes being lectured at even for a short period of time.

Ashley Pipari’s Answers to Reflection Questions

1. Did you find this activity engaging? - The activity took me out of my comfort zone in a fun way, which is something I would not normally be willing to do.

2. Do you feel more confident now? - Definitely more confident now that I know I can break out of my safe, comfort zone.

3. Will you continue to do the power poses for 2 minutes every day? - I will super-woman pose until the day I die.

4. What can you take from the workshop we did? - Confidence requires self-belief and breaking out of your comfort zone. It can be done, but you have to want to be confident in order for it to happen.

5. How do you think you can portray more confidence in your everyday life? - My daily motto for attacking the day with confidence is "look good, feel good, do good."

 It was important to us to get actual feedback from our classmates because we wanted to make sure they were benefiting from the activity and not just going through the motions. If they did not learn something from the activity while having some fun, then we would not have been successful as a group .

[confidenceiskey200-blog]

Activity

The point of this activity is to get students out of their comfort zone. Being confident requires people to do something that they would not normally do. We told the students to split up into small groups of 3 or 4 people. The next step was then to go around campus and film different group members completing the following list of activities. Each person must participate and one person is not allowed to do all of the activities. The students had 20 minutes to complete as many as possible, but they had to be back in class by 11:55am.

Tasks:

1.Ask someone for their phone number

2.Take a picture with someone at the bus stop

3.Ask to apply for a job somewhere on Main Street

4.Call someone you don’t know and ask how their day is

5.Do the silliest dance you can think of in the middle of the Green

(whole group must participate in this one)

6.Do 5 cartwheels in a row

7.Sing your favorite song

8.High five 3 random people

9.Try to lick your elbow for 15 seconds

10.Do your best evil laugh as loud as you can in the middle of Gore

Students were encouraged to show their confidence by creating their own tasks and recording them to show the rest of the class.

This activity was designed to have little direction because we wanted students to also think outside of the box. Each activity was specific, but we did not tell them to go about doing it. As we were picking different activities we were also thinking of how as a group we would complete these tasks. For example, for the activity where you have to call a random person and ask how their day is, does not say that it cannot be someone else in your group knows. We learned that Morgan talks to her mom every morning, so if we had to do this activity that is who we decided we would call. Being confident is not just a mindset; it could also be having the courage to speak up and share your idea even if you did not want to perform a specific task.

[confidenceiskey200-blog]

Power Poses

In our presentation we wanted to start it off differently than what people probably expected. Ben found a video that was all about the different power poses (pictured below) that you should start your day with because it is said that it will not only improve your confidence, but improve your outlook on the day. Everybody has those days where they wake up and they just know it is going to be a rough day that they have to push through, but maybe if they had a daily routine that involved daily power poses it could make their day a little better.

   To start with we originally wanted the class to stand up and go through all the power poses with us just so we could set a nice relaxed tone for the rest of our presentation, but due to time we had to only pick a few. The first one we did was the most basic, the Wonder Woman pose. This pose requires you to stand with your legs about shoulder width apart creating a nice firm base. Then you place both hands on your hips, while holding your head high. It is important to stand straight and tall because no one feels good about themselves if they are slouched over and not trying. From here we asked everyone to just take a few moments and while in this stance to visualize themselves finishing all the tasks they needed to do throughout the day. When we did this, we understood it would be silly and that most people probably would not take it seriously, but we did it anyway in hopes that it would help at least one person in the room that day.

   After having the class try one power pose, Ben briefly demonstrated the rest of them. We included the pictures of the power poses on our worksheet so that everyone could take them home and use them in case they forgot Ben’s demonstration. My personal favorite was the bold and confident stance because it is a stance that most people use throughout the day and it is one I can relate to. This activity was to show that body language plays a big role in being confident. When you show up to a job interview with your arms crossed, you look very defensive and closed off. When you walk in standing tall, hands at your sides you just seem more approachable and confident in what your are about to do.

   A big part of body language and showing confidence through how you stand has a lot to do with the saying, “Fake it, Till You Make It”. No one is going to be feeling great 100% of the time, but if you can do these power poses in the morning and really try at them it could just change the outlook on your day and being more confident can lead you to be more successful that day than you thought possible.

[confidenceiskey200-blog]

What is Confidence?

    Everyday from a young age we are told to be confident, but what does that actually mean? Has anyone ever told you the definition or is it something that is embedded in us that we just naturally learn from the people around us.  Well let us tell you about what it actually means? Merriam Webster defines it as “the quality or state of being certain” or “faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way.”

   If we are not taught what confidence is, how do we know how to be confident? The only way we learn to be confident is watching the adults around us. We watch our parents go to work everyday, our older siblings go to school, and even the kids around us. We learn that each person reacts differently in all situations and that some people are better than others in a certain situation.

   The first time I remember being truly confident in something was when I first started playing sports as a child. It did not matter what is was whether is was soccer, softball I just had a feeling that I never wanted to go away. I knew I was good at playing sports and it made me feel good to succeed. For other people that same feeling could come from playing an instrument, or writing, or singing, or anything that makes them feel good as a person. In school we are taught to be nice to our friends and to share, but we never learn how to personally help ourselves. I think that if we are taught at a young age to be confident in trying new activities or speaking out that as we grow up it will be something that is normal instead of something that only happens once in awhile.

   Confidence is different for every person and in our presentation we wanted to show that no matter what your personality is, if you are introvert, or extrovert you can step out of your comfort zone and be confident all the time.