As a business owner, you’ll need to overcome certain uncomfortable moments in order to further your success. If you’re shy, have trouble connecting with new people, and fear speaking in public, you’re severely limiting your potential. By overcoming these hurdles, you can open doors to opportunity you may have otherwise missed.
Learn to Take a Compliment
Receiving compliments sounds great until it actually happens. Many of us will babble until we find a self-deprecating response rendering the compliment meaningless.
According to Acknowledgment Works, 7 out of 10 people feel embarrassed or uncomfortable when others compliment or recognize them. We may feel inadequate if we don’t see ourselves or our performance as positively as the individual complimenting us, leading to an awkward dissonance.
Next time you’re complemented, try this strategy:
- Let the other person finish their statement.
- Take a breath.
- Thank them with a genuine smile.
- Let the conversation move on.
Embrace Public Speaking
Public speaking is one of society’s most common fears, but the ability to publicly speak is crucial to success as an entrepreneur. Whether you’re pitching an idea to a board of investors or you’re a guest speaker for a marketing class, speaking with clarity and confidence is essential to successful public speaking.
You can get over your fear of public speaking by making a few small changes to your strategy:
- Outline the important parts of your speech, but don’t memorize it line for line.
- Remind yourself that everyone in the audience wants to see you succeed – they’re not your enemies.
- Hold yourself with confidence.
Wake Up Early
We’re at our peak mental capacity during the early morning hours, but most of us waste this potential. You can become a morning person if you want to, and doing so can have an unbelievable impact on your productivity throughout the day.
Learning to wake up early may take time. Start by moving your alarm clock somewhere away from your bed, which requires you to physically walk across the room and turn it off. Furthermore, you can start waking up earlier by setting your alarm just five minutes earlier each day than the day before – you’ll hardly notice the difference initially, but over time it can result in significant saved time.
Accept Constructive Criticism
Accepting our flaws from a perspective other than our own can be difficult for anyone, however constructive criticism is necessary to succeed in certain areas of our lives.
No, you don’t have to give credence to every cross comment made about yourself or your job performance, but constructive criticism from your mentors, bosses, and leaders can help you significantly improve your performance on the job.
Defeat your immediate urge to become defensive when you receive criticism. Instead, ask questions to improve your understanding of the criticism, and use the information you learn to improve your performance.
Give Constructive Criticism
Depending on your personality, you may not give constructive criticism well for many reasons. Some of us get angry when we see poor performance in our employees, causing us to fly off the handle and give them a reason not to trust our feedback. Alternatively, some of us wish to maintain the “good guy” image as a leader in the workplace, fearing rejection by our employees if they take our criticism poorly.
When you give feedback to your team, you don’t have to be cruel to get the point across or sheepish to maintain your friendly image. Instead, use direct lines like “What you’re doing could be improved. Let’s talk about what we can do to help you better serve our team in your role.” Phrases like these are direct and your employee or team member will have little reason to get defensive because of your feedback – instead, they’ll be more likely to respond positively and make the changes you discussed.
What are some uncomfortable moments you’ve overcome to improve yourself as an entrepreneur? Let us know in the comments below!
