Too scared to speak up? How to be more confident

Confidence is hardwired into us from birth. The environment of where we grew up in and how we were raised affects our confidence.

Academic self-confidence is 50% nature and 50% nurture. It is important that we have a strong grasp of who we are and what we can be because the perception of ourselves greatly contributes to our self-esteem.

Men and women have differences in biological makeups and it also involves their difference in confidence. Women have a biological tendency to seek acceptance and avoid conflict, while men tend to take more risks under pressure. This shows that women might appear to lack inner confidence.

However, despite being perceived as such, studies show that if both given a scientific quiz, men and women provide the exact same results whether they underestimate themselves or not.