Commit to what you are expressing

1. Adjust your body language.
2. Learn to handle friendly teasing.
3. Tell your own embarrassing stories.
4. Let go of managing people's opinions of you.

By simply adjusting your body language, you can improve both how you see yourself (thus, improving your self-confidence) and how other people see you.

Give everyone in your audience at least 3 seconds of continuous eye contact before moving to the next person. This is usually enough to make people feel included in a conversation.

The '3-second rule' is a great and simple way to engage your audience and convey a sense of ease with it, even when you're feeling nervous.

... and gesticulate while you're speaking.

Hiding your hands and palms usually signals to your audience that you are hiding something, thus making you look less trustworthy.

Using your hands also makes your stories and arguments seem more intriguing.

• Take up more space: this signals that you are not afraid to take control on a physical level and it shows increased confidence.
• Laugh with the group: if you laugh with it, it goes away in most cases.
• Double down on the joke: amplifying the joke puts you in control of the situation, shows your human side and spreads the laughter.

• Show confident body language, especially if the story is self-deprecating.
• Use high impact words, packed with emotions, to draw people's attention.
• Embody the characters of the story (act like they would and match their voice and accent).

99% of all awkward situations are made worse because you are trying to be perceived in a certain way by the others.

Stop managing people's opinions of you. Your confidence should not be based on those outside perceptions, but in recognizing that you are not perfect and liking yourself anyway.