{"id":344,"date":"2025-03-18T17:01:41","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T17:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/?p=344"},"modified":"2025-03-18T17:04:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T17:04:36","slug":"confidence-comes-from-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/spanish-blog\/confidence-comes-from-knowledge\/","title":{"rendered":"Confidence comes from knowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"344\" class=\"elementor elementor-344\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f81e89a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f81e89a\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-26fdb65 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"26fdb65\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/jakob-owens-j2HIhj-iwy0-unsplash.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-346\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/jakob-owens-j2HIhj-iwy0-unsplash.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/jakob-owens-j2HIhj-iwy0-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/jakob-owens-j2HIhj-iwy0-unsplash-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c5a350 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2c5a350\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>By knowledge, I don\u2019t mean academic knowledge about different topics\u2014although that kind of knowledge can help\u2014but self-knowledge, relational knowledge, outside knowledge, and intercultural knowledge when conversing in a non-native language.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-151fdbb elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"151fdbb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How do you build confidence?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9b6c9c0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"9b6c9c0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Stage one: self-knowledge\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-736ebb9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"736ebb9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>As always, we should start with ourselves. We should begin looking within and building from where we are at. Sometimes, we are at low self-esteem, lack of confidence, social anxiety, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/spanish-blog\/how-to-reduce-foreign-language-anxiety\/\">fear of speaking in public or in a foreign language<\/a>, and that is ok.<\/p><p>It doesn\u2019t really matter where our starting point is or if our path to fluent and confident expression seems to be carpeted with blocks, obstacles and challenges. Nobody has the same starting line.<\/p><p>What is essential, though, is knowing what your starting point looks like, accepting and embracing your roadblocks so that you can shamelessly seek the tools and practices that will eventually allow you to move past them.<\/p><p>Self-knowledge is the foundation upon which confidence can exist.<\/p><p>Start by exploring the thoughts that cross your mind when you feel self-conscious and pay attention to the situations that lead you to feel that way.\u00a0<\/p><ul><li>What\u2019s the context?<\/li><li>What are your thoughts?<\/li><li>What are your feelings, and how do they manifest in your body?<\/li><li>What is the ultimate response\/reaction to that situation?<\/li><\/ul><p>These are good questions to start with. Think of a situation where you felt self-conscious, awkward, nervous, and ill at ease. Play back all the details and write about them. The answers are your signposts to stop, breathe and implement the tools you will learn to shift self-consciousness into confidence, your discomfort into ease.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e2b03a8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e2b03a8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Stage two: relational knowledge<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0ad5329 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0ad5329\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>However,\u00a0self-confidence doesn\u2019t exist in a vacuum, which is why we need to have relational knowledge. Relational knowledge refers to the ability to identify how concepts are related to each other.\u00a0<\/p><p>Once you have armed yourself with a deep understanding of the situations that erode your confidence, it\u2019s time to look at\u00a0how these situations are connected and what meaning you infer from them.\u00a0<\/p><p>For example, why does being asked to repeat what you said makes you nervous? What meaning you are giving to that question? What kind of connection are you making in your mind?<\/p><p>Or, why does being corrected make you feel self-conscious? Why does making mistakes make you go into a panic? Or why, when someone doesn\u2019t understand your perfectly correct sentence, do you feel like you are the only one to blame because your accent or communication skills are (or must be) poor?<\/p><p>All these situations are relational. They exist because there is a relationship between:<\/p><ul><li>the other person\u2019s reaction and your interpretation of it.\u00a0<\/li><li>your verbal expression and the other person\u2019s interpretation of it.<\/li><li>interpretations and life experiences, personal and cultural beliefs, biases, etc.<\/li><\/ul><p>Also, there is a connection that happens at a more\u00a0subtle level.<\/p><p>For example, the person you talk to makes you feel nervous, maybe because of their stance or tone of voice. Perhaps the place you are in feels uncomfortable: there is too much noise or is too quiet, or the lightning\u2026 Possibly, the events of the day chipped away at your energetic levels. Maybe you had an argument earlier in the day, and you are still tense, or maybe you are simply incubating a cold, and you feel low.\u00a0<\/p><p>Look, all those are just examples. The point is that\u00a0a myriad of circumstances impact every situation and need to be acknowledged and welcomed into the conversation.\u00a0<\/p><p>Confidence is accepting and trusting yourself and having a sense of control in those different situations. How can you trust yourself in those challenging situations? By having your back, that is, by bringing radical honesty into the conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8958e0c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8958e0c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Stage three: intercultural knowledge<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-82ede3c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"82ede3c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Finally, the third stage in building confidence comes from intercultural knowledge. This phase is twofold.\u00a0<\/p><p>On the one hand, you are going to look within again, but with the\u00a0social, and cultural lens. How do your values, views of the world, and traditions impact your words and how you interpret other persons\u2019 words?\u00a0<\/p><p>On the other hand, you have to allow\u00a0space for empathy and unknowing. Why? Empathy to put yourself in the other person\u2019s shoes and try to understand where this person is reacting the way they do in this situation. Now, bring the spotlight on them. What do you know about their culture, and how may that culture impact their words and the way they interpret yours?<\/p><p><b>CASE STUDY<\/b><\/p><p>For example, let\u2019s say that you are a native English speaker speaking in Spanish to a group of native Spanish speakers in a country whose official language is English. You don\u2019t know each other yet. Maybe you strike up a conversation with one of these native Spanish speakers in Spanish, and they respond to you in English. Or they look surprised and say, \u201cOh, you speak Spanish?\u201d.<\/p><p>You interpret that as that your Spanish isn\u2019t very good or that they don\u2019t want to speak in Spanish with you, keeping an outsider. Maybe you think that their surprise masks a negative view of native English speakers and, therefore, of you.<\/p><p>The result of your interpretations is that you feel unwelcomed and shut down a little; maybe you continue to speak in English, knowing that has created a distance between you two.<\/p><h4>How can empathy shift things?<\/h4><p>Maybe if you put yourself in the other person\u2019s shoes and question why this person may have responded in the way they did?\u00a0<\/p><p>Let\u2019s look at the\u00a0facts:\u00a0They are native Spanish speakers in an English-speaking country.\u00a0<\/p><p>Now, time to question\u00a0what may be going on for them:<\/p><p>Maybe they have been told not to speak in Spanish, that their Spanish is not welcome in the country. Perhaps they feel resentment, frustration, or deep sadness at losing their Spanish since they came into the English-speaking country many years ago and were only allowed to speak in English.<\/p><p>So, how\u00a0would you feel in those circumstances?\u00a0What would you like the other person to do? This is\u00a0empathy.<\/p><p>Now, what do I mean by\u00a0allowing space for unknowing? Well, maybe you can\u2019t figure out the reason behind their response. Perhaps you don\u2019t know much about their culture or nothing at all. Allowing space for not knowing begets questioning. And questioning cannot be judgmental.\u00a0<\/p><p>Maybe this space of not knowing why this person responded in that way means that you don\u2019t make any interpretations or, at least, not negative ones, or don\u2019t take it personally. Maybe you ask more questions: \u201c<i>Why did you switch to English?<\/i>\u201c \u201c<i>do you prefer to speak in English or Spanish?<\/i>\u201c \u00a0or \u201cW<i>hy are you surprised that I speak Spanish?<\/i>\u201d Keeps asking questions in a non-threatening way! Know more about the other person.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6bd45b5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6bd45b5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How can a non-native speaker be confident?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0fb62d5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0fb62d5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>With\u00a0<b>knowledge<\/b>\u00a0combined with\u00a0<b>empathy<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0<b>breathing<\/b>\u00a0space.<\/p><p>Knowledge of the language, of course, but you know as well as I do that having all the grammar and vocabulary knowledge in the world is not going to make you more confident if you don\u2019t\u00a0<b>tackle the DEEP reasons why you lack confidence<\/b>.<\/p><p><b>Understand yourself,<\/b>\u00a0your inner critic, your inner narrative, your bias and your cultural influence. Then,<b>\u00a0shift the focus on the other person<\/b>\u00a0and have a look at the context in which this conversation is taking place. The more knowledge you have about the way everything is interconnected and about the different cultures and views of the world, the more confident you can be in your expression.<\/p><p>Why? Everything is interconnected, and therefore, everything impacts your expression, perception, and interpretation, as well as those of the other person.\u00a0<b>Knowing this, and being familiar with as many interpretations and impacting factors as possible, builds up your sense of self-efficacy. And this, my friend, is what confidence is all about.<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b1466b6 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"b1466b6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/confidence-spanish\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">WORK WITH ME 1:1 CONFIDENCE COACHING<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By knowledge, I don\u2019t mean academic knowledge about different topics\u2014although that kind of knowledge can help\u2014but self-knowledge, relational knowledge, outside knowledge, and intercultural knowledge when conversing in a non-native language. [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,3,20,18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-344","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-authenticity","7":"category-spanish-blog","8":"category-confidence","9":"category-psychology","10":"czr-hentry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":349,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344\/revisions\/349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaortegagarcia.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}