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| Still from "The Music Man" (1962), starring Robert Preston |
Can you think of any jobs in which feigning confidence is beneficial for positive results?
Do you think we should be thankful for people who "feign confidence" because, for example, they can inspire other people when results are unsure? Or is feigning confidence a kind of deception that can lead to more problems?
Are there any professions in which a reluctance to feign confidence would be beneficial for everyone involved?
28A: Feigning confidence as a police officer would definitely be beneficial. As a law officer, your job is to protect and serve and to do that you need confidence , especially when dealing with scared citizens in hazardous situations. If you are not confident, you need to at least feign confidence in order to keep order and calm.
ReplyDelete28B: I think it can go either way. As I said before, feigning confidence as a police officer is essential when you are not truly confident so as not to stir panic. But for other jobs, feigning confidence can sometimes mask problems and hazards that you wouldn't see otherwise. Such as product salesmen. They feign that their products are top of the line but don't tell you any of the problems that they've encountered with said product so that they can convince you to spend your money.
28C: Anything in the medical field. If you feign confidence as a doctor or surgeon, where you have to perform dangerous and risky procedures every day, then that could lead to law suits and other things that could put your career at stake.
-Glennon Selke
An honors college student is a hard subject to pin down. As this subject is human, it would be difficult to predict what they might be like. If forced to make a prediction, I do think that the average honors college student will, most likely, have confidence in their own academic abilities. This could be expressed as one thinking they are better than the other, but most honors colleges promote equality among its participants. I do not think an urge to be better than everyone else is healthy for a society nor an individual. This competitive spirit can put a strain on relationships, not to mention the stress that would take over a person's life. I think it would be the most healthy for both parties if instead we promoted a need to better oneself. I believe this attitude will continue to better society and its members.
ReplyDelete-Libby Revel
Libby, it looks like you posted this comment as response to two different question sets by mistake?
DeleteI am very sorry! I had answered this question and it would not let me post and I guess I took the wrong answer off of my document I was using to keep count.
DeleteI work as a delivery expert for our local Domino's and I can confirm that feigning confidence is necessary to be a successful delivery expert. People love being greeted by a positive, confident store representative and will typically give you larger tips than if you are shy or seem the slightest bit negative. I have an overly confident delivery expert persona I put on essentially every day I work, no matter what is actually going on at the store and no matter how much of a disaster it may be, and it has gotten me many large tips and even a promotion. I think confidence eases others minds, they feel comfortable in hearing someone who sounds like everything is all good and fine. This can sometimes be harmful when people start to notice that everything is actually not all good and fine, and people will view you as misleading instead of confident. Careful feigned confidence is key, you never want to be confident in ways that will harm others. Basically, you never want them to find out that your confidence was ever feigned. However, there is also the possibility you can convince yourself that there is actually nothing wrong, and become overconfident. As someone stated previously, that would be particularly dangerous for medical professionals, as they typically need to follow protocols and shouldn't feign confidence towards their patients or colleagues. Political positions would be another profession where you should not feign your confidence, as people will be extremely quick to rip that facade apart and criticize politicians and other political officials for even attempting to have a false sense of confidence about any situation. I think it is okay to feign confidence to an extent.
ReplyDeleteOne job that I think requires confidence, even if it does have an unsure answer, would be anything medical or dealing with health. You need to be confident with your patients so that they can trust you and be a reliable person to turn to for help. Feigning confidence could definitely be beneficial. People always want sure answers that they can count on.
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ReplyDeleteI think that it is important to at least appear confident in any job or position where you are leading or people are looking up to you. It is really hard to lead people if they smell fear on you. If they think you are unsure of yourself, then it will be harder to be an effective leader. However, I think there are issues when feigning too much confidence. You could end up looking overly arrogant, and people might not trust or like you. There are also problems when you say you can do something, when you really can’t. Like several other people mentioned, if you say you can perform a surgery, but you don’t really know what you are doing, things are not going to turn out well for anyone. Like basically everything else, there is a fine line to walk.
ReplyDelete-Michael Draper
There are many jobs in which you must feign confidence. Generally, most fast food or store clerk positions require you to act as if you know what is happening when most of the time, you do not know at all. If you are in a position of authority, such as a superintendent, a CEO, or even the President, if you do not act confident, the people you are controlling will see that lack of confidence and start to either panic or see you as a terrible leader. Either way that is not good for your position.
ReplyDeleteI do think we should be thankful for those who fake their confidence, but they and we should know when to stop hiding behind the mask and admit that they do not understand what is going on or what will happen. I find figures of authority acknowledging that they are in the dark about what is next to come rather endearing and very human. We are not all-knowing God figures. It feels humbling sometimes to admit that you do not know.
Yes, of course, there are professions where faking would not be beneficial! Probably something like raw statistics or a research scientist, because if you dish out some steaming false confidence and it turns out to be wrong, everything could go sour. That is not at all worth it in return for a moment's peace of mind.
ReplyDeleteA. I think that a President should feign confidence, especially in times of uncertainty. If President Trump went on the national news in a panic saying that there is no cure, we are running low on supplies, and that he was not confident that America would be able to recover, the whole country would be in a greater state of panic. Instead, in his news appearances, he always keeps his cool and reassures us that he has full confidence in the scientist creating a cure and that soon life will go back to normal.
B. My mother always said, “fake it ‘till you make it”. I believe that in times it is good to have someone who feigns confidence because they can help inspire a group of people and create new ideas. On the contrary, someone who feigns an excess amount of confidence can be harmful. If the President of the university was unsure of an answer regarding coronavirus prevention and instead of finding out the right answer, she publicly announced that as long as everyone wears a mask classes can be taught like normal. This announcement could lead to lawsuits filed by students and staff who caught the virus at school under the Presidents only wear a mask protocol.
C. I think a doctor should not feign confidence about the result of a diagnosis. If I were to get cancer, I would hope the doctor would be honest about my results and how it will affect my life. A false sense of hope can be devastating to everyone around, so in some circumstances, it is better to admit that the future is uncertain rather than give a false sense of certainty.
-Emily Ford
I agree with you Emily, it is very important that President Trump does feign confidence. If Trump went on television in a panic as you stated, it would definitely frighten many Americans. Americans need his confidence that we are going to make it through this tough time.
Delete-Anna Herd
DeleteA salesman needs to be able to have confidence or at least feign confidence in their product. If a salesman is not confident in his product, no one will purchase it because he is unsure of it. If people are not convinced that it is the best product ever they are not going to buy it.
ReplyDeleteWe should be thankful for some people that feign confidence even when they are unsure. Take first responders for example. They need to act confident and sure of their decisions to keep you calm during an emergency. If they are not confident, or at least not feigning confidence, people are most likely going to panic and act crazy.
It is important that an engineer never feigns confidence. An engineer should never have to feign confidence. If he or she is unsure of their creation they should tell you for your own safety and the safety of others.
People in most jobs can benefit from confidence. Anybody in a place of leadership should be able to act confident in front of the people they are leading in order to do an effective job. If you appear more confident, people will react better around you. There is nothing wrong with being confident in yourself and your work as long as no one can get hurt as a result. For example, if you are selling a product that could potentially be harmful to others and tell people it will help them, you are doing a bad thing. Ultimately, false confidence is only bad if that false confidence can lead to harm for anyone. If a medical professional was falsely confident, it could lead to harm for their patients. If someone was in charge of leading a group of people through obstacles that could not lead to injury for the people they are leading, there is nothing wrong with false confidence.
ReplyDeleteI believe that feigning confidence is not necessarily a bad thing under certain circumstances. There are some jobs and careers that require feigning confidence at all times while others do not need it in any capacity. Someone who faces potential customers for his employer needs to have a certain level of confidence without coming off as prideful. They need to give those shopping their product or service peace of mind that everything they are saying is true and the purchasing process will be smooth. On the flip side, someone who does not face customers and operates within a different vicinity of labor does not necessarily need to show great amounts of confidence as long as they are doing whatever task has been placed in their responsibility to the best of their ability and knowledge. One broad field of work, it is simply necessary in order to perform well and the other, not so much. – Preston Milligan
ReplyDeleteI think that there is a line that needs to be tread in this situation. Sometimes it would be better to feign confidence such as if you are making a sales pitch. Another time feigning confidence could be helpful would be in a job interview. Other times it could be harmful to feign confidence such as a doctor talking about a new procedure. Another example of why feigning confidence could have negative consequences could be in something as simple as giving directions.
ReplyDelete-Riley Knickmeyer
Yes, I believe we should be thankful for people who feign confidence. The reality is not everyone is born to be a leader in the sense of having a following of people to influence. It is not a bad thing, just an essential point of life; for there to be leaders, there must be people to follow them. Out human nature is always to look up to someone or something. No one looks up to the slobby dressed, hunched shoulder, quiet man. People want a clean cut, polished individual to lead them. However, if we were to take a closer look at these two men, we might see that the first is better than the latter for whatever reason. Unfortunately, in our society, the way you look portrays to those around you the level of confidence you have in yourself. It says you are sure of yourself and what you stand for.
ReplyDeleteWe have all heard the saying “fake it till’ you make it”. Could there be truth in that? I have listened to several interviews from celebrities, politicians, and professional athletes who have said that initially going into their profession they had absolutely no idea what they were doing. Put simply, they were winging it until they got it figured out. There is a study in psychology about power posing before important events. You do a pose, such as a superhero pose, for two minutes, and it is proven to improve your confidence and performance. So yes, feigning confidence can be a positive thing.
I can think of more jobs where feigning confidence is beneficial than harmful. For example: a coach, a sales representative, a lawyer, a teacher, a politician, etc. However, please don’t “fake it till’ you make it” if you’re going to be a doctor. I would prefer my life to be in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing.
One of my dream jobs involved being a cruise director or some type of entertainer (It's really as broad as it gets). Therefore, feigning confidence in entertaining situations is very important. This is important because it helps bring strangers together to have a good time and it almost begs people to let loose and have fun. I went on a Carnival cruise during New Years, and I am beyond thankful for the cruise director that made it all happen. He was very personable and he was able to bring complete strangers together in friendship. In my opinion, feigning confidence is important in any job. Having confidence can help other people's mental state in dramatic fashion.
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