As a fairly well-educated individual (I have a BA in journalism and an MA in linguistics), people find it hard to believe that I have a hard time discussing topics in linguistics, after all, linguistics is not just what I studied in school, it has also been a lifelong passion. I cannot explain why, but I get tongue-tied any time I talk to anyone (friend or stranger) about some of the finer points of linguistics. Even though I am confident in my knowledge of the subject, I have never been confident enough in myself to talk about it.
At any rate, blogging has changed this for me. I just recently started a blog on a whim and I couldn't be happier. Being able to speak freely on-line without being in front of people has really helped me to improve my self-confidence. It has enabled me to find my voice. Amazingly, I am now able to speak face-to-face with people about linguistics much more confidently. I am not even getting tongue-tied anymore; which by the way, is not such a great thing for a linguist.
In addition to helping me find my voice, another important aspect of blogging to improve self-confidence is that you really are interacting with people. When you post about a particular topic, people can respond with their thoughts on that topic. I have had people share things they have observed that follow along the lines of what I have written about. This type of affirmation contributes in a huge way to the improvement of self-confidence.
When readers ask questions about things I have posted and I am able to respond to them, this too helps improve my self-confidence. Also, readers have suggested topics that I have not covered that fall under the subject of linguistics, and this lets me know they are interested in what I am writing about and want to be involved - another confidence booster.
I was truly surprised to find that one of the benefits of blogging is improved self-confidence. This is not what I expected out of my blogging experience; however, now that I know, I am thrilled and I would highly recommend to anyone who lacks self-confidence that they start a blog. As a matter of fact, blogging could even be used as a teaching tool in classrooms to improve students' self-confidence.
