How to Walk with Confidence | Do's and Don'ts
HOW TO WALK WITH CONFIDENCE
“Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk
I'm a woman's man: no time to talk
Got the wings of heaven on my shoes
I'm a dancin' man and I just can't lose”
The walk. It’s one of the first ways to make an impression on someone, and you want to make it good, right?
Here are some of the immediate Advantages in walking correctly:
- Postural training - which can really help you in the long run as bad posture can wreak havoc over the years on your body.
- Attention grabbing - sure, you can grab attention walking improperly but it’s usually for all the wrong reasons. You wanna be a Buff Dude, not just a Dude.
- Mental wellness - With a confident stride you just feel better. Now keep in mind you don’t have to overdo the walk and feel goofy, but just enough where you feel strong, confident and ready to take on the world.
- And lastly it sets you apart from the normies, which is always nice.
So let’s go over the do’s and the do-not’s of walking with confidence.
DO:
- Chest Up, Shoulders Back and Back Straight - Don’t cover them up, show off those chesticles with pride. Pec popping optional. Back straight with your chest up and shoulders back is one of the main signs of confidence, so doing this one is a must. But remember not to overdue this one or you’ll be the stick-up-his-ass-dude. Come on, you know who we’re talking about. [show stick up his ass dude]
DO NOT:
- Slouch - In addition to bad posture, which could lead to health problems down the road, slouching shows a lack of confidence and usually sets off a chain reaction of ‘do nots’ when it comes to walking such as shoulders forward, back hunched and chest pointed towards the ground. So no slouching. Don’t become an Egor, chest up, back straight!
DO:
- Eyes Up - Keeping your eyes up is a sign of confidence and shows you aren't afraid to make eye contact with people walking in the opposite direction. And don’t stare em down or quickly dart your eyes away, if you happen to make eye contact, give em a smile, nod and a good morning, good day or good evening depending on the time.
DO NOT:
- Eyes Down - keeping your eyes down is usually a sign you are scared and don’t want to interact or engage in conversation with anything except your shoes. And hey, truthfully not all of us feel like interacting all the time. But try and keep your eyes forward as much as you can, as keeping them down for long periods of time could be habit forming, and bad habits die hard.
DO:
- Hands Relaxed - keeping your hands out in the open indicates confidence and shows people you have nothing to hide. You do have nothing to hide, don’t you? Also, don’t clench your fists, you’ll look like you wanna fight someone, struggling to hold in a fart or can’t wait to tell someone you’re a vegan.
DO NOT:
- Hands in Pockets - putting your hands in your pockets encourages slouching in addition to making you look nervous, which is no good. Quit playing pocket pool and take those hands out and let them sway side to side, in perfect stride with your Buff Dudes pride.
DO:
- Walk Confident - Walk with purpose, like you know where you want to go and how to get there. Confidence is a part of your character and you have to not only talk the talk but also walk the walk. Look at the animal kingdom, you don’t see a lion, bear or silverback gorilla looking insecure. They know they’re the baddest animals around and you should too. But remember, confident not cocky.
DO NOT:
- Quick, Nervous Walk - Alice in Wonderland. What’s the first thing that comes to mind? No, drugs wasn’t the answer. What I was thinking of was the White Rabbit. And what was he known for? It was his quick, nervous shuffle as he constantly attempted to avoid Alice. He displayed a major lack of confidence in addition to avoiding another golden rule: If you’re not 15 minutes early, you’re late. The nervous shuffle wasn’t a good look for him, and it’s not a good look for you - even if you’re late, late, for a very important date.
Famous Walks:
Let’s go over some famous walks. Walks so legendary they deserve a place in the walking hall of fame.
- Stone Cold Stomp - the Mr. Steal Your Girl walk. You’ve shotgunned a couple cold ones, had a mean bag of spicy beef jerky and now you’re a predator on the prowl. It also helps if you’re at least 200 pounds. It’s kind of hard to pull this one off if you’re a buck twenty soaking wet but hey - with the right amount of confidence anything is possible. Just be warned, if you choose to walk with the Stone Cold Strut you’re leaving yourself open for possible wrestling rivalries. [show someone sneak up and KO Stone Cold - “as god as my witness, that man is broken in half!”]
- John Wayne Walk - slow and steady. You’re a scene stealer and you cut through the crowd like a hot knife through butter. Time is on your side and the duke has arrived. Either that or you just gotta take a dump. This walk could kind of go either way.
- The Billi Strut - This one has a high risk, high reward factor. Walk this confident and fail and you may never live it down. Walk this confident and succeed and, well, it’s time to rest the walking crown firmly atop your head. You’re a fookin’ confidence walking LEGEND.
- The Moonwalk - You’re so damn cool you don’t even know where you’re going. Hell, you can’t even SEE where you’re going. But you know that wherever you arrive, you’ll be the life of the party. This is walking on expert mode and only the best may apply.
Walks to Avoid:
You don’t want people to cross the street once they see you headed their way, right? Well, that could be due to the fact you’re using a walk that isn’t famous, it’s infamous. What are some walks to avoid?
- FIshhooking. Head forward, leading the way - this one looks like you’ve got a fishhook in your mouth and you’re being pulled in. Or like your head is trying to escape your body. Slow down, no one should ever be in that much of a rush.
- I.L.S. - ILS, or invisible lat syndrome. It basically looks like you’re holding two invisible t.v.’s under your arms. Commonly seen in the gym by dudes wearing spaghetti string tank tops. This one is a good example of going beyond mere confidence and duck walking into the over confidence zone.
- Shyguy Shuffle - I can almost hear the mountain dew sloshing in your backpack and the cheetos crumbs squirting out your neck beard. Confidence, dammit! Remember, head parallel to the ground. And no pocket pool. Hands out and relaxed at your sides.
- The Gunslinger - This isn’t 1865. Skip the showdown at the OK Corral walk and push those hips back, pilgrim.
- The Skipper - Wow. The skipper. You either just got laid, or you’re about to kill someone. That’s basically all we gotta say about that one.
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