The Confidence Secret I Learned At RADA (A Simple Trick That Changes Everything)

Most people think confidence is something you’re born with… or something you fake until you feel it for real.

But when I attended a training day at RADA Business (part of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London), I learned what it really means to be confident, and it was not what I expected. 

The confidence secret I learned that day changed how I speak, walk into a room, and show up as myself. And now, I want to share it with you.

In this article, I talk about the myths we’ve been taught about confidence, the lesson from RADA that shifted everything for me, and the practical tools for boosting confidence you can use right away.

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The Myth of Confidence

Confidence… I thought I had mastered it in med school. It was all about knowing the answer (or pretending to at least).

Or so I thought.

Like many others, I was taught that knowledge, experience, and authority naturally lead to confidence.

But the problem with this myth is that it causes impostor syndrome, the feeling that you are not knowledgeable, experienced, or qualified enough.

Research shows that over 70% of professionals experience impostor syndrome at some point in their careers. And what do we do when we feel impostor syndrome?

We try to “fake it till we make it.”

We try all the little “tricks” we’re taught, like stand tall, shoulders back, power pose. While these can help you look and feel more confident, they can only get you so far. 

Why?

Faking it by puffing yourself up or performing a role doesn’t make you feel confident deep within. And that’s precisely what I discovered the day I walked into RADA.

A Private Coaching Session At RADA Business

I’ll never forget the moment I stepped inside the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. The building itself carries so much history. You can almost feel the presence of all the great actors who trained there. 

I was there, not for an acting lesson, but for a private coaching session.

I’d been running my business and creating on YouTube for years. But I wanted to step onto bigger stages and speak with more authority.

I knew that meant working on my presence. So I signed up for a 1-1 session with a coach to learn how to do just that.

Now, I’ll be honest: That morning, walking into the room, I was extremely nervous and had no idea what to expect.

But straight away, I realized… I wasn’t here to learn tricks on how to project louder or stand taller. It was here to learn something deeper.

The Exercise That Changed Everything

The very first thing my coach had me do was to stand still. That’s it. No speaking, no gestures, no performance.

It felt deeply uncomfortable because I’m not used to stillness and silence. From my years working as an MD, filling space with words and answers became my norm. And this simple exercise that my coach had me do stripped all of that away.

To fight the urge of needing to speak or “perform,” my coach got me to focus on my breath and feel my feet grounded on the floor. 

By bringing my attention to my body, suddenly, the most minor things began to stand out, and that’s when I realized…when you strip away the performance, what’s left is just… you.

Here’s the science behind it: research shows that mindfulness (anchoring your awareness in your body) reduces anxiety, boosts self-confidence, AND increases how confident others perceive you to be.

That day, I experienced this firsthand. 

Presence Over Performance: A Powerful Lesson

As a doctor, I knew how to perform. I was so used to walking into the exam room, chart in hand, speaking with authority. 

But what I didn’t know was how to be present. Nor did I understand the power presence carries.

I remember one particular exercise during my coaching session where my coach asked me to say a simple line, from a place of groundedness.

This wasn’t easy for me, because I was so used to “projecting” my words. I thought that speaking without performance would make my delivery flat.

But it didn’t… 

By speaking with presence rather than performance, I noticed my words landed differently, and in a good way. They carried more weight, not from trying harder but from being more authentic.

And that’s when it clicked. True confidence comes from presence, not performance.

Reframing Confidence

The next time I walked into a room, I didn’t rush to fill the silence. I paused, took a breath, felt my feet on the floor, and instead of trying to perform confidence, I just was.

People responded differently. They leaned in. They listened more deeply.

Even on camera, the difference was undeniable. I no longer obsessed about how I sounded or looked. I simply spoke from a grounded place. And paradoxically, I came across as more confident than ever.

I hadn’t become an actor. But I had discovered a new blueprint for confidence, and you can too…

3 Confidence Tools You Can Use Today

You don’t need to train at RADA to improve your presence and confidence. Here are three simple tools you can try right now: 

1. Anchor in your body

Before entering a room, taking a call, or walking into a meeting, pause for 5 seconds. Place your feet firmly on the floor, take one deep breath, and soften your shoulders.

Anchoring into your body signals safety and steadiness. And when your body feels safe, your mind catches up, leading to greater clarity.

I now do this before every YouTube video I film. Before I hit record, I close my eyes, inhale deeply, and remind myself: I am here.

2. Use the power of pause

Whenever you’re asked a question, resist the urge to respond immediately. Instead, wait one beat longer than feels natural.

Why?

That pause creates space, signals confidence, and makes people lean in.

3. Shift your focus outward

Whether it’s public speaking, a job interview, or a meeting with our boss, we tend to worry about how we’re coming across, how we sound, and what others think of us.

But when we shift our focus inward and think about how we can connect better, everything changes.

Not only does it take the pressure off you, but it also makes the other person feel seen. And in the end, that’s what presence is about: not proving yourself, but connecting.

Final Thoughts

These simple tools are just the beginning. If you’d like to dive deeper into the confidence secrets I learned at RADA and see how you can start applying them in your own life, watch my full video on YouTube:

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And if you want a little help building rituals that anchor more presence in your everyday life, I’ve got a free resource for you, called The Reset. It’s a totally free 5-day challenge that will boost your confidence, no faking it till you make it required!

• The Reset Challenge – FREE 5-Day Challenge To Reclaim Your Energy, Focus & Mindset
• The WellPlanned Method – Master Your Goals With The WellPlanned Goal Planner
• My Free Class for Health Coaches: How To Build A 6-Figure Health Coaching Business Using One Signature Program
• Dr. Kim on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkimfoster/

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