We’ve all heard the saying, “Fake it until you make it.” Personally, I’ve always thought that’s how people lead themselves into bankruptcy because they are faking being millionaires without the bucks to pay the bills that do eventually arrive. Still, there’s a certain sense of optimism to the saying that sounds better than reality usually does.

I used a variation on this theme just the other day.  I had a business call that I was a bit nervous about, and I was looking for a way to bolster my confidence. It was 9am, so wine courage seemed a bit out of place. What did I do instead? I put on business clothes. That’s right—I put on business clothes for a phone call. Not a Skype video chat – a phone call. The person on the other end would never see me. She would have had no idea if I was wearing fuzzy bunny slippers and pjs, or a business suit.

But the thing is – it wasn’t about what the person on the other end of the line could see. It was about how I felt. For that one call, dressing the part of a successful business woman made me feel like a successful business woman. It made me feel like I could handle this, as I used to do on business calls every day in my old life.

It’s too soon to tell if the call will lead to new business, but for me, the experiment was a success. I got through a situation that would normally be stressful with minimal tongue-tied-ness and only low-level angst. It’s a step in the right direction.

How about you guys? Do you have any “go to” techniques for success?