Fake Certificates of Confidence
There is one question people often ask before joining my speaking sessions.
Not about practice.
Not about improvement.
The question is usually very serious.
“Sir, will we get a certificate?”
I sometimes feel like saying,
“Yes, of course. Frame it nicely, hang it on the wall, and whenever you feel nervous in a meeting, just show the certificate to the room.”
Because that’s how we treat certificates in this country.
We collect them like Pokémon cards.
Communication Skills Certificate.
Advanced Spoken English Certificate.
Personality Development Certificate.
Confidence Building Certificate.
Soon someone will create a Certificate in Collecting Certificates.
And people will join that too.
Now don’t misunderstand me.
I am not against education.
I love learning.
I read regularly.
I attend workshops.
I explore new ideas.
I take courses myself.
Education matters.
But somewhere along the way, we started confusing certificates with competence.
The paper became more important than the practice.
Whenever someone asks me about certificates in my coaching programs, I tell them something very simple.
Your confidence will be the real certificate.
If you can stand in a meeting and explain your idea clearly, that’s a certificate.
If you can introduce yourself comfortably in English, that’s a certificate.
If you can handle an interview without your voice shaking, that’s a certificate.
Those certificates don’t come printed on glossy paper.
They appear in real situations.
Let me tell you a small personal story.
I completed my Master’s in English Literature from Mumbai University.
The result is still there.
At the university.
Probably sitting peacefully in some cupboard.
I actually tried to collect the degree.
Twice. Maybe three times.
Each time I went to the Kalina campus.
And each time there was a new adventure.
“Aaj madam nahi hai.”
“Printing mein gaya hai.”
“Kal aa jao.”
The problem was, I had to take leave from work, travel all the way from Mumbra to Kalina campus BKC, stand in queues, and then hear “kal aa jao” as if coming back tomorrow was the easiest thing in the world.
After 2-3 attempts I thought, you know what?
You keep it.
The degree is probably still there somewhere in Mumbai University.
Safe and happy.
Meanwhile, life continued.
I continued working as a spoken English coach.
Over the years I worked with some of the top spoken English institutes around Mumbai.
Later I began running my own speaking practice programs.
Eventually I started coaching people privately.
And today many of my private clients come from different parts of the world.
Dubai.
Australia.
Nigeria.
And many other places.
Some people pay quite serious fees for private coaching.
But here is the interesting part.
Nobody has ever asked me for my degree.
Not once.
If you have known me for some years, or attended my sessions, you will probably realise something funny.
You never asked me for my degree either.
Because in the real world, people are not measuring your certificate.
They are observing something else.
Your confidence.
Your clarity.
Your ability to communicate ideas.
Certificates may help you enter the building.
But confidence decides whether you survive inside.
You might get a job because of a degree.
But you will keep the job because of your competence.
This is especially true with communication.
A resume may say “Advanced English Communication Certificate.”
But the interview will quietly ask one simple question:
“Tell me about yourself.”
And suddenly the certificate cannot answer.
Only you can.
Again, I want to be very clear.
This is not an attack on education.
Education matters deeply.
Degrees have value.
Learning is important.
But degrees alone are not the destination.
They are just one part of the journey.
If learning stops at the certificate, something important is missing.
Real confidence grows through practice.
Through conversations.
Through mistakes.
Through speaking even when you feel slightly uncomfortable.
So if you are tired of collecting certificates that do not change your confidence, maybe it is time to try something different.
Focus on practice.
Focus on expression.
Focus on becoming the kind of person who can speak clearly in real situations.
Because the most powerful certificate you will ever receive is not printed by a university or coaching centre.
It is printed quietly in moments when you realise:
“I can actually say what I want to say.”
