We've all checked our e-mail anticipating that there will be any number of irrelevant notices, advertisements or solicitations.
But, sometimes, there is an unexpected pleasure waiting for us. Perhaps it's an letter from a long lost friend or an invitation to a party or a beautifully composed article of interest. .
Today, my mailbox "serendipity" comes from Working Mindfully, a e-newsletter published by a management consulting firm that offers mindfulness training for corporations.
The e-letter article, reprinted below, has a wonderful explanation of how meditation practices can help in coping with everyday anxieties, such as public speaking. (My thanks to Andy Lee. For the full newsletter (Winter, 2015) go to www.workingmindfully.com)
It's a good read.
Mindfulness and the Big Presentation
Public speaking is one of the most common workplace fears - even the smallest ones can raise the blood pressure a notch or two. And as the presentation bets bigger, so does the anxiety. Of course some level of arousal is beneficial to performance, but for many people presentation anxiety can get in the way of their doing their best
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Taking a mindful approach to the big presentation can help you avoid getting overly anxious, and can also help you to deliver your message more effectively and connect with our audience more deeply.
Mind your Ego
Generally the more nervous we get, the more self-focused we become. When they sense a threat or a risk, our egos can become very noisy and demanding. The internal dialog can give us all kinds of alerts about what other people are thinking of us, and how disastrous ‘failure’ could be. Needless to say, this type of internal dialog gets in the way of our perceiving the world clearly and acting skillfully.
When you sense this ego shift happening, see if you can notice the internal dialog and remember that your ego’s rantings are only thoughts, not imperatives – it’s still up to you how you respond. ow are a few things you can do when you feel presentation anxiety beginning to mount:
- Burst the ego bubble. Turn the focus of your attention away from yourself for a few minutes. Take a moment to speak to someone else and find out what's going on for them. Or feel a sense of gratitude for all that has happened to give you this speaking opportunity. These simple acts will help to break the trance that your ego can put you in, and reconnect you to the world around you and your purpose in it.
- Focus on your message. Remember why you are presenting. The purpose of your presentation is actually not to prove once and for all that you’re a smart and worthwhile person. Instead, it is to deliver a particular message to a specific audience. Instead of worrying about how you come across, focus on what you can do to get your message across to this audience, on this occasion.
- Be of service. The most compelling message will fall flat if your audience senses that your intention is other than to be of service to them. During the presentation, remember to check in with your audience to make sure that they’re following you. Give examples of how your message relates to their situations and priorities. Or simply ask yourself, “How can I be of service to this audience?” and act on what arises.
All three of these suggestions have a common thread, which is this: To do your best, you need to get your ego out of your way. By worrying less about how you are judged and more about what you can offer, you free yourself up to be your best. This is good to remember at any time, and especially when the presentation anxiety kicks in.
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