Decoding the Language of Feelings for Public Speaking Success
In the realm of public speaking, where the spotlight is often unforgiving, our feelings play a significant role in shaping our experience and who we become in the process. Have you ever wondered why your palms sweat or your heart races before stepping up and giving that dreaded presentation? Understanding that feelings are the body's attempt to foretell and prepare us for the future through automatic responses to sensory stimuli can be a game-changer in the world of effective communication. It can radically change the way you present and deliver the next time you speak in public.
The Body's Response to Sensations
Our bodies are sophisticated instruments finely tuned to pick up on subtle cues from our environment. Imagine this: you're about to deliver a crucial presentation. Your heart quickens, and a knot forms in your stomach. These physiological responses are not random; they are your body's way of reacting to the anticipation of a significant event. It's an ancient survival mechanism, preparing you for potential challenges or opportunities but of course, this is not what we tell ourselves.
The Misread Situations
Needless to say, the human experience is an intricate and complex interplay of environment and conditioning, and our bodies don't always get it right. You've likely found yourself in situations where your feelings seemed to mislead you.
Perhaps you felt anxiety days before a presentation and your mind started to generate all kinds of horror visions of how you are going to fail and how this will end your career and make you the laughing stock of the company, only to realize that the reality of the situation wasn't as threatening as your body had signalled after all.
Public speaking is a prime example of these instances. The fear of judgment, the pressure to perform, and the anticipation of the unknown can trigger intense emotional responses. Yet, understanding that these feelings are automatic responses rooted in our evolutionary past allows us to step back and reassess and make better choices moving forward.
Mindful Communication: Breaking Free from Automated Responses
Enter your newfound skill of mindful communication—a transformative approach that empowers you to become aware of the true messages your body is telling.
By acknowledging the automatic or unconscious nature of our emotional responses, we gain the ability to break free from the shackles of the automated mind.
Mindful communication can enable you to observe your feelings more accurately without judgment, creating a space for intentional and thoughtful responses that lead to better outcomes.
Let's revisit the scenario of public speaking anxiety. Instead of succumbing to the automatic thoughts and emotions that your fight-or-flight centre produces deep inside a part of the brain called the amygdala, you want to understand that this survival mechanism is a finely tuned evolutionary adaptation designed to enhance your chances of survival and does not represent reality itself. The intricacies of public speaking can sometimes mislead the amygdala.
The fear of judgment, performance pressure, and the anticipation of the unknown can elicit intense emotional responses. Understanding that these feelings are deeply rooted in our evolutionary past allows us to navigate this intricate dance with greater awareness. Mindfulness will allow you to pause, understand the root of your feelings, and choose a response aligned with your desired outcome.
Embracing Freedom in Communication
Mindful communication is about cultivating the attitude of freedom to choose who we want to be in any given situation. In the context of public speaking, it enables us to transform fear into confidence, anxiety into calmness, and doubt into assurance. By deciphering the language of our feelings, we gain the power to shape our narrative and create the outcomes we aspire to achieve.
The Power of Choice
In the journey of public speaking and effective communication, our feelings serve as guides, attempting to prepare us for what lies ahead and are not the oracle of truth. Mindful communication invites us to decipher this intricate inner language with more ease, understand its nuances, and exercise the freedom to choose our responses consciously. In doing so, we become architects of our narratives, crafting stories of success and resilience in public speaking as well as everyday communication.
The next time you step up to speak in meetings, presentations or in a social or high-pressure situation, remember that your feelings are not dictators; they are messengers, and it's up to you to interpret their signals and lead the conversation.
If you would like more information on how mindful communication will help you to create better results in your communications click here and start a conversation today.