Mindful Bites

🎤 The Power of Knowing Your Identity in Public Speaking 🎤

Embracing my own identity has been a game-changer in my public speaking endeavours. It has not only made me a more effective communicator but also allowed me to make a genuine impact on my audiences. Today, I encourage you all to take a moment and reflect on your identity and how it influences your speaking journey.

Authenticity, confidence, and connection - these are the key elements that elevate public speaking from ordinary to extraordinary. As someone who has been navigating the world of public speaking, I have come to realize that understanding your identity plays a significant role in making your speeches impactful.

🌟 Authenticity: Being true to yourself is the foundation of successful public speaking. Knowing your identity empowers you to be authentic and genuine, resonating with your audience on a deeper level.

🌟 Confidence: Confidence is the magic ingredient that empowers you to deliver your message with clarity and conviction. Understanding who you are and what you stand for boosts your self-assurance on stage.

🌟 Connection: Your identity forms the bridge that connects you with your audience. When you know your own experiences, values, and beliefs, you can relate to your listeners, making your message more relatable and inspiring.

🌟 EmotionalResilience: Public speaking can be nerve-wracking, but knowing your identity provides emotional resilience. Embracing who you are helps you handle nerves and challenges with grace and adaptability.

🌟 Storytelling: Every compelling speech involves storytelling. Your identity gives you a treasure trove of personal anecdotes and experiences to weave into your talks, captivating your audience.

🌟 Consistency: A strong identity leads to consistent themes and messages in your speeches. Consistency enhances your reputation and reinforces your credibility as a speaker.

🌟 goalsetting: Understanding your identity empowers you to set meaningful goals aligned with your values. This alignment fosters personal and professional growth on your speaking journey.

Remember, your identity is the unique foundation upon which your public speaking prowess can flourish. Embrace it, own it, and watch your speaking soar to new heights! 🚀

🚀 Unlock Your Full Potential: Conquer Anxious Procrastination! 🚀

🌟 We all have dreams and aspirations that we wish to achieve, but sometimes, anxious procrastination holds us back from taking the leap towards greatness. 🚫💤 It's time to break free from the chains of hesitation and step into the best version of yourself! 💪

🎯 Mindful communication is the key that unlocks the door to your success! By practising mindfulness, you gain the power to understand and accept your fears, doubts, and anxieties without judgment. 🧠💭 Embracing these feelings with compassion allows you to transform them into stepping stones towards growth. 🌱

🎯 Let's shatter the procrastination cycle once and for all! 🚀 With mindfulness, we gain the clarity and focus needed to direct our attention to what truly matters - our goals and dreams. 🎯 No more distractions, no more excuses - only laser-sharp determination! 🔥

🎯 The benefits of mindful communication are tremendous! As we reduce stress and tap into our inner reservoir of resilience, our confidence soars like never before. 💥🌈 With each task you conquer, you gain a renewed sense of self-efficacy and belief in your abilities to overcome any challenge. 🌟✨

🎯 It's time to create positive habits that propel you towards success! 🚀 Embrace mindful choices that align with your aspirations, and witness the magic of progress unfold before your eyes. 🌠

🎯 So, let's embark on this incredible journey together - one where we conquer anxious procrastination and unleash our full potential! 🌟✨

Today, I challenge you to take that first step towards greatness - with mindful communication as your guiding light, you'll soar to heights beyond your imagination! Don't let anxious procrastination hold you back any longer! 🚀💼

How to be more direct in your conversations. 

People often beat around the bush because being direct is associated with being rude or aggressive. And that can feel like a conflict is on the horizon and most of us want to avoid conflict at any cost. So we want to be mindful of our intent. So how can you be more direct? 

✅ Stop over-explaining. Make your point and STOP. Don't follow up with because... and justify your message simply because you are feeling uncomfortable. Hold the pause and wait for the other to fill the silence. Not everything you say needs an immediate explanation don't dilute your message with filler, keep it tight.

✅ Hold eye contact. Keep eye contact for at least 5-10 seconds in the beginning. This can feel uncomfortable but it shows that you are equal and deserve to be heard. *If holding eye contact makes you uncomfortable you can also look at their nose or forehead. 

✅ Notice your tone and pace. Finish with a flat intonation and comfortable pace. Lowering your intonation and speaking too slowly seems like you don't really believe in your message, having an intonation that is too high and speaking too fast may make you seem overexcited. Keep it level.

Try that. 💫 

Dealing with difficult conversations. 

Sometimes barriers can arise in a conversation and communication becomes difficult. Perhaps there is an elephant in the room or the conversation begins to feel tense or pressured.  

Here is what you can do:

First, think from the other person's perspective. What are some of the criticisms, concerns, and negative attachments the other person may have? - put them in your pocket. 

Then when the time is right, beat them to the punch - share those concerns with the other person and address them openly.

This is how you do it:

✅  Reflect on the other person's concerns. Start with, "Looking at this from your perspective, I can imagine you might think that this project is not a good idea."

✅  Presuppose. "Seeing how this might look to you right now, I would probably feel some hesitation to move forward with this if I were in your shoes."

✅   Stop talking, don't say any more...  be present and hold the room. 

You might be surprised how the other person responds to you more positively. 

Be proactive - Go to the issue openly and mindfully. It shows you are being sincere, empathetic, confident and aware of the situation.

Try that. 💫 

Three ways to communicate well under pressure.

📍 Control your emotions. Do not let your emotions take control of your behaviour and become negative. Most likely your attitude will turn negative, you will hear negativity and respond negatively, and you are going to get defensive. The situation will turn toxic. Like a thermometer, you want to keep an eye on the temperature of the conversation and ask yourself, "Is what I am saying turning the heat up and increasing the pressure, or am I turning down the heat and easing pressure?"

📍 Reduce your stress. Stop talking about the problem and start thinking about the solution. Ask yourself: "What can I say right now to work towards a solution?" Instead of thinking about it from a victim's perspective where you see the whole problem which might feel overwhelming, break it down into bite-sized chunks so that you can easily focus on the dynamic of the conversation and its individual parts.

📍 Recognise your opportunity to grow. Diamonds are made under pressure and to grow, you will need to challenge yourself often. If you want to be better under pressure and grow as a person, then you need to expose yourself to as many stressful situations as you can and cultivate a mindful and flexible mindset - instead of labouring under a rigid mindset that avoids the challenge and is unable to grow or adapt but is striving to be right rather than productive. 

Try that. 💫 

🔑How to deal with stubborn people. 

✅ Pick your battles. If it is not hurting anyone, let them have the decision. Easy, no need to pour energy where it is not useful. It will only upset your day and might damage the relationship. So let them make trivial decisions.   

✅ Give them freedom. Most stubborn people have already decided that this or that will be their decision and there is nothing you can do. They do not want your support, they have already decided that, so all you can do is offer your help and leave it at that. 

✅ Let them fail. If you know that their decision is incorrect but they won't accept your support, let them make the mistake. Don't take away the chance for them to learn. If there is nothing you can do or say, simply see it all play out and with a little luck they learn to form their mistake. 

Try that 💫