Keeping Calm During Meetings
Keeping your cool in a tense meeting is… challenging.
However, there are some HUGE reasons that it’s important to do exactly that. Let’s look at some things that happen when we don’t stay calm during meetings:
We become frustrated, and our bodies show it. (Think eye rolls, big sighs, arms crossed, pencil tapping, etc)
The other person becomes defensive, decreasing their ability to communicate well.
But what is the effect of these behaviors?
Both you and the other person lose access to your prefrontal cortex.
Translation: you lose access to the part of your brain that solves problems efficiently, the part that’s intuitive and does your critical thinking.
How can you stay calm during an emotional, challenging meeting? Here are some quick tips:
Keep breathing. Yes, it sounds basic. But if you intentionally breathe slowly and deeply during the meeting, it will keep your prefrontal cortex engaged.
If you feel yourself becoming upset:
Take Notes. It can honestly help you to disengage emotionally from what’s going on by simply writing down what’s going on. It will give you a few moments to gather your thoughts as well.
Take a break! Simply tell the group around the table that you need a break. Then get up, walk around a bit, get a cup of coffee (or better yet, a cold glass of water), a snack… use the restroom. All of these things help meet a biological need and give you a break from heightened emotional conversation.
Get Grounded: Feel your feet on the ground. Feel your arms on the table. Become aware of your body. Again, this gives your brain something to focus on other than your emotions.
Relax your face - specifically: soften your eyes. When we become tense, we strain our eyes, we furrow our brow, clench our jaws, tighten our shoulders. This contributes to a sense of overall tension and anxiety. Research shows that when we soften our eyes, our eyebrows, jaws, brows, face and shoulders relax as well.
