Keeping your composure how to#
Keeping your composure software#

Don’t become prey to taking things personally. Rather, you are there to resolve the budget, get to a fair price, deliver a difficult message with respect, or find a joint solution. Remind yourself that the point of the meeting is not to prove who is right or wrong or who is smartest person in the room. Getting physically reoriented makes it easier to regain perspective. The key is not to get stuck in your head.” You can also “zoom out” and notice the art work on the walls or the size of the room - anything to increase the sense of space that may be closing in if you are starting to feel defensive or backed up on your heels. Notice where your legs are resting on the chair. “Put your hand on the table,” says Gallo. In addition to breathing, literally touch objects around you and notice the sensations.

Keeping your composure how to#

Weil’s demonstration of how to do this, as well as its additional health benefits, here. Use it whenever anything upsetting happens before you react.” You can watch Dr. Andrew Weil, physician and author of many integrative medicine and health books, describes this breathing technique as “a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system. “By taking a few deep breaths, you can stay in your body and stay out of reactive mode.” Use the 4-7-8 breathing technique for quick results, where you breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 7 counts, and exhale for 8. “First and foremost, breathe,” says Gallo.

Because reactivity has such a strong physical element, bring focus to the physical self to stay calm. Rather than becoming reactive to that, stay in the driver’s seat.” Gallo concurs, “ Emotional contagion is very real, so once one person gets heated up, it’s easy to mirror that behavior and before you know it, you have two people swinging punches.”įocus on something physical to regain perspective. You could be heading down an unproductive path if you see the other person shift their weight, cross their arms, or start hurling questions at you. Staying calm is critical.” He encourages his team to track not only their own reactions, but to also “watch for shifts in the other person. Juneja says, “When something goes wrong, clients expect us to solve the issue fast, which is not always an easy task.

Keeping your composure software#

Rick Juneja, SVP for Client Success at Opower, leads a team of 145 people whose role is to deliver software and services to global clients. Your heart rate goes up, your face may turn red, and your breathing becomes more shallow.” As things physiologically get turned up, says Gallo, “the risk is losing access to the rational front cortex of the brain and then it becomes more difficult to be your best self.” The best indicator, according to Amy Gallo, author of HBR Guide to Managing Conflict at Work, “is your own physical reaction that you are starting to feel threatened. Only you know what’s happening inside of you, signaling that your “fight or flight” bells are about to go off. Know your own cues for when a healthy, lively debate is tipping into a more precarious direction. With so much at stake, how do you keep a heated conversation constructive? At times like this, you might wish you could hit that reset button and have a do-over. Maybe you’ve damaged trust in a broader relationship with a colleague, client, vendor, or perhaps your spouse or kids. You might say something that you later regret, or get stuck on one point trying to prove that you’re right, ultimately losing sight of the bigger picture. It’s not easy to stay cool and engaged when things get heated in meetings, negotiations, or difficult conversations.