poseycorp helps innovators become great communicators. (Sometimes by sending out helpful stuff in a newsletter.)
ISSUE 119
The power of the pause
“Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
-- Thich Nhat Hanh
Crucial Conversations is a great book focused on tough interpersonal conversations. A ‘crucial conversation’ is a situation where opinions vary, stakes are high, and there are strong emotions.
Doesn’t that sound like your last earnings call?? The All Hands where you announced layoffs? Yup. The advice that its authors (Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler) offer is universally applicable.
The first thing the Crucial Conversations authors suggest is taking a pause. I think the pause may be the most underrated tool in communications.
Did a reporter just ask you a nasty, unexpected question? Take a pause. Manage your anger and surprise and then engage in formulating your response.
Did an audience member attack you and your company’s record on diversity during the Q&A at the end of your triumphant keynote? Breathe. Notice your hands shaking and your sinking heart before you compose yourself and speak.
Did your Chief Revenue Officer just burst into your office and say “It’s me or the Chief Marketing Officer! Decide right now!!” OK. Maybe you and your CRO can take a pause together and then have a rational conversation about the issues.
It doesn’t take much for our brains to think we’re under threat and flood our bodies with cortisol. When we’re subsumed by stress, we can’t think straight. The pause is the most powerful way to get your body to calm down and get your mind back in the driver’s seat.
Pause. Breathe.
Think. Respond. A good recipe for any and every communication situation!
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