THE ONE ELEMENT YOU CAN'T IGNORE IF YOU WANT TO BE AT YOUR BEST IN HIGH-STAKES MOMENTS
Richie Riches Sports Shots
This stunning shot, captured at a local Premier League netball match last weekend, reminds me that champion athletes don’t stop training when they’re on a winning streak - and they take the time to limber up before the action starts.
It’s fascinating then that many leaders who need to perform at their best in spotlight situations - when the pressure is on, the stakes are high and the outcome really matters - choose to wing it and allow themselves to be buffeted by the circumstances of the moment.
Whether you’re preparing for a tough conversation, an important presentation or a media interview, make sure you rehearse your words out loud and are warmed up before you start.
I was speaking about this to a group of leaders this week and one asked, “Won’t that make us sound stilted and insincere?”
Absolutely not - I’m not suggesting you drill yourself so hard that you turn into a robot or that you try to memorise a prepared script. This is about embodying your messaging, rather than remembering it word-for-word.
Saying your preferred phrases out loud at least three times will anchor those concepts in your mind, so that when you’re under pressure you won’t be reaching quite so hard for them.
The words might come out differently in that spotlight moment, but your preparation will give you more certainty, which in turn will help to keep you calm. Rather than scrambling for something sensible to say, you’ll be able to focus 100% on the situation immediately in front of you.
This was brought home to me when a senior leader had to front the camera for an interview about a complex issue on one of our most hard-hitting current affairs programs. In the 45 minutes we had to prepare, I helped to warm him up by firing tough questions at him (I had fun, but I don’t think he enjoyed it quite so much!)
At first, he was faltering and full of self-doubt but by the time our practice was over, he was ready to go.
Did that mean he wasn’t being authentic in the interview? No - he was still himself, but a warmed-up version who was able to focus on the interviewer’s questions and respond at his best.
In the end, this achieved a better result for the leader, the interviewer and the program’s viewers who were impacted by the issue.
If your spotlight situation is a conversation, of course it’s a two-way street and you can’t rehearse what the others in the interaction will say.
However, you can be as well prepared as possible by getting clear on your own message, thinking about the likely issues that will come up and how you will respond, and making sure you stay flexible in the moment if the discussion needs to go in another direction.
Even if your calendar is jam-packed, don’t skip the practice stage for communication that really matters.
Dr Neryl East is a professional speaker and executive coach who shows leaders how to be heard, stand out and command influence. Connect with Neryl on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neryleast/
