Dealing with high pressure situations is something we have all come across in life, but rather
than struggling in such circumstances it is possible for all of us to deal with them in
a way which not only produces the best results, but gives others a positive perception of
us.
Now, the approach I have used in this video to try and breakdown the tips is to reverse
engineer what happens when our body is under stress, and take steps to prevent the negative
reactions we often have to help deal with the situation in a way that's positive.
So with this in mind, what happens to you when in a high pressure situation that you're
struggling to cope with?
Well, some of the key responses are;
- Your breathing becomes shallow and quicker - Physically your posture will close up into
a defensive position - You will often speak or respond quickly
- You can feel unprepared, or specifically you can feel as though you've been caught
off guard
By focusing in on each of these areas and taking steps to change them, you'll change
your mental and physical state to help you cope with a high pressure situation.
So let's go into each and understand what you can do to help you feel less pressured.
Control Your Breathing
It goes without saying that our breathing patterns often play a large role in our state.
Usually when feeling stressed or pressured, our natural physical response is to take more
shallow and quicker breaths.
However, taking deep and slow breaths will help you relax in any given situation and
this is no different when under pressure.
It's easy to forget your breathing patterns in such situations, but doing so is counterproductive
to what you need to achieve and want to portray.
So follow a simple breathing exercise in such circumstances, which is to take a deep breath
into your stomach for four seconds, hold it for four seconds and then release, again for
four seconds.
If can focus on doing this a number of times in a pressure situation, it will work extremely
well in calming down.
However, let's say it's hard to do this as an exercise, you should spend a second or
two regulating your breathing patterns to take slower deep breaths in the situation.
You see your breathing is critical in stress response, so by taking deeper breaths, you
control it in a way that's in line with as if you're in a relaxed state.
When you take such breaths, you increase your carbon dioxide intake which helps your physical
response to help you calm down.
It's for this reason that when people hyperventilate, they are often recommended to take a little
time to breathe into a paper bag.
However, that's not all you should do to change your state.
Change Your Posture
Our posture plays a significant role in both our state of being and the perception others
have of us.
When we feel pressured or stressed, our natural response is to often close up and have a more
defensive posture.
A good example of this is we naturally cover up our body with our arms or cross them.
When you want to relax in a high pressure situation, learn to do the opposite, which
is open up your arms, stand tall or sit straight, hold your chin slightly up and push your chest
out.
As we saw with breathing deep, if we change our physiology, we naturally go against the
body's stress response.
When you change your posture, you send signals to the brain that you feel ok, even confident.
However, it's not just about the message you send to your brain, but equally the signals
you send to others, as you give the perception of someone who is confident and in control,
someone strong and stable.
Physiology plays a huge role in how we cope with high pressure situation, but it's not
the only factors.
For example, you always need to...
Take Time To Think
Think about it this way, think back to a difficult circumstance and think through about how quickly
you'd respond to others.
Perhaps they were asking difficult questions or maybe accusing you of something.
I guarantee that you probably responded quickly to what was asked or said, not always giving
time to think through the response.
Now let's be honest, we're all guilty of this, I know I definitely am.
The thing is taking your time to respond and affording yourself time to think is actually
critical in keeping a calm head in a pressure situation.
So be sure to think through what you say before speaking, use the opportunity to take a couple
of deep breaths.
This is also something many highly considered leaders do on a constant basis, they take
a few seconds to think through their responses, especially because they know the weight of
their words.
Another example with a good leader is that if they share opinions or decisions, they
afford those they lead the time share their own thoughts first.
Doing this will allow the leader to not pull some of their own thoughts together, but actually
understand the views and opinions of those they lead, which might influence their decisions.
Be Prepared
Planning and preparation is critical to building success in any circumstance.
As the infamous saying goes, "by failing to prepare, be prepared to fail".
Preparation is always possible, and it shouldn't be to just prepare how you want things to
go, but also what you will do if and when they don't.
By doing this, you can prepare for circumstances to deal with them in a way that's positive.
For example, say you're in the middle of a date you have a moment of the dreaded awkward
silence.
For most of us, we're often unprepared in how to deal with such a situation.
However, if you have planned for it in advance, and considered how you will deal with the
situation should it arise, you're much more likely to engage it in a positive way should
it occur, not only resulting in a win for you, but equally the person you're with who
probably want to avoid awkward silences as much as you.
And there's a little secret to all of this, which is that most people are driven by process.
Since young we're conditioned to understand what's accepted in different social or professional
situations, and most people like to stick to these conventions.
For example, in any situation, it's pretty much always the case to introduce yourself
when meeting someone for the first time, usually followed up with asking how the other person
is.
In the instance someone doesn't follow this protocol which is simply considered common
courtesy, it can reflect badly on them, or at least add some uncertainty to the situation,
as it's not what's expected, bringing in an element of chaos.
So learn the processes of different situations, understanding what's socially accepted and
what's not so that you can try to adhere to them to keep a calm situation.
As you learn and grow more familiar with the process, you can begin to understand when
and how to introduce elements of surprise and intrigue should the situation call for
it, such as the afformentioned date.
By applying these steps, you'll soon learn that coping with high pressure situations
aren't as challenging as they might first appear, and rather that you're much more credit
than you might give yourself credit for.
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