Life is full of tough choices and it’s all about the way you interact with other people. You can choose to fill your day with stressful communication and be exhausted at the end of it, or you could utilize our carefully designed tools for more relaxed, effective conversations with your coworkers.
Take a moment to learn three ways to have low-stress communication.
1. Recognize Positive Intentions
When someone you are talking to is unkind, negative, or downright rude it is easy to get annoyed, angry, and even aggressive.
However, this will just make the situation worse and even faster than you can imagine.
There is a better way. Instead, look for the positive intention of the person you are talking to. What do I mean?
Ask yourself — what is the positive intention behind this behavior?
If the person you are talking to is angry maybe the positive intention is to express some hurt or frustration. What is important is looking for a positive not getting the correct answer.
When you assume the person has a positive message hidden underneath the negative exterior you will have more compassion and patience and you will not feel so stressed dealing with the individual.
2. Choose Your Own Emotional State
I talk a lot about the importance of managing your emotional state. Why? Because it is an essential life skill.
Unless you are in charge of how you feel your ability to communicate effectively will always be limited and dependent on other people.
When you are in a potentially stressful situation and everyone around you is losing their cool this does not mean you have to join them! You will be able to contribute a lot more if you remain calm and centered.
Staying calm and resourceful is a choice you can make. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to be a sheep and simply follow the crowd. Nobody says you have to be a sheep!
Instead, make a point of keeping yourself in a resourceful state.
3. Step Outside The Situation
Whenever I am in a highly charged situation I will often step outside the situation — in my mind. This helps to defuse the event for me.
You can do this too. Simply imagine that you are at the other end of the room watching the interaction between you and the other person or people.
It is as if you are a neutral observer with no emotional involvement in the discussion at hand.
When you do this you will think of ideas to handle the situation better and you will also feel less bothered by the stress of other people.
This is one technique you need to play with first in easy everyday conversations. Once you get familiar with it you will find it easy to mentally step outside the event while still participating with the people in front of you.
Which do you prefer, stress or relaxation?
