Get Excited

Ask any leader what she would like to improve upon, and the response will very likely be, “I’d like to be a better communicator.”

That sounds like a great idea. Right? Organizations want to improve communication, individuals want to improve communication, groups, and teams want to improve their communication. Everyone wants to jump on this bandwagon; however, there appears to be little agreement on what “improved communication” really means.

Communication is a very broad area that encompasses many different definitions and modalities.  Social media can spread a faux paus or inspired message like a wildfire, so it serves a leader well to consider how she communicates.

One specific area of communication that leaders need to master is the ability to speak in public. A leader is called to address employees, shareholders, board members, and the public, just to name a few constituent groups. However, there are very few people who are able to do this effectively without coaching and practice. No matter how polished and professional a leader appears, public speaking can cause a major meltdown.

There is no shortage of advice: “take deep breaths,” “just relax,” and my favorite, “imagine everyone in the audience in their underwear.”

Thankfully, recent research in the neurosciences may provide the best insight into becoming a more effective communicator in the public domain.

Scientists recognized the difficulty the brain encountered when shifting quickly between a state of arousal, “nervousness,” and a state of calmness. In fact, some Emotional Intelligence researchers suggest it takes at least 20 minutes or more for this to happen. So, suggesting to someone who is nervous to “just relax” is terrible advice.

They placed groups of individuals in anxiety-producing situations, public speaking being one, and asked them to reinterpret the high-arousal feelings they were experiencing as “excitement” rather than “nervousness.” This references a growing body of research suggesting we interpret the bodily sensations we are feeling based on a prediction about context. That is, we experience the same bodily sensations when we arrive at an amazing party and when we are asked to address a large group. We interpret these feelings as excitement in the first case and nervousness in the second.

Interestingly, those who were able to “reframe” their emotions: “I am excited, I am excited,” were judged to be better and more effective communicators than those counseled to “calm down.”

And this is so simple! We can use our minds to reframe our emotions more easily than we ever imagined and, as a result, become better at sharing our message.

Suzette Plaisance Bryan, PhD, SPHR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP
Director OBCC Leadership Center