Holding Our Breath While Speaking
We’re holding our breath collectively. Can you feel it on video calls?
We’re holding our breath when we look up to think while speaking off-the-cuff.
We’re holding our breath when we feel watched, judged, or unsafe speaking.
We’re holding our breath as we craft our response, like we’d write in an email, to be thorough, complete, precisely perfect.
We’re in our heads. We’re overthinking. We’re working really hard to speak up.
We’re dissociating and disconnected as we subconsciously fill the Validation Void with unconscious effort.
We’re losing our train of thought. We’re going blank or blacking out.
We can’t articulate our ideas even though we know exactly what we want to say.
We’re not breathing.
We think we’re supposed to think really hard, that the effort brings ease, but the opposite is true.
Deep analytical thinking is inaccessible under pressure.
It’s not you. It’s societal.
When we’re in fight-or-flight, the communication and strategic thinking centers of our brain darken.
Our ability to think with our gut, listen to ourselves, trust our voice, and speak with ease get deprioritized.
So what can you do under pressure?
Practice conscious breath when you feel comfortable. This makes it more familiar and accessible when you don’t.
In the moment, reprioritize comfort by leaning back and anything else that keeps your tethered to your physical space.
Work in conscious pausing when speaking so you have time to breathe, speak off-the-cuff with more intention, and give your audience time to process what you’ve said.
When are you holding your breath? How’s it impacting your day-to-day communication or thinking? Let me know in the comments!