Theatre, TV and film create simulations of environments to transport the audience somewhere else. Similarly here at The Journal of Biophilic Design and those who work using biophilic design, we create harmony by mimicking nature to bring about a simulated environment of an outside space to bring peace and calm to workplaces, healthcare and so on. In this podcast we speak with actor Paul Ryan (Brexit: The Uncivil War and Christine Keeler) who enjoyed a 3-year run in London’s theatre-land in Mamma Mia. Paul describes how with backdrops and actors’ states of mind, they created and conveyed the outdoors, how the summer and heat of a Greek island were conjured in the staging of Mamma Mia.
Paul is also an executive coach, and he goes on to describe how he, in his professional practice also creates environments where people can change their mindsets and shift into a positive state of mind. In his article below, Paul explains how he helps people improve their presentation skills and gives teams the mechanisms to cope with the anxiety of change. In this podcast we pick up insights into how Paul trains you to gain mastery over anxiety through posture and silence, allowing your auxiliary thinking to come forward to help find your own answers.
As with everything a positive environment is key.
Alongside my life as an actor I run a business called Improve On You. In the self-employed world one is told to niche and niche again so I provide one service and one alone: to help people speak at their best when it matters the most. That’s it and that’s all. But it’s strange that something that seems so straightforward can have so many hidden layers to uncover before you can effectively help people to become ace communicators.
After all we can all speak with a certain level of confidence when we are with our friends. We might even be among those who consider ourselves to be quite engaging, interesting, entertaining even! Yet when we have to speak to a group we become a mumbling, stuttering mess.
The two bits of advice most often given are: ‘Just relax’ and ‘Just be yourself’. The irony here is that they are the best bits of advice you could ever receive but the hardest to put into practice. Think about the last time you were feeling nervous and someone said, ‘Just relax’. Could you? NO! And in this state if you are ever given the sage advice to ‘Just be yourself’ the likelihood is that you haven’t got a clue who you are in the first place because you’re having a near out of body experience.
So, what is so different from speaking to our friends and having to get up in front of a group of people and speaking to them. Let’s be honest, most of us find it nerve wracking beyond belief. We’ve all the heard the often repeated finding that most of us would rather die than speak in public! In fact, in one survey people reported finding the idea of public speaking more frightening than an air bombardment! But therein lies the key. Air… or too much of it.
What happens when you get nervous? Let me help you out here with a few suggestions; butterflies, sweaty palms, rapid heartbeat, shallow and rapid breathing, dry mouth, loss of focus, pins and needles, nausea and light-headedness to name but a few.
Now, I’m sure we all recognise those nervous responses whether we have to give a presentation or not. In fact, we are generally speaking so keyed up in our everyday lives that we are existing in an almost state of low-level fight or flight response most of the time. Why? Because of the high speed of life and the constant demands this puts on us is proving to be fantastically stressful. Needless to say, this is very bad for our health and wellbeing. All that cortisol and adrenalin keeping us anxious and on edge will eventually take its toll. High blood pressure, emotional exhaustion and depression can ensue. So how can we take control of the madness in a work environment when we feel it’s all about to become too much?
Next time you are sitting at your desk and feeling stressed and anxious I want you to take a look at your posture. You will almost certainly be slouched or hunched over. This is a fight or flight position. You are making yourself smaller, protecting all your vital organs and forcing yourself to shallow breath. With shallow breathing comes rapid heartbeat and the slowing of activity in your prefrontal cortex, thus we lose focus. All of a sudden you have too much oxygen in your bloodstream. We need to level this out for you to quickly achieve a state of calm and confidence.
The simplicity of what I’m about to suggest is its beauty…
Take a few moments to sit upright. Perch on the front of your seat. Pull yourself to your most upright while placing your feet flat on the floor. Rest your hands together on your lap, palms upwards. Now inhale to the count of seven and exhale to the count of eleven. Do this, two or three times and before you know it, your anxiety will be replaced by a wonderful calmness. Seconds later you will feel fantastically energised because you have taken two or three belts of air deep into your lungs and then add greater mental acuity because of all that good oxygen feeding the brain. When you breathe well it will calm, focus and energise you. What’s not to like.
Article by Actor and Leadership Coach, Paul Ryan
To find out more about how Paul changes mindset by creating a positive flow within us, have a look at www.improveonyou.co.uk or follow him on Twitter: @Improveonyou. There are some useful tips on his Youtube channel as well : improveonyou1
Thanks to George Harvey Audio Production for mixing the podcast and the wonderful nature intro and outro of the podcast.