How To Relax And Calm Your Nerves

Experimenting with different materials when building shelter and starting fires provided feedback on what worked and what didn’t. On your exhales, let your stomach fall as your abdomen muscles gently contract. Continue the full cycle of breathing until you feel focused and relaxed. The duration of your exhale should be longer than your two inhales. If you want, you can repeat it a second or third time, but typically one or two physiological sighs are all you need. Repeat the pattern three times for a total of four cycles. Keep your eyes closed, and picture yourself going through the entire presentation. You’re speaking clearly and confidently, everyone is deeply interested, and your audience absolutely loves you and your content. When you know how to relax and calm your nerves, share ideas in a way that people find interesting, and connect with your audience, presentations can give you an amazing high. The feedback we received from eating berries taught us which ones could be eaten safely and which ones would poison and kill us. It taught us that certain plants could be smoked to chill out and feel mellow, and other plants would be toxic to our bodies if ingested. In our modern world, we are surrounded by feedback.

If You Believe

Watches tell you how many calories you burned, rings tell you the quality of last night’s sleep, and cars beep furiously at you for getting too close to another vehicle. Technology may love to give us feedback, but getting consistent feedback in the business world seems to be lacking for many professionals. Because feedback is so important for career advancement, this is something we want to consciously take control of. The accelerated growth from gaining and implementing feedback can lead to quicker promotions, expanded roles, and higher incomes. You could be missing out on valuable insights on where to improve and how to make those improvements faster. Despite the benefits of feedback, we are rarely taught how to successfully ask for it, receive it, or give it. There was a lot of uncertainty and fear around what the other person might say, and I didn’t want to risk feeling put down. My ego used to bruise like a peach, so I avoided feedback like a dog avoiding a vacuum. Today, it’s promising to see that most individuals already understand the value of feedback. It’s like putting your professional growth on steroids. Furthermore, over 75% of professionals feel that they gain value from feedback, but less than 30% actually receive it. With the exception of scheduled annual reviews, feedback can be a touchy topic that many choose to steer clear of.

Have Love, Will Travel

Why don’t we receive more of it? Your boss/leader was never taught the importance of feedback for their team members, so it’s not something they often think about. They’re already busy enough, and they don’t want to add more to their plate unless they think it’s necessary. They’re worried about saying something the wrong way and dealing with unpleasant emotional reactions. Does that mean you should accept a life of minimal feedback? All this means is that you can’t rely on others to take initiative. You’ll need to take charge and be proactive about getting your own feedback. You can’t expect others to manage your success and be responsible for your development. You have more control than you think, and if you don’t ask for feedback, you may not get what you need to perform at the highest level. If you’re feeling a bit uneasy about asking, you are far from alone. It’s like hitting the gym for a lift or taking the stairs instead of the elevator each day. Batista says that if you’re getting feedback regularly, there won’t be as much to be surprised or stressed about, and there will be far more opportunities to make positive changes. The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well, says that people who actively seek out negative feedback prove to be more satisfied. Heen explains that these individuals receive superior performance reviews and adapt more easily and quickly to new positions, making them significantly more likely to be hired and promoted.

Even Better Than the Real Thing

Think about the type of feedback you’d like to receive first. Are you looking for general guidance on how to improve, or do you want your performance on a specific task or project to be evaluated? You’ll need to decide this before speaking with your boss. I recommend seeking feedback from many different people. You’ll want to ask those who are more successful than you or have already accomplished something you want to accomplish. The more information you get, the more you’ll start to see patterns, and it will quickly become clear what you need to focus on. A common mistake when asking for feedback is asking comically vague questions. Asking questions like this will rarely get you anything of value in return. If you want specific answers, you have to ask specific questions. Asking What is one thing I could have done better in that meeting? would have got you a more specific answer. It also shows that you actually want advice. Sometimes, people ask questions like, How did I do? just because they want a little pat on the back. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the back pat isn’t our goal right now. We want to improve, and asking what you could have done better tells the other person exactly what you’re looking for. How could I have been more convincing? How could I have a greater impact? What would you like to see less of? If your manager says they’d like to see more of something from you, don’t let them get away with being vague. Get them to go into detail on exactly how to do it right. You want to walk away with clear actions to take. How would you recommend I be more assertive in the future? Can you give some examples of when I wasn’t assertive enough? What can I do to show more assertiveness?