There are literally tons of instances when we wish we could make ourselves calm at will, but almost every technique fails miserably. Deep breathing is something people try out most often because it is suggested most often. However, the problem with calming oneself by breathing deeply has one flaw. The more we try to focus on our breathing to calm ourselves down, the more anxious we get when we don't see the results immediately. This little paradox keeps us nervous when we should be calmly processing the data that we need to deliver, during a public speaking session or an interview.
There is however one technique that although talked about a lot online, isn't suggested as much. That is to slow down the movements of your mannerisms. This simple little trick can be more useful than one could expect, to calm the nerves. It does require a person to pay a little attention to their body language, but doesn't hog a lot of attention span, so the important processing can also continue in the mind.
The proper way to do it is just start moving your hands or legs slower than you already are, because when a person is nervous, there is bound to be some kind of rapid movement in one or more parts of the body. The trick is to just slow that movement down deliberately. This lowers the heartbeat rate, and also slows down the breathing, resulting in a sudden widening of the attention span. Things start to process more clearly in the mind, and at the same time, expression of data also smooths out.
A question may arise that some people get nervous without any kind of compulsive body movement, how should they slow themselves down. The answer is, they should start moving their stationery arm, leg or neck slowly. This will also bring down their heart's BPM.
The most important factor to this technique is how to maintain this state. Because like with most calming techniques, it might work for a few minutes, but when a person's attention deviates, anxiousness returns. The simplest way to maintain slow body movement, is to use some kind of prop. It can be any small object like a pen, or a small ball, or even a fidget spinner. You will notice that when you are holding a small object and you're nervous, you will tend to move that object very fast. So when you slow down the speed at which you are moving that object in your hand, it will calm you down and also keep your attention on that object. This is because it is harder to focus on your body than to focus on an external object. This will also help you maintain this slow body movement, because the moment you start getting nervous again, you will notice the speed of that object increasing, and you will again slow down your movement. So its an instant feedback mechanism that keeps your mannerisms in check.
There is however one technique that although talked about a lot online, isn't suggested as much. That is to slow down the movements of your mannerisms. This simple little trick can be more useful than one could expect, to calm the nerves. It does require a person to pay a little attention to their body language, but doesn't hog a lot of attention span, so the important processing can also continue in the mind.
The proper way to do it is just start moving your hands or legs slower than you already are, because when a person is nervous, there is bound to be some kind of rapid movement in one or more parts of the body. The trick is to just slow that movement down deliberately. This lowers the heartbeat rate, and also slows down the breathing, resulting in a sudden widening of the attention span. Things start to process more clearly in the mind, and at the same time, expression of data also smooths out.
A question may arise that some people get nervous without any kind of compulsive body movement, how should they slow themselves down. The answer is, they should start moving their stationery arm, leg or neck slowly. This will also bring down their heart's BPM.
The most important factor to this technique is how to maintain this state. Because like with most calming techniques, it might work for a few minutes, but when a person's attention deviates, anxiousness returns. The simplest way to maintain slow body movement, is to use some kind of prop. It can be any small object like a pen, or a small ball, or even a fidget spinner. You will notice that when you are holding a small object and you're nervous, you will tend to move that object very fast. So when you slow down the speed at which you are moving that object in your hand, it will calm you down and also keep your attention on that object. This is because it is harder to focus on your body than to focus on an external object. This will also help you maintain this slow body movement, because the moment you start getting nervous again, you will notice the speed of that object increasing, and you will again slow down your movement. So its an instant feedback mechanism that keeps your mannerisms in check.
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