The ark of distortion

I was never much good at maths at school!

Apart from geometry, I was actually okay at acute, obtuse, even reflex angles!

But I love the ‘arc of distortion’ angle (not on the GCSE syllabus yet!) which is the difference between “how you meant it” versus “how they took it”.

Could be an important message to your team, challenging feedback you need to give, or a big presentation to a new client.

Inside that angle much can get lost, between what you thought you said, what you actually said, what they heard and what they thought they heard!

‘Distortion’ might be baggage we bring in from a previous meeting? Perhaps our voice says something different to our words? Or we look stressed without realising?

The result??

A mixed message, a distracted audience, a sense of mistrust.

Here’s 3 easy ways to reduce the angle, and match intention with impact.

🥅 Take a minute before you engage, setting the best goal for that meeting, for you AND your audience.

🧘🏽 Do some short breathing exercises, even a power pose (see this brilliant TED talk for more on power poses – https://lnkd.in/eg8nmyjv) to ensure voice and body are relaxed and in sync!

🔭 Visualise the best outcome – I often say this mantra, “what does this meeting look like when everything goes well?”

Which prep technique serve you best?