That’s what I write at the top of my pad during important meetings as a reminder for how I want to behave under pressure.

And this is what I do before, during and after.

Before

1. Get organised and prepare. As much as I can, as well in advance as possible. If it’s important, I make it my priority.
2. Practice. Run through the presentation or points you need to make, refine it and go again.
3. Visualize success. I try and predict scenarios and picture myself successfully navigating situations.
4. Give myself a good 30 mins of space before the session. And just relax. No inputs or distractions.

During the session

1. Breathe. It sounds obvious, but slow breaths = a clearer mind.
2. Focus. No multi-tasking.
3. Talk slow and leave space for others. A few seconds is plenty after I’ve made a point.
4. Write anything on my mind, so I can listen instead of trying to retain it.
5. Use as few words as possible, without making it a conversation of bullet points.
6. Smile. Not in a constant, weird way, but it’s shown to make you feel more positive.
7. If it gets really rough I also try and remind myself that the pressured moment will pass. And that I’m always glad that I stayed calm, talked slow and left space for others.

After

I reflect on how it went. What I could do differently next time and give myself an internal pat on the back for managing myself well.