Two Ways to Reset for Mental Clarity
You’ve prepared for weeks and you’re beyond ready.
Yet, when you finally get the floor, you can’t focus and your mind feels like scrambled eggs.
I get it.
You know your material, yet you’re distracted with everything going on in your head.
How you come across matters as the higher you go in an organization, the more often you’re expected to communicate clearly, think on your feet, and command attention in a room.
Upper management isn’t just listening to what you say; they’re noticing how you say it.
Your superiors may be assessing:
- Do you sound confident?
- Are you clear and concise?
- Can you get to the point?
- Do you appear present and engaged?
- Can you communicate an idea without getting lost in the details?
One of the biggest obstacles to doing all of this may be something you don’t even realize is happening.
It’s called attention residue, meaning, your mind is carrying yesterday’s conversations, concerns, and worries into today’s presentation.
When you rapidly move from one task to another, your brain doesn’t always make a clean break. A piece of your attention can remain with the previous task, conversation, email, or problem.
Think about your typical workday. You likely have at least five things on a loop in your mind, such as, deadlines, report writing, emails piling up, future meeting requests, and personal matters.
It’s exhausting, and hard to turn off.
How do you suddenly flip a switch when your superior says, “What do you have to share?”
You want to be focused on the task at hand, meanwhile, your brain is still processing everything that came before.
This is called mental clutter.
Mental clutter goes hand in hand with attention residue and takes up valuable mental space, including the very mental space you need to be alert when you speak.
When the mental clutter isn’t taken care of, you may:
- Speak too quickly and ramble
- Over-explain
- Lose your train of thought
- Rely too heavily on your slides
- Lose your confidence
Is there a solution to clearing mental clutter? YES!
It’s called mind sweep!
Simply put, it’s clearing your subconscious to be present.
I tell my clients to make mind sweeping a goal before each presentation.
A mind sweep allows you to be present and focused on your presentation, and audience, resulting in the greatest impact you can have.
Before your next important presentation, meeting, or conversation with senior leadership, take five minutes to mind sweep.
It works like this:
- Grab a piece of paper or open the notes app on your phone
- Write down everything that’s taking up space in your mind (emails, conversations, to-do lists, upcoming deadlines, questions, doubts, and random thoughts about your presentation)
- Don’t organize or edit simply write a free hand stream of conscious list
- Think of it as clearing the clutter on your mental desk
- Now, take a focusing breath
- Look at your presentation and remind yourself this time is for your presentation only
This exercise acts like a small reset that makes all the difference!
What people sometimes forget is that a well-prepared presentation is necessary to make an impact, but so is having enough mental space to deliver those words with intention.
When your mind is clear you can slow down, focus, and relax.
The mental pause allows you the freedom to connect with the people in the room instead of worrying about the things you must do before the end of the day.
This mental shift allows the presentation to breathe, to have a presence, and to live outside of your long list of commitments and to-do’s.
Before you ask yourself, “How can I sound more confident?” try asking, “What do I need to get out of my head?”
I’ve seen how a mind sweep has increased my client’s presence in their presentations creating opportunities for growth and expansion.
Commanding attention starts with taking a load off your mind, and working together, we can ensure you do exactly that.
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