For high-stakes situations like interviews, your emotional state is more critical than your prepared strategy. Top performers use pre-game routines to get into a peak state. Develop your own pre-interview ritual—involving breath work, music, or visualization—to ensure you show up calm, clear, and confident.
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Positive reframing and logic fail when your body is in a state of fight-or-flight. You cannot access a more powerful story when you're physiologically overwhelmed. The first step must be a physical practice—like breathing, meditation, or exercise—to calm the body before attempting to change the mind.
Exercising just before a mentally demanding task like public speaking is a powerful tactical tool. A single session releases dopamine and serotonin, directly enhancing prefrontal cortex function for better focus, attention, and quicker reaction times, improving overall cognitive performance on the spot.
The physiological states of anxiety and excitement are nearly identical. Relabeling the feeling by saying "I'm excited" shifts your mindset from threat-based to opportunity-based, improving performance in tasks like public speaking or negotiation.
While confidence is valuable, it can lead to carelessness. A state of being "fully present"—total immersion in the moment without self-consciousness—is a more powerful and reliable driver of peak performance. It replaces ego-driven thoughts with heightened awareness and flow.
Sorkin prepares for interviews by mapping a "flight path"—knowing the start, end, and key topics. However, he expects "weather" (unexpected answers) to force diversions. This mental model provides structure while allowing the flexibility to listen and react, which is the key to a great interview.
The brain's emotional center is five times stronger than its rational part. When triggered by stress, it shuts down executive function. A deliberate 90-second pause is a powerful antidote that allows the physiological wave of emotion to pass, enabling clearer, more considered decision-making.
In a tense meeting or interview, focusing on summarizing the other person's points serves a dual purpose. It makes them feel heard, but more importantly, it gives your own nervous system time to settle. This shifts focus outward, reducing internal anxiety and allowing you to respond more calmly and effectively.
The practice of calming your mind goes beyond simple relaxation. It's a mental discipline to silence internal 'noise'—past judgments and self-doubt. This state of calm directly fosters greater confidence, clarity, and the ability to identify and commit to the right strategic ideas.
To shift from anxiety to a peak performance state, use physical mechanisms. A specific technique involves scaled, intense breathing to oxygenate the brain and lower cortisol, followed by Qigong "cupping" to open the body's meridians. This provides a physiological lever for emotional regulation.
By simply relabeling the feeling of stress as "excitement," you can trigger a different physiological and psychological response. This technique, known as anxiety reappraisal, can lead to measurably better performance in high-pressure situations like public speaking or presentations.
