THE SECRETS OF MISHAL’S SUCCESS

EMBRACE NERVES

NERVES are always a part of what I do. They give me the jolt I need that focuses my energies and helps me deliver the best work I can. Now that I recognise nerves as such, I am better able to deal with them — when I feel a frisson of anxiety, I see it as part of a process that aids performance.

GIVE A SUPER SPEECH

MANY of us suffer from doubts about speaking in public.

Start by making yourself as comfortable as you can with what you’re going to say.

The words should be as close as possible to your normal way of speaking. Read it aloud, then customise — remind yourself when you need to pause, add a greater stress, or vary the pace. You can write these instructions to yourself into the text, put words in capitals, or separate out some lines so they stand alone.

THINK BODY LANGUAGE

NON-VERBAL communication is more important than most of us appreciate. Instead of crossing your arms or shrinking yourself down, consider open, neutral postures.

Psyching-up gestures can help before you walk into a room or out onto the stage — or, in my case, before going on air — stretching, moving around, whatever gets the blood flowing and gets you in the zone.

ALWAYS PREPARE

ANY high-stakes moment — a job interview, appraisal or pitch meeting — will always benefit from detailed thought in advance.

Work out what you want to get across and then boil it down to just two or three points.

That way, the key messages are simple enough to be kept in the forefront of your mind and are more likely to be remembered by the other

party. Make sure your first point is a strong one that sets the right tone and frames the conversation that will follow.

Plot your points on paper ahead of time and work out any obvious follow-up questions.

Advance planning will give you more control and confidence.

LOVE YOUR OWN VOICE

AS THE voice coach Elspeth Morrison told me, concentrate on diction and emphasis, rather than timbre. ‘Emphasis is not usually on nouns,’ she explains.

‘In normal conversation, the emphasis tends to be on adjectives and words such as: could, should, maybe. Consider the overall message of what you want to say, rather than focusing on your voice.’

BE RESILIENT

WORKPLACE criticism can be uncomfortable, but it’s important to take on feedback without becoming anxious.

Learn from what happened, then look to the future. Asking questions directly of ourselves can help (‘What do I need to take away from this?’) because, otherwise, it’s all too easy to dwell on the setback.

Once the salient points are noted, try to actively set your mind to something else, rather than remaining preoccupied with the past.