Watching your speech

Have you ever walked away from a meeting, feeling embarrassed that you talk too much, or regretted that you didn't speak up? Paying attention to your patterns of speech can be a very interesting and fruitful practice. 

You might want to start with a situation that's not too emotionally fraught. For example, during standard meetings at work. Then, observe when you speak and when you're silent, what motivates you to speak up? What stops you? How do you feel after speaking? What happens in your body? 

I, myself practice this quite consistently for a year, and I found it profound. I tend to speak up in meetings and I realized that some of that time, I was simply wanting to be recognized. So, I set an intention to wait, and listen, and only speak if the point I wanted to make had not already been voiced, and that I still thought it was important enough to mention. 

I found myself listening much more closely in part, because I wasn't preparing what I wanted to say, and reflecting more thoughtfully on what was said. I was also really aware of my body, and how I was responding to the thoughts and dynamics in the room. 

In the end, this practice really helped me step back from needing to drive outcomes, which reduced my stress considerably. So, take a moment to reflect on your speech. So, consider watching your speech yourself.