Fear Factor: Intimidation

What can intimidation do to our minds? I’m totally enamored by the subject lately because I have seen the most respectable executives become intimidated in certain media situations. I, too, become intimidated by working with high profile people. For example, I remember the first time I worked with Steve Jobs in 1999 when he relaunched the iMac. I was helping him get set up for an interview with CNN and everyone had forewarned me, “Be careful, he can be pretty cruel.”  I stepped into the room to help him get set up and my hands were shaking, my voice was a little nervous sounding and I offered him a few words of wisdom.  When I reflect upon the day, I wonder if *he* was intimidated by being on CNN. After all, this was the relaunch and a very important day for Mr. Jobs as well.

When I media trained a high level executive from Yahoo! for his first CNBC interview, he told me that he couldn’t sleep the entire weekend because it was his first time making a television appearance. Here I was thinking HE a C-Suite executive from Yahoo! and he had nothing to worry about, yet he was still concerned about the interview ahead of him.

The media can be an intimidating factor. The lights, the cameras, the reporters, the fact that what we say can and will be held against us! The question is how we can move past being intimidated by the reporter/person/situation so we can add value to the situation (the entire reason why the guest was invited in the first place).

Below are a few ideas of ways to overcome your fears when working with the press:

1. “Fake it until you make it.” – Amy Cuddy, a Harvard Business School Associate Professor says, “Fake it until you make it.” She suggests that we hold power poses 10 minutes before an important meeting to help make us feel important. This increases testosterone in men and women and decreases cortisol (the stress hormone) truly making us act and feel more powerful in the inside out.

2. You are the master of your own domain: Similar to the above, but I often counsel clients and remind them they are experts at their own business – no one knows the subject better than they do. The entire reason they have been invited to the event/interview/conference is because they are seen as the expert in their industry. This is the time to bring your self-confidence to the top, reminding yourself that you have the history, knowledge and expertise to share with the public. A simple pep talk here sometimes does the trick! 

3. Name the voice: Ok, a little California, but, bear with me, it works…Name the voice in your head that is telling you that you can’t do it, shouldn’t be interviewed, you’re not good enough. Just pay attention to it for 2 seconds and then kindly tell it to step aside. No kidding! Tell that inner voice to go away and come back another day. 

4. Take a breath: yes, again, simple solution to a complicated problem. If you breathe deeply and then inhale once again, your voice coming with the exhale will sound louder and more clearer. The result? No more shaky voice and a deep, authoritative voice takes its place. 

5. Practice & preparation: if you say it a few times before you make your appearance or have your scary meeting, your mind, body and voice will be familiar with what you’re saying and automatically calm your nerves. 

At the end of the day, a little nervousness is quite common and useful. It’s a nod of respect to what you are doing and who you are presenting to – a media interview, meeting or presentation. It’s how we manage it that really counts.