Practical Tips for Navigating Holiday Season
It’s that time of year. Oh, you thought I meant holiday season? Well, yes and for many businesses, it’s fiscal year close. Fiscal year close plus holiday festivities can equal a higher than usual stress load. Here are some practical tips for navigating the holiday season.
Rapport:
Use this time to practice building deeper rapport skills. Rapport in the easiest concept is ‘like’ likes ‘like’. In other words, rapport is a harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other’s feelings or ideas and communicate well. Most importantly, rapport is about responsiveness. “Like” is just one vehicle to get you there. It is possible to have good rapport with someone and not actually like them, shocker! This can come in handy during those holiday parties.
- Given that most of communication (50 – 70+%) is mostly non-verbal, focus on posture, gestures, facial expression, blinking and, yes, even the breathing rhythm of the person you are engaging. Begin to mirror these non-verbals in a natural and comfortable way and just notice how the flow of the meeting changes.
- To a lesser percentage, @38% of communication is tonality. Tonality includes tone (pitch), tempo (speed), timbre (quality) and volume. Again, notice these characteristics and begin to match tonality in a way that is most appropriate for you. Use your judgment. For example, if a person is angry and yelling, it’s probably not a great idea to match and mirror them. Conversely, there are plenty of examples that yelling back, but using positive words or suggestions can actually work to diffuse the situation.
- Again, being a logophile, I love words. Words account for @ 7% of communication, which sounds a bit odd, but in the order of communication effectiveness, it’s third in the order of priority. Pay attention to the words used, like predicates (the part of a sentence or clause containing a verb and stating something about the subject), keywords, phrases, and common experiences. Begin to use similar or the same words in the conversation and notice how the flow of the meeting or social exchange changes.
Body, Mind, Spirit:
Take care of body, mind, and spirit. Hydrate. I know this sounds obvious, but when we are going from meeting to meeting, then evening event to event, we can forget to drink H2O. A good rule of thumb is to drink 1 – 2 glasses of water for each adult beverage you choose to consume. Breathe. Again, another obvious one, along with diet and exercise. There are several benefits from sitting and doing breath work, even for as little as 5 minutes. Here’s an article that outlines different types of breath work: Breathing Techniques Scroll to the section titled: Intro to Pranayama: 3 Practices to Get Started
Downtime:
Schedule ‘downtime’ or ‘white space’ on your calendar. Even the most extroverted people need downtime to rest, rejuvenate and recalibrate. This is good for the body, mind, and spirit. Look at the month of December – Mid-January and calendar time for yourself. Stick to it! That time can be as active or inactive as you need. From sitting at home in your jammies watching Hallmark movies, Skiing, Hiking, Spa-ing or Family game night. Pick what is rejuvenating for you and do it!
We only have a finite amount of time on this planet, and you can choose how to spend that time. I hope you have a strong finish to your fiscal year AND have a happy, healthy holiday season.
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I wish you much success in your career quest. Yours in balance, learning, growth, and harmony. – Melissa DeLuca, CEO
