Before beginning a meeting or a conversation, I always carve out the time for a little recentering. With the other people involved in the conversation, if possible, or on my own if not.
It can be something as simple as a conscious breath.
I usually close my eyes, take a few slow deep breaths and observe my body. I notice all sensations, and when I find tension, I breathe into it to release it and relax my whole body. Sometimes, when I am trepidatious about the upcoming meeting, I source the emotion or the attitude I want to bring into the conversation.
Anyway, there are plenty of ways to recenter before a conversation and what really matters is to find the one that works for you.
Because I've learned that recentering can massively improve the quality of any conversation.
In my experience, there are at least two reasons why recentering makes such a difference.
It creates space.
We are constantly running through the day. We rush from a task into an appointment, then into something else and so on. Adding a pause between activities allows me to let go of what I was doing before and create some inner space.
It primes you for success.
According to the work of Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett, the emotions that seem to happen to us are actually made by us in the moment. They are our brain's best guess of how we should feel in the moment. Our brain combines three "ingredients": our body, surroundings, and past experience to make its predictions. If our body is tense, it will signal the brain to stay alert and reactive. We may end up walking on eggs for the whole conversation. When we relax our body, the brain triggers different emotions that will help us be more open, curious, and compassionate.