At the fourth Carnegie session, we learned several techniques for managing stress. I won’t list them all, but some that stuck with me were:
- Keep busy
- Pray
- Don’t fuss about trifles
- Count your blessings
An important principle common throughout was the need to focus your attention and energy on those items which you can affect in a positive way.
We each made a two minute speech about how we have applied the Carnegie lessons so far. For this speech, we applied the persuasion ‘magic formula’. This consists of:
- Beginning with a story that sets the scene – i.e. ‘There I was…’
- Relating the situation to your audience’s – i.e. ‘If you will…’
- Explaining the benefit – i.e. ‘The benefit will be…’
I found this formula helpful, and I expect to use it going forward.