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William Thorfinn's avatar

"Before I speak or walk into a room full of people, I give myself a moment to:

Swing my arms with intentionally big, open gestures

Do some loud vocal warm-ups

Stretch my face, jaw, and mouth muscles like I’m auditioning for a cartoon"

I love this! So, often the advice can center around mental things, but it's important to remember the power of our body to change our state!

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Eli Kravitz's avatar

William, thanks for taking the time to say this! I agree — the impact our bodies have on our mindset definitely doesn’t get as much attention as it should! Hope these methods help :)

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Amanda Izzo's avatar

The Science of Smallness hit me square in the chest. This is so brilliant, Eli! I loved every second of this piece!

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Eli Kravitz's avatar

Oh good, I’m so glad it was meaningful and valuable for you!! There’s more where that came from! To growing together! 🥂

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Norma's avatar

I’ve always preferred being invisible ever since I was a kid. Rather than play with other kids, I would go read a book.

As an adult, specifically with being a hospital supervisor, I had to force myself to interact with a lot of staff. I ended up role-playing and when I put on my white jacket, that was my cue to become what I needed to be to do the job. Lol

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Eli Kravitz's avatar

It's interesting how prevalent the theme of "this was useful as a child but then it wasn't useful" is. In fact, so much of life is spent "unlearning" behaviors, habits, patterns that have stopped serving us. The good news is, when we stop changing and evolving, *that's* when we have a problem!

I love the idea of a physical cue to switch roles. Brilliant!

Thanks for sharing, Norma!

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Layla's avatar

Congratulations on hitting this milestone 🥳🥳🥳 thank you for the tips. I could resonate with feeling invisible as I was the 9th child of 10 children.. I will try the movements before my next presentation.

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Eli Kravitz's avatar

Thank you so much!!! Wow, the 9th child! I’d love to hear more what that was like…

Let me know how the exercise goes - hope it helps!

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Layla's avatar

Thank you. It honestly wasn’t as bad as it sounds. We had a lot of fun growing up together and we are all still very close. But, of course every family size has its pros and cons.

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Eli Kravitz's avatar

That’s incredible. 9 best friends! I can see that dynamic going really well or really poorly… And you’re right, it’s never all green grass on any side of the road!

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Malka's avatar

I loved this! As an extrovert, I battle with the opposite problem- talking too much, too fast, too loud. I wonder if the same movements that can “wake up” a person in your scenario can help people like me calm down and feel more present. What are your thoughts?

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Eli Kravitz's avatar

Thank you! Sometimes — certainly not always, but sometimes — taking quickly and loudly can be an expression of nervousness or anxiety. Since that’s more the “fight” response than the “freeze” response, deep breathing can help slow down and ground the nervous system. It’s pretty interesting how different people react differently to stress!

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