Down with Stress! - Detecting it Before it Gets out of Hand
For all of us client-face folks, stress in our day-to-day can really contribute to a negative client experience when communicating with our customers.
First things first, we need to recognize when our stress levels are elevating. This will allow us to deal with it before it gets out of hand. There are both physical and nonphysical signs that you are getting stressed:
Physical
-Tense neck and shoulders
-Headaches
-Clenching fists
-Grinding Teeth
-Voice Tone
Nonphysical
-Impatience
-Anger
-Unorganized
When you feel the physical or nonphysical signs of getting stressed out, take a moment to step back. Check out some immediate ways to relieve stress below:
Take a deep breath and count to ten. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Visualize yourself in your happy place.
Face crunch. Contract every muscle in your face, hold and release. Bonus points if you do it in front of your coworkers.
Tense and release. Similar to the face crunch, but with any muscle groups you like. Try starting in your toes and work your way up through your legs, glutes, core and arms.
Smile. Laugh. Tell a joke. Humor really is one of life’s best medicines.
Exercise. Go for a walk. Take the stairs. Give Kazz’s unicycle a try.
Spell your name with your nose. I know this sounds ridiculous, but give it a try. After trying it myself I was suprised how well it worked.
For more resources on stress and stress management check out some of these external links:
http://stress.about.com/
http://www.mindtools.com/smpage.html
