Archive: November, 2017

Meditation improves your brain power

How meditation improves your brain power

Posted on 30th November 2017 in Emotional Intelligence, Mediation Training

So many people I know consider meditation as hippy and flowery and don’t really understand it at all. ‘What, closing your eyes and trying not to think of anything for thirty minutes, listening to the softest music with birds and waterfalls in the background…You what?’ I can hear a couple of my male friends say..!

Meditation is an enlightening practice which can change people’s lives for the better and should be part of everyone’s daily lives. We should all take the time to get away from digital screens, tv ads, traffic and general day to day hecticness and take time out to just be at one with ourselves. A little bit of time out each day means you can actually cope with more, much more easily.

The practice of meditation has always been associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation. Yogis have practiced meditation for centuries with the practice originates from Hindu traditions of Vedantism (Hindu philosophy and religious practice) around 1500 BCE. Meditation of course, is not only a religious practice today, it is being used as a way to exercise the brain and mind to help us cope with our fast-paced modern lives.

Well documented for reducing levels of anxiety, stress and depression, meditation can be used as a free, daily tool to totally improve your well-being. By regularly meditating you can decrease activity in your DMN (default mode network) which is the part of our brain which allows our thoughts to wander from one thought to another with no particular aim. Mind-wandering is associated with depression and ruminating over and over again about the past and the future.

You could use meditation to reduce nerves before a meeting or a big presentation. As soon as you close your eyes and start breathing deeply you will see how your body instantly relaxes.

However there is more to meditation than that just relaxation. For years practitioners have claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits which persist throughout the day.

Meditation improves your brain power

Meditation improves your brain power

Meditation helps us concentrate, focus better and improves our memory which can assist any of us in our daily lives.

A recent study from a Harvard Medical School instructor in psychology reveals that meditation practitioners experienced a thickening of the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration. The participants spent an average of 27 minutes per day practicing mindfulness exercises, and this is all it took to stimulate a major increase in gray matter density in the hippocampus.

Meditators who have been meditating daily for an average of 20 years are shown to have more gray matter volume throughout the brain.

“It is fascinating to see the brain’s plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life,” says Britta Hölzel, first author of the paper and a research fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany. You can read more about the remarkable study by visiting Harvard.edu.

If you are looking to reduce your stress levels, improve your brain power, feel happier and more in control of your life, then meditation couldn’t be better for you. 20 scientific reasons to start meditating today https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/feeling-it/201309/20-scientific-reasons-start-meditating-today

There are a few apps which help beginners get started with meditation such as Headspace which can be found here: https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/top-meditation-iphone-android-apps#1

Inner Space (a charitable organisation which promotes meditation) is also a brilliant place to start. You can book courses, listen to free talks which get you in the right zone and most imporatntly get you started on your journey into peace and enlightenment. https://www.innerspace.org.uk

ENJOY!

Meditation improves your brain power

Improve your investor pitch

Pitching to investors? How to make a difference.

Posted on 27th November 2017 in Investor Pitching

This is your time to shine and show the best of you and you only get one chance.

Investors and VCs have made an initial judgement about you from your plan. This next step when they get you in to meet you is all about finding out who you are as a person, almost like a first date. If you are successful they are going to be working together with you for a number of years so they want to get a sense of you. It’s about chemistry and who can work well with who. Are you compatible with this person or are they going to drive you mad? Investors look for people who will make good partners, who are open to feedback and don’t get too defensive. They want to see YOU and YOUR personality. They DO NOT want to watch you read through a power point presentation. They can do this themselves.
Investors are going to be judging you from the moment they see you to the moment you open your mouth and start speaking. They want to see how passionate and enthusiastic you are about your proposed business and the industry you have chosen to work in. How much you genuinely know and have experience of. Are you dying to do this business and work hard with strong, solid commitment to the project?
  • Do you have the charisma to sell ideas and products?
  • Do you have the charisma and energy to lead and inspire teams?
  • Have you got the stamina to take this business through into the long term?
  • Are you calm under pressure, solid and trustworthy?
  

Your investor pitch has got to communicate the best of you.

REHEARSE, REHEARSE, REHEARSE
Consider first how you want to be perceived. How do you think an investor wants you to come across?
If you are a very exuberant, bubbly person with oozes of energy you most likely need to tone down the excitement and balance your exuberance with a calm presence which shows you are serious and committed to business.

If you are a serious character who is more process driven, you most likely need to practice speaking with energy and enthusiasm as you want to inspire this investor audience.

If you are a softer character, who can be emotional, you need to prove that you have the strength to drive a business through the ups and downs which all businesses go through without losing control.

Looks aren’t everything but first impressions are so carefully choose how you present yourself. If you would never where a suit and tie then don’t start wearing one now as it won’t look or feel like you. Most people can’t get away with dressing in a white t-shirt and jeans as Mark Zukkerberg but you can dress as the smartest version of your best self. Dress to impress in the most relevant way to you and your business.

How to do your best performance

  • Be the best of yourself
  • Look the part
  • Be enthusiastic
  • Be calm
  • Be considered
  • Show strength
  • Show charisma
  • Show flexibility
  • Show stamina
  • Don’t rely on powerpoint
  • Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse
Overall you’ve got to get the investor to trust in you and to like you. You’ve got to create rapport to get them to invest in you. A CEO who lacks a skill based competency such as a financial or technical can overcome this through training or by hiring the right complimentary talent, but character is less malleable.

 

TRUST BEATS COMPETENCY. COMPETENCY BEATS LIKE. LIKE IS WHERE IT BEGINS.

 

Sartaj Garewal is the founder of Dynamic Presenting – a creative, leadership development consultancy, adapting theatre training to create leadership programs for business.

Dynamic Presenting – Enabling Powerful Communication