Bloody Taboos
March 2023
When you’re about to take the stage and give the best presentation you’ve ever given, it’s nice to feel the wind in your back. Any red flag can throw you off your game, especially the giant red flag some of us have to deal with every month.
Different reactions
How your period effects your performance, is hard to put into numbers. Everyone reacts to their period in a different way. Leontien van Moorsel, a well-known Dutch cyclist, indicated that she experienced stronger legs and a higher threshold for pain during her period. The tennisplayer Zheng Qiwen left Roland Garros because of heavy menstrual cramps. It is clear that there is a physical reaction, but there is no telling exactly what will happen. And then there is the taboo.
Getting
inspired
Then check out these trainings:
– Storytelling Training
– Slide Design Training
– 1-on-1 public speaking coaching
How it works
During the first part of your menstrual cycle your testosterone and estrogen levels are lower than in other phases of your cycle. This means that you have less energy, which often causes intense emotions. Over the three periods your energy level increases, reaches a high and then decreases until you get back to your period. These phases mean that you feel different, have different emotions and have different preferences at any time during the month. It’s like the difference in the four seasons. This has a reversible effect on your personal performance.
Take into account the effect your cycle has on you
Working when your emotions are big and heavy and your energy is low feels different than when you are bouncing and in the right mood. Is it wise to ignore these clear changes and plan your week the same way you do every week? Perhaps it’s wiser to take into account the effect your cycle has on you. Dinara Mukh talks in her TedX about her superpowers that match all four phases of her cycle and how she adjusts her planning accordingly.
All seasons in one comfort zone
Happy Good Talk wants her participants to be comfortable in every situation. The circumstances are leading. Are there nerves, doubts or even fear? Does the audience consist of 6 trusted colleagues or are you standing in front of a room with 200 strangers? Are you in your winter phase and do you need something on stage to hold on to, like a pulpit or a microphone on a stand? Or is your cycle in the middle of summer and do you feel comfortable on a podium with nothing more than yourself? Either way is fine, as long as you find a way to be comfortable in front of your audience. Only then will you get the response you are looking for.