埃里卡（Erica）是一家中型科技公司的产品团队的负责人，她害怕她即将向执行团队的演讲。詹姆斯（James）是一名高级领导人，以自负狂热而闻名，会在那里。詹姆斯非常聪明，但他似乎也喜欢利用自己的才智来确保其他所有人都知道自己的聪明程度。埃里卡（Erica）以前曾被烤过，并害怕另一轮比赛。
狂热只是一种形式toxic co-worker. They like tomake themselves look betterby making those around them look worse. So they’ll highlight something in your presentation that they know more about than you. Or act like a dog on a bone about a tangential point. Or hold court about a topic they feel illuminates their brilliance, whether relevant or not.
您可能已经从过去的演讲中走到了这样的人感到沮丧，甚至可能是自我批评的。自然，您会害怕相同的重复。虽然有时可以像这样的狂暴欺凌行为有效，但这也可能很糟糕。
The best way to handle presenting to an egomaniac is to get in the right frame of mind beforehand. Follow these four strategies that clients of ours, like Erica have used, and avoid getting thrown off your game by an egomaniac’s inevitable stunts.
Approach from a place of curiosity
如果您专注于试图使一切正确并保持防弹性，那么在演讲开始之前就迷路了。我们并不是说您不准备。
当与一个狂热者打交道以证明有多聪明时，他们都会找到可以分开的东西，无论如何。代替该怎么办？专注于您可能学到的东西。当您专注于完美时，您会收紧以避免犯错。但是，当学习是您的重点时，您就会开放。并愿意学习shows confidence.
One former client perfectly embodied this mindset. Despite having to frequently present to the late Jack Welch, reputed for wicked smarts and nose for BS, he never felt nervous. Asked why he explained, “I know what I think about my business. I’m interested in learning what Welch thinks about my business.”
这种心态将您的重点从提供“完美”的演示文稿转变为进入有关当前现实的对话并找到最佳解决方案。它使对话从谁是对的，谁是错误的转变，对心理模型的比较和每个人都变得更聪明的机会。通过关注您可以学习的内容，您可以将游戏更改为可以赢得的游戏。
Articulate your weaknesses better
在您向您担心的人介绍之前，请尝试揭露您的弱点，然后自己发现它们。首先使用特定策略，组织功能或业务案例列出所有可能的漏洞。您有哪些领域对自己的信心较低，可能会怀疑？现在，勾勒出一些可能的对策来缩小这些差距。
No strategy or business situation is perfect. But prepping in this way will make it hard for them to point out something you haven’t already faced. If they shine a light on some weakness, reply, “That’s my view of the situation and our options for addressing it. What do you think? Is there something else I should be considering?”
No competent leader expects anyone to be perfect; they just understand their business and the situation and have a plan to accelerate progress or close gaps.
提前计划反驳
Egomaniacs will find something to pick at or dig some detail out of your charts to pound on. It’s what they do. When they dredge up something you haven’t considered, say: “Great point. I don’t have the level of detail you’re looking for right now. I’ll research that and get back to you with my assessment and recommendations.”
If they don’t let it go, reiterate: “I acknowledge it’s an important issue. I suggested that I research the matter and close the loop with you. Is there something more you are looking for from me right now? If not, what would be the most productive use of the time remaining for you?”
The “most productive use of time” question tends to break the spell and stop their preseveration. Typically, others are also weary of “the show” and will jump in to advocate for moving on.
不幸的是，有时甚至这个呼叫也无法正常工作，而狂热者也不会放手。从那里开始，很明显还有其他一些议程，您最好的选择可能是让他们完成展示。之后，如果感觉像是尊重和人类的正派界限，您可能需要考虑您的角色和公司是否是您贡献和成长的正确位置。
停止负面自我交谈
在过去向狂热者展示后，您可能已经走出了自我批评并质疑您的整体充分性。他们从来没有说过你很愚蠢或露出演示文稿。如果您听到这些话，那可能是您的批判性内在声音。
You may think that being tough on yourself will compel you to stay sharp and perform. However, self-criticism can create相反的效果; instead, it can reduce motivation, worsens self-control, and inhibits you from taking action to reach your goal.
When you recognize your inner critic rearing its ugly head, quiet it by writing down the criticisms, such as “you always mess things up,” and then three believable rebuttals. Alternately, ask a trusted colleague for feedback. These steps typically illuminate the fact that you have overblown and overgeneralized a small mistake.
当您向艰难的受众展示时，让自己进入正确的心态对于您的准备至关重要。专注于学习，预测弱点并发展对策，并提出就无法直接回答的任何挑战结束循环。通过这些措施，如果您开始期待这些具有挑战性的演讲，请不要感到惊讶。
Dina Smith is the owner ofCognitas, an executive coaching and consulting firm in the San Francisco Bay Area.