3 minutes max. · Episode 11 · Senses and emotions
Our emotions: Shift Your Emotion: From stress to clarity in 2 minutes
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About this episode
- Episode
- #11 of 48
- Published
- 10 September 2025
- Length
- 3:00 min
- Series
- Senses and emotions
- Hosts
- Andre Ottlik and Jules (AI)
In short
Shifting your emotions on purpose moves you from stress or anger to clarity and the ability to act. Movement and reinterpreting a situation can help. You get two micro exercises so you react less from impulse and more from choice.
Three things to try
- Spend 60 seconds naming what you feel, out loud or in writing, without trying to fix it.
- Then rephrase your thoughts as "I'm having the thought that…" to create distance.
- Ask AI for an if-then sentence and an I-statement for a trigger, such as a sharp comment on your slide in the team chat.
Read more: Senses & Emotions — The Leadership Edge No Machine Can Copy (Yet)
Transcript
Read the full transcript
- 00:00 Jules
- Welcome to three minutes max. Human Skills in the Age of AI. We are back with my interview with Andre on regulating emotions. Why should we even try to deliberately shift our emotions Andre?
- 00:12 Andre Ottlik
- Hi, Jules, because it moves us from stress or anger to clarity and the ability to act. And it often works with tiny micro exercises.
- 00:21 Jules
- Okay, and what does the research say? And do you have an everyday example?
- 00:26 Andre Ottlik
- Movement and reappraisal techniques help, for example, when we get the body moving and reinterpret the meaning of a situation, stress noticeably drops. This was studied by Lucas Raphael Bento Silva in 2020. If you receive critical feedback and feel your body tense up, take a deep breath and straighten your posture instead of going on the defense and ask a clarifying question. No drama please.
- 00:54 Jules
- Sounds doable. Give us two exercises,
- 00:57 Andre Ottlik
- Sure. Tip one. Name it. Don't battle it: Two times 60s. First: spend 60s just naming what's there. Say it out loud or write it down. For example, I feel pressure in my chest or I have warm hands. Don't fix anything. Just label the emotions inside you. Then 60s to defuse: Turn your related thoughts into a sentence like: I'm having the thought that I'm nervous, or my mind is telling me: I can't pull this off.
- 01:28 Jules
- Many notice that simply naming it already reduces pressure. With a bit of distance, you can respond more intentionally.
- 01:35 Andre Ottlik
- The problem is rarely lack of knowledge is that this can feel weird to bring it into our daily business, but it's well supported scientifically. That means for us, make a mindset upgrade. Step out of your comfort zone, try a new technique and experience by that new emotions.
- 01:54 Jules
- Got it. And the AI version?
- 01:56 Andre Ottlik
- Try the if then plan with AI plus a feedback I-statement in about two minutes: A concrete scenario would be: in the team chat you get: your slide is confusing. You want to stay calm and clarify what they mean. Then just tell AI in one sentence: Trigger: sharp comment on my slide and team chat. Goal: Stay calm and ask clarifying questions first. Then have it suggest an if then sentence. Ask the AI also for feedback I-statement to send back. The side effect is you give useful feedback and often realize it wasn't meant that harshly.
- 02:37 Jules
- The goal is agency instead of rumination loops.
- 02:41 Andre Ottlik
- Exactly. Address the issue directly. Resolve it. Move on. You'll
- 02:46 Andre Ottlik
- react less from impulse and more from deliberate choice. See you next time.
- 02:51 Jules
- Follow 3 minutes max. share it and message Andre on LinkedIn. Friday we will look at how to let go of emotions even better
More on Senses and emotions
- #7Our senses - See Better, Decide Better: Sharpen Team Vision
- #8Our senses - Listening That Delivers: Sharpen Team Hearing
- #9Our senses - Feeling as a Leadership Skill: Stay Clear Under Pressure
- #10Our emotions: Spot Your Emotions: Sharpen self‑awareness before they steer you
- #11Our emotions: Shift Your Emotion: From stress to clarity in 2 minutes (this episode)
- #12Our emotions: Let Emotions Go: Get your focus back, stop rumination
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