Sophrology: How to reduce stress before an interview

In this #LuxeTalentBlog, Alexandra Defawe, Team Leader France, and qualified Sophrologist, will explain how Sophrology can help you reduce stress before an interview. Here we go!

What is Sophrology?

Sophrology is a mind-body practice that promotes a good body-mind-emotion balance. It adopts relaxation and meditation techniques and is often used in stress management.

Sophrology can be used to get rid of certain emotions that affect and invade our mind and body, to prepare for an event (sport, childbirth, an exam...) or as a preventive measure by adopting positive thinking.

The importance of preparing for an interview.

Whether it is an interview for a competitive examination, a job or to negotiate a pay rise. We have all been confronted at least once in our lives with that slight stress that appears and manifests itself in different ways.

A small lump in the stomach, a racing heart, clammy hands and racing thoughts are symptoms that, depending on the person, appear a week or an hour before the deadline.

Although it can sometimes be associated with something positive, "good stress". It can also take over and make us lose our preparation and our focus.

Take the case of a job interview. No matter how much you follow José's advice to succeed in your interview, stress can ruin everything.

Therefore, preparing for an interview also means learning how to manage stress.

Stress management through Sophrology

What techniques can be used in Sophrology to prepare for an interview?

The first technique is to learn how to breathe. Breathing is the gateway to Sophrology.

As you read this article, I invite you to observe your breathing, how would you derive it: fast, slow, belly, shoulders, back?

Only 1 in 10 people know how to breathe well.

Natural breathing is the breathing of a baby or the breathing we do when we sleep. It is therefore interesting to see how a baby or your partner breathes while sleeping. You will only see the belly moving.

Real breathing is the so-called natural breathing

When we breathe in, our belly inflates like a balloon, then our rib cage fills up to our shoulders and when we breathe out it is the other way around; like a bag we empty our air starting from our shoulders, chest and belly.

Breathing allows better oxygenation of our brain and therefore of our cells.

To go further, before an interview, the day before or a few hours or even minutes before, we can practice what is called calming breathing.

Moreover, for any peak of stress, it is interesting to practice this breathing.

The practice

Breathe in through your nose and feel the air fill your stomach, your lungs and then your shoulders. When you exhale in the opposite direction, blow the air out through your mouth very slowly, as if you were blowing through a straw.

Concentrating on the breath is a form of meditation, it helps our concentration and calms our mind. Therefore, we can say that breathing (breathing well) is an anti-stress technique.

If you want to go further, to prepare for an interview, you can practice visualisation with a Sophrologist.

Thanks to his or her voice, the Sophrologist will put you in a modified state of consciousness and make you visualise the interview. The different stages of the preparation, the D-day, your self-confidence, the success of the interview...

Other Sophrology technics

You can also practice with a Sophrologist what is called deprogramming/reprogramming. You will relive an experience of an unsuccessful interview in order not to repeat the same mistakes. Stress often comes from a bad experience that we are afraid of repeating; deprogramming and reprogramming allow us to start off on the right foot again.

With a Sophrologist, you will be able to practice different anti-stress techniques as well as breathing that will allow you to approach your interview with more confidence, and serenity, allowing you to value your abilities without letting yourself be carried away by stress.

In fact, we all have abilities that are hidden or buried within us due to society or lack of confidence. Sophrology is a very good tool to activate them at the right moments.

For example, a stressed person who lacks self-confidence can quickly lose his or her ability to react if the recruiter asks a question during the interview that destabilises him or her.

Thanks to Sophrology, the candidate will be able to receive this question differently and will be able to activate his or her intrinsic abilities to answer it without stress.

There is no perfect recipe, but your attitude will make a difference.

We cannot say that Sophrology guarantees 100% success in your interview, but thanks to different techniques, Sophrology can prepare you to manage your time, and your stress and accompany you.

However, we can say that Sophrology is a complementary tool to the preparation of your interview. Just as for an athlete, Sophrology will not replace training, food and sleep, but it will be an added bonus.

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