Your Brain Shuts Down Under Stress. Here’s Why.

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]In high-pressure moments, most people succumb to that pressure. They either start rambling, they over-explain things, or they freeze. It is not because they're incompetent. It is because their brain has been hijacked.

[00:00:13]And here's what I mean by that. In a calm situation, your brain has the capability of thinking through thoughts and crafting intelligent messages. But when there is a perception of danger or threat, either real or perceived through our senses, our [music] blood flow our brain our brain's blood flow flows away from the executive centers, the rational decision-making centers, and it goes to your emotional centers of the brain. And that's when the hijacking occurs. Having executive presence is not about trying to or pretending to be calm. It is about doing the things that are needed to keep your executive brain online, the executive centers of the brain. So, next time you find yourself in a stressful situation or in a high-stakes situation, try this. Pause and recognize what state you are in, and [music] then take one breath in and one slow breath out. That single pause and that single breath can lower the emotional reactivity of the amygdala, and it raises the decision-making and the clarity of your executive centers. Because here's the truth. Executive presence is not a personality.

[00:01:23]>> [music] >> It is a learnable and trainable brain state. And it's really important in leadership context and in influence and in getting buy-in. And I encourage you to save this message and share it with someone else who leads in high-stakes moments.