How To Stop Going Red

People blush for different reasons. You’ll have your own triggers. Whatever they are, these practical tips on how to stop going red will help. You’ll be able to cope more confidently with blushing in pressure situations at work and socially. That means you’ll be able to focus on the job in hand rather than get distracted and embarrassed by the way you feel and look.

This method of how to stop going red involves 3 steps; getting ready beforehand, starting calmly and then controlling your reaction if you feel you are going red.

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How To Stop Going Red – A 3 Step Process.

Step 1 – Preparing mentally and physically beforehand

It could be a work situation or a social event; it’s one of those situations when you know there’s a chance you’ll blush and go red.

Firstly, think about wearing loose clothes that you feel comfortable in and don’t restrict your movements. Don’t drink hot drinks, they warm your core and are more likely to contribute to you feeling flushed. Drink cold water if possible.

Spend a minute or two on your own beforehand. Try to slow everything down mentally and physically. Start taking some deep breaths. Close your eyes to help you picture the way you want to look… with no redness in your face.

Try to visualise looking calm and NOT going red. See yourself as you want to be seen by others. Imagine yourself coming across confidently with no change in your pallor. If you think like this beforehand, there’s more chance you’ll actually be like this.

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Step 2 – Communicating calmness at the very start

If you look and feel calm and collected at the start, it’s much more likely you’ll be able to control any sense of redness or blushing if it comes on.

Walk into the room more slowly than you would normally. If you rush, you’re more likely to feel hot and flustered and then show that through your pallor. Be sure to smile when you greet people. Smiling releases endorphins and serotonin; this makes you feel calmer and more positive, even in stressful situations.

If it’s a work scenario like a meeting, choose a place to sit that gives you space. Being too close to people may make you feel more conscious of going red when people are listening to you talk. Have a glass of cold water available.

Step 3 – Controlling ‘the blush’ when you’re actually in the spotlight

When you’re in the heat of it, either during a work meeting, a presentation or when you’re socialising, be conscious not to start speeding up when you talk. This could well lead to you struggling for breath, losing track of what you want to say, feeling panicky and then going red.

Be sure to breathe between points you make as you’re speaking. Don’t ummm during the silence. Silence is fine and gives you a chance to get a big breath (you can’t breathe if you fill the silence with an ummm). This helps give strength to your voice; it’s less likely you’ll sound nervous and go red as a result.

Carry on speaking more slowly than you would normally and be conscious to use calm body language. Imagine yourself acting in slow motion. Control your hands so that they move calmly to reinforce your points.

Don’t use flitty eye contact. Use your eyes to engage people directly and try to keep smiling too. These simple body language tips will help you feel more in control and are sure to make it less likely you’ll feel embarrassed and start going red.

Stop worrying

It will help greatly if you try to stop worrying what people are thinking of you, even if you do sense you are going red. Blushing is a natural bodily reaction.

The truth is that, even if you think you look like a beetroot, people probably aren’t paying as much attention to you as you think they are. Some people may even find it endearing when they see someone going red – they perceive it to mean that you obviously care. You’re human too!

So try to stop fighting the feeling and the sense that going red is embarrassing. The more you fight it, the more it tends to come on. My weekly confidence tips should really help with this too.

Override peoples’ perceptions

If you do sense you are going red, override any chance of people being distracted by using charismatic body language. A super-confident person who looks flushed won’t be described as a ‘blusher’; people just see them as energetic and animated. So change peoples’ perception of you by giving them a confident message through the way you look physically. You’ll be seen to have a rosy complexion, not as a person who is blushing, embarrassed or lacking in confidence.

The more you do this, the more in control you’ll feel. More and more you’ll sense that people are listening to what you’re saying rather than being distracted by the redness in your face.

And finally

Some people find it helpful to try to blush even more! Sounds mad I know but you’ll find it counter-acts the problem because even though you’re trying, you can’t blush more. Try it and you’ll see what I mean. Find out more about this and how to put it into practice on my online confidence course or come on my one day confidence course to talk about it and try it out.