It was tough for many of us to watch the recent presidential debates without hurling something at the TV. But despite all of the “nasty” comments that were thrown Hillary Clinton’s way, she never seemed to lose her cool when debating Donald Trump.
Clinton revealed how she stayed so calm in a new Q&A with Rookie readers. Lulu from Virginia asked her about the debate, writing, “I’m like swearing and about to punch someone and you’re just smiling and it’s amazing! Do you do like a lot of yoga or something?” Clinton replied that “it took some work,” and part of her debate prep was anticipating “all the outrageous things” Trump would say to her, so that she wasn’t shocked. She wrote:
“Having said that, in some ways, I’ve been preparing for those debates for a long time–like, for decades. I’ve been in some pretty high-stress, highly visible situations, where if I got too emotional or lost my cool, it would have been bad. So I’ve gotten a lot of practice in the art of staying calm, thinking before speaking, deep breathing, and not automatically showing how I feel.”
The Democratic presidential nominee added that there are downsides to being good at staying calm, however. Sometimes people can’t quite figure her out, and she thinks her ability to keep her composure might be the reason why. Clinton wrote:
“I strive to balance being thoughtful and calm with being relaxed and open with people. That’s something a lot of women deal with, especially if they’re in the public eye. It’s just how it goes.”
Clinton added that, yes, she does yoga whenever she can, since “it really does help” — even in the most stressful of times.
