In the Ted Talk, the speaker first spoke a little bit about chickens. Green Zone chickens were collaborative chickens who could tolerate each other, and laid more eggs because they were able to in peace. Red Zone chickens, on the other hand, were non-collaborative and hated being together. Thus, the chickens pecked each other to the death. In the end, there were only two emaciated, bloody, and featherless chickens who could only lay a few eggs compared to the Green Zone chickens.
What this shows is that when people and animals are collaborative, or “Green Zone Chickens”, they are more productive and are more able to problem-solve. The Ted Talk was about how to stop yourself from being defensive, which can cause you to be in the “Red Zone”. When you are defensive, you can drop significantly in IQ, and get extremely angry, which will not allow you to work things out.
There are many ways to realize you have become defensive. This might include but is not restricted to: heavy breathing, a large jolt of energy, a faster heartbeat, anger, a drop in IQ, a want to have the last word, blaming your defensiveness on other people, and not wanting to talk. When you are becoming defensive, you should recognize your signs in order to stop the defensiveness.
Once you realize that you are becoming defensive, I think you should take a couple of deep breaths. This will help clear your head. You could also walk around, leave the room and go somewhere to be alone, or just keep your mouth shut and listen to what other people are saying. Then, join in and work out your problems.
Being defensive is a bad thing, but learning to control it can help you a lot. Once you are able to do that, then you will basically always be a Green Zone Chicken. You can solve problems, collaborate with your peers, and make smart decisions. If you can’t, then you may lash out and end up as bad as the Red Zone Chicken.
In conclusion, there are many things to stop you from being defensive. Once you have a good mindset, you can be much more productive and never go back to being a Red Zone Chicken again.