Using The Imagination To Create A Great Presentation!

Alistair clearly knew his subject – but what was frightening him was the thought of the major presentation that he was going to be making in a month’s time.

Sheepishly, he acknowledged that he had managed to avoid making presentations in the past – choosing instead to delegate the task to his assistant manager.

But on this occasion, his assistant was working on a two month contract abroad – leaving Alistair with little choice but to get to grips with his fear of standing up in front of two hundred people for an hour.

Firstly, I asked Alistair to describe the emotions he was feeling regarding the prospect of making the presentation. Not surprisingly, he said that he felt overwhelming fear – particularly at the thought of making a fool of himself.

I spoke briefly with Alistair about the sub-conscious mind – and pointed out that its role as a “slave” meant that it would tend to deliver whatever Alistair spent his time thinking about.

By focusing on fear and the thought of making a fool of himself, Alistair was actually asking his sub-conscious mind to make this a reality for him. I cited the example of a client of mine who insisted that every Christmas he would come down with a cold.

Alistair’s eyes lit up with dawning comprehension when I pointed out that my client actually had no need for a cold each Christmas, but that because he believed he would have one, he was effectively programming his mind to produce a cold for him.

What Alistair needed was more than just positive thinking. I asked him to describe how he physically knew that he was experiencing fear. He explained that he felt his throat constricting and his stomach had “butterflies”.

I enquired whether he enjoyed roller coaster rides at fun fairs – and Alistair vigorously nodded and smiled. He acknowledged that before a ride he felt a great sense of anticipation and excitement.

“And how do you physically experience anticipation and excitement?” I asked. Again, Alistair replied that he experienced both emotions physically as throat constriction and butterflies in his stomach.

Finally, I asked him to spend ten minutes each morning and evening focusing on his giving a brilliant presentation – and to imagine the elation he would experience when everyone started clapping at the end of the event, perhaps even giving him a standing ovation!

© Olivia Stefanino 2004

Olivia Stefanino is a leadership development consultant and excecutive coach, who works with blue chip organisations, SMEs and individuals. To find out more – and to download your free e-booklet “128 ways to harness your personal power”, visit http://www.beyourownguru.com

Article Source: http://www.elrincondelantropologo.com/