Most people would agree that a great performance is really
the key to great magic. NLP can be applied in many different
ways to enhance performance - through language, physiology
etc, however what will be introduced here is an area that
inhibits many great performers - performance nerves. Do you
know some great performers who as soon as they go out in front
of an audience turn into nervous wrecks?
In the 10 years or so that I have been involved with NLP
I have worked with thousands of people and many artists who
have suffered from intense stage fright. I have found that
the techniques of NLP can transform what was intense fear
into intense enjoyment. Indeed, I am also a musician and when
I was at music college I used to suffer from sever stage fright
- when I was practicing I could play really well, but when
it came down to exams, I always let myself down. Now I really
enjoy every performance.
Whenever we experience fear of particular events, it is linked
to things that have happened previously. These experiences
form 'neural-connections' and lead to similar patterns of
responding in the future.
NLP offers a range of different techniques to change these
patterns of responding through very powerful ways of transforming
the 'internal representation' of the events. The precise techniques
are quite complex and really need to be taught properly, however
a quick way to demonstrate the power of these internal representations
follows:
- Think of an event which you are a little worried about
(a minor event).
- Notice the picture you have about the event and make it
darker - in fact make it so dark that it is hard to make
out clearly.
- Now push the picture far away from you into the far corner
of the room - make it so far away from you that it is only
a small dot.
- Notice how you feel differently about the event
This is a minor technique, however it demonstrates how when
you think about things in different ways, you feel differently.
There are many techniques which can totally take away negative
emotions attached to events.
In performance the words that we use and also our physiology
also influences the internal representations of the audience,
and this is something that should always be considered. |