Do you have a presentation coming up? An important interview? A sales pitch? A public speech?
Do you feel uneasy or stressed out about it?
Have you heard of the 5 p’s.
Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance
The comfort and confidence that Proper Preparation brings to the table can’t be ignored. This will go a long way in helping you to leave behind negative stress energy and not carry it into your big moment.
I also want to take a moment introduce you to another powerful tool that I love to use just prior to a big event.
The exercise is called “exchanging your energy.”
Have you ever been a little shy walking into a theatre? You mutter your movie choice so low that the ticket clerk has to ask you to repeat yourself to understand what you have said.
You receive your tickets, enter the theatre, get your snacks, find a seat preferably away from others and begin to watch the show.
The movie turns out to be one of the funniest you have ever seen in your life. At first you reserve your laughter, but by the end you are laughing out loud with the crowd! You then walk out of the theatre, cracking jokes, loudly talking about the movie and carrying new charisma in your steps and voice.
What happened to the shy person that walked in? The energy inside of you was exchanged. Trapped in the excitement of the movie you unknowingly exited the state of stress you walked in with, and then entered into a new state of comfort. This new state is ideal and allows us to oppurate from a place of mental clarity!
You can intentionally do this same thing just before the big meeting. Instead of frantically squeezing in a last minute review of your material, it is far better to do something that puts you in good spirits.
You can do this many of ways but here are my top 3!
1.) Listen to a full line up of your favorite songs! Music that makes you happy and lights you up inside. Dance about and use your body as fully as you can!
Feel it. Experience it, vibe with it like you did when you first heard it. If you have seen it in a concert replay it in your mind! If you dream of seeing it live, pretend you can inside your mind. Really try and engage with it deeply.
2.)Listen to or watch tons of comedy. Go with something you know will be funny! Replay the funniest parts if they make you crack up even more!
3.)Watch a string of inspirational, motivational videos, youtubes, social media reels… have a playlist put together if you can, just for this special exercise.
This “exchange your energy” exercise is designed to change your mental state just prior to the event and should be used in addition to your previous mentioned use of the 5 p’s.
I hope these 2 tools help you shed that stress and you walk into the next opportunity feeling comfortable and ready to do your best!