This technique is from NLP and will help you access confidence whenever you need to feel more confident. Clients in the past has found this technique really useful when giving presentations
Client Exercise
1. The Situation. First think of a situation when you would like to feel your best and most resourceful self. Draw an imaginary circle on the ground in front of you. Make it a generous circle of about three feet in diameter.
2. Relive Confidence. Stand up and let yourself go back in your memory to a time when you were very confident, abundantly confident. Get back to it strongly; see what you saw and hear what you heard. Notice what you are feeling and how good it feels reliving that moment…
3. In the Circle. As you feel the confidence building step into the C.O.E. What colour would you like the circle to be? Would you like it to have a sound like a soft hum that indicates how powerful it is? What is the sound like? How does it feel? Are you relaxed, excited, strong? How is your posture and breathing right now? Notice the position of your feet and hands, the tilt of your head. When the feeling of confidence is at its fullest, step out of the circle, leaving those positive confident feelings, colours and sounds inside the circle. Break state.
4. Repeat the exercise with a second experience if you want to add further resourceful states to the circle or if the circle doesn’t feel strong enough. Repeat as many times as necessary. The circle is limitless and you can keep adding more confidence and power resources to the circle over time.
5. Selecting Cues. Now think of a specific time in the future when you want to have that same feeling of super confidence. See and hear what will be happening just before you want to feel confident. How will the scene unfold? What is the cue to knowing that it is nearly time to step into the C.E.O.? It could be the opening of an office door or stepping onto a stage or being introduced to an audience…
6. Step into the Circle of Excellence! Feel the confidence there for you again, the colour the sounds, the confident breathing and posture. Imagine the scene unfolding exactly the way to want it too with all your confident feelings and resources fully available for you.
7. Check Results. Now step out of the circle again, leaving those confident feelings there in the circle. Outside the circle, take a moment and think again of that upcoming event or situation. You’ll find you’ll automatically recall those confident feelings. This means that you’ve already reprogrammed yourself for that upcoming situation and you are already feeling better resourced for it. When the time comes you will naturally feel more confident and if you want to add more power to those positive feeling, your circle of excellence is only ever one footstep away.