NLP HELPS WOMAN OVERCOME STAGE FRIGHT

Even the people we consider to be the best in the business (whatever their field may be) are prone to mental sabotage sometimes. Many top entertainers and performers with years of experiences still go through the same old routine of “bricking it” before going on stage. Now, obviously in most cases there is no logical rationale as to why they should still get nervous, after all they are still in the business because the public love them. The reason why these pre-performance jitters continue to exist is because these individuals are anchored an automatic pattern of behaviour that lets them know its time to perform.

You’ve probably heard of actors redirecting their nervous energy into their performance and this can often bring them greater successful. For other talented people though, the mind plays such a tormenting game that they simply freeze and cannot function at all. Stage fright is common and also very understandable. As this article shows (from the 3News website) the key to overcoming it is to interrupt the automatic limiting behaviour and to install more calming and positive response choices. NLP is great for that!!

Most of us have suffered from stage fright to some extent. When people are
asked what they fear the most, speaking or singing in public is often rated in
the top 10.

Edwina Halliwell always loved amateur dramatics and singing, but in her
teens a horrible audition changed everything.

Two years ago she had planned to sing for her husband at their wedding.
Again the nerves returned and she froze.

Campbell Live followed Ms Halliwell on a personal journey to enter the
spotlight once more, as she prepared to enter her kind of hell by walking onto
the stage at the comedy classic in Auckland.

She is usually a bubbly, confident person, until I ask her to stand on
the stage.
"Feel really nervous, legs are like jelly," she says. "I
just want to get off the stage."
Many famous performers have suffered from
stage fright. At the peak of Sir Laurence Olivier's career he became worried he
would be too tired to remember his lines. Barbara Streisand did not sing in
public for 27 years after forgetting the lines to several songs at a concert in
1967.
Fifteen years ago Ms Halliwell loved performing and singing until she
went to an audition and froze when she tried to sing.

Karen Ross knows what she is going through. Ms Ross uses NLP or
neuro-linguistic programming techniques to help individuals and
organisations, here and overseas, change their behaviours.

It is about the brain and how it works with the body.

"It's about how we learn, our behaviours, our thoughts, our feelings,
our habits are created, and by knowing how they're created we know how we can
change them," says Ms Ross.
At the moment Ms Halliwell associates the stage
with fear.

"The way it's stored can be changed quite easily," says Ms Ross. "It
was probably set up in a matter of seconds, so that gives you can idea of how
quickly it can be changed," says Ms Ross.
First she helps Ms Halliwell
imagine what it will be like when she is performing and enjoying it. She then
introduces the idea of a 'trigger point' to help her relax.

Ms Ross identifies a point on Ms Halliwell's hand and connects that to a
sense of calm. She encourages Ms Halliwell to touch that point when nerves start
to take over.
But will it make a difference? Two weeks later we went
back.

It went "really well", says Ms Ross. "We've had two sessions together
and she's ready to sing."
So ready, she headed to the Ivory Lounge in
Auckland, determined to sing for her husband Duncan, something she had wanted to
do at their wedding two years before.
And as quickly as it came, her stage
fright disappeared. She sang to her husband, and while the nerves were still
there, the person who could not even stand on a stage was now singing to an
audience.

It was an incredible change, and even she could not quite believe it.
"Oh my god, I can't believe that, it's just amazing."

The therapy had helped Ms Halliwell confront her fear, and changed the
feelings associated with performing in public.

"When I'm working with a client I can't be sure until we make some
changes, whether that one thing will generalise and help the person feel relaxed
with everything or there might be more than one thing," says Ms Ross. "And in
Edwina's case, it was one thing."

"The difference between before the coaching and after is now, I really
just wanted to do it and I didn't care what it sounded like, it was just really
important for me to do it," says Ms Halliwell. "And it was just such a dream to
get up and sing in front of all those people."
It might not have been her
greatest performance but it was certainly one of, what she hopes, will be many
more.

"It's been really great to see and watch the confidence build up," says
her husband Duncan. "You couldn't hold her back this evening, which is a major
transformation from where it's been before."

www.lifehappens.co.uk

IS NLP HERE TO STAY?

There has been a long running debate in the field of psychology as to whether neuro-linguistic programming is just another personal development fad or if it is a revolution in the understanding of human behaviour that is here to stay.

Even as an NLP practitioner I think this is a very healthy debate to have. I am absolutely convinced that NLP provides positive life transformations when applied in the way its creators intended it to be used; I have seen it happen time and time again with my own clients. However, many people have a distorted view of what NLP is all about because their exposure to it has come in the form of inexperienced ‘dabblers’ who have missed the point.

I have attended many trainings and seminars where NLP is cited as one of the methods being employed, but then the facilitators only go on to talk about concepts and presuppositions. NLP is something that needs to be experienced before it can be completely understood. I could talk all day about how the mind makes associations and links emotions to external stimulus and you would either buy into it or you wouldn’t. However, if I were to guide you through a physical Anchoring technique that allowed you to access a positive emotional state anytime you wanted in the future you would have no choice but to see the truth of how NLP is aligned to the way you work. Only when we have a true experience of something can we stop having opinions about theories and start utilizing the tested facts.

I genuinely think that if I had never experienced NLP first hand, in its intended form, I would be one of the skeptics who think it is a fluffy gimmick passed its sell by date. The fact that I have experienced it, on too many occasions to count, means I can see why NLP is going to continue growing, evolving and changing lives.

This is a fascinating article by Mike Levy on the Training Zone website:

In his recent book, 'Tricks of the Mind' television
illusionist Derren Brown says that NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) is "The
Frankenstein grandchild of Ericksonian hypnosis". More than 30 years after the
publication of 'The Structure of Magic', the seminal work on NLP by Bandler and
Grinder, has the set of techniques come of age or had its day? Is there any
scientific proof to underpin the claims made by practitioners? And if not, does
it matter?

Evergreen questionsThese, says Michael Breen, are
evergreen questions: "They were asking them back in 1988 and they come up every
10 years or so." Breen, who taught NLP with Bandler and Paul McKenna, has
predictably strong views about the current state of NLP. "It's no use asking
about scientific validity: NLP is not and never will be a science. It is a
discipline that people will take pot shots at and then steal its contents."

Breen who spoke at last year's NLP Conference, says that the
discipline does not look for absolute truths: "NLP looks for clues to see what
works in human behaviour. NLP cannot be controlled – the best new work is coming
from people nobody has heard of. And that is how it should be."

Elusive qualityThere is, says Breen, an inbuilt and elusive
quality about NLP which depends hugely on the skills and insights of the
practitioner: "It is not about a corpus of knowledge or a set of testable
qualifications. NLP was created to create new stuff, not to copy other people's
work."

His point is that for him, NLP is a facilitating tool that
opens up endless possibilities when it is in the right hands. "It is a
behavioural skills set, an art, a discipline that when used well can have
amazing results."

What excites Breen most about his discipline is
what his students can do with the tools: "Someone who takes what they learn
about NLP and goes on to do something completely new with it: that is what
really turns me on." He cites a student who developed his own set of tools based
on Houdini's famous escapes. "It's a lovely little tool and it works – that is
NLP."

"The best practitioners are those who already possess
competencies that can be built on. However, no two practitioners should ever do
the same work. That is why NLP is not a science."

Flourishing in
the downturnSue Knight, best-selling author of 'NLP at Work', agrees: "NLP is a
study of what works best – the most important test is: does it work for you and
achieve the results you want?" Knight, a speaker at this year's NLP Conference,
thinks that the discipline is flourishing with the present downturn providing
new and exciting opportunities.

"NLP is perfectly suited to these
times. What makes excellence in leadership and how do we best deal with business
adversity are some key questions today. My programmes on leadership here and in
India are bursting at the seams. The crash in the financial world is a
demonstration of what happens when you do not have excellence in leadership.
People are now looking for new ways of leading business. NLP answers that call."

Never strongerFor Knight, NLP is now far from marginal: "Looking
back over 20 years as a practitioner, there was a time when most people on my
courses paid for themselves – now almost all are backed by their employers." So
Knight believes that NLP has never been stronger.

Marielena
Sabatier, co-founder of Inspiring Potential, agrees with that view. She is
another keen advocate of NLP. A few years ago, she took her MBA and immersed
herself in the no-nonsense world of high corporate finance. Then came a complete
change of career – running a thriving coaching company whose focus is leadership
development and interpersonal communication skills. But isn't NLP a little too
fluffy for her? "Not at all. It has so many uses – improving inter-personal
communications, challenging the presuppositions behind the way we see ourselves
in the world, helping us to become more tolerant of other people's viewpoints. I
find that NLP really opens the mind to new possibilities."

Lack of
evidence?Is she worried then at the lack of hard scientific evidence behind NLP?
"No, it is an amalgam of already tried and tested therapies and ideas. To me,
NLP really explains how the brain works – and I'm the kind of person who, if it
doesn't make sense, I go back to the roots of an idea." That said, Sabbatier
regrets the sheer number of NLP schools out there: "It makes a single
accreditation body less, rather than more, likely to succeed."

No
profession!Accreditation is something of an anathema to Breen but he is excited
about the future of NLP: "Not in terms of more paper qualifications. There
should never be an NLP 'profession'. Without all that NLP has reached the point
where it has percolated through the culture," he says. "It is everywhere but it
doesn't necessarily smell like NLP – and that is exactly as it should be. NLP is
essentially about transformation and in that quality, the very nature of NLP
must keep evolving and transforming."

The future, says Breen, will
be online – NLP will be democratised and that could be bad news for traditional
classroom approaches. New technology will hit the NLP profession very hard –
putting learning into the hands of the learners will mean that NLP will change
its form, content and mode of delivery." Breen, for one, cannot wait for the
next 30 years.

For more information:For those looking for research
underpinning NLP, there are a number of respected papers such as the one
produced by Ashley Dowlen, an Associate at Roffey Park. His 1996 paper 'NLP -
help or hype? Investigating the uses of neuro-linguistic programming in
management learning' is a good overview of the evidence. He finds that, "...the
use of language patterns to enhance effective communication tends to get support
and appears to be among the more reliable evidence. The use of the 'outcome'
technique receives some support, as does the meta-model questioning method. The
evidence on the ability of NLP approaches to bring about change in emotional
state is far less conclusive. In general terms, the eclectic nature of NLP may
be its strength, particularly if the collection of approaches is new to
potential users, and in general terms there are a number of references to the
value of NLP techniques for developers."

For the whole report see
the Emerald Insight web page: www.emeraldinsight.com

There are more research findings at: www.eanlpt.orgAnd www.inspiritive.com.au

About the interviewer: Mike Levy is a freelance journalist and
copywriter with 20 years' experience. He is also a writing and presentations
coach. He especially loves playwriting and creating resources for schools. Mike
is director of Write Start Ltd. For more information go to: www.writestart.co.uk

LIFE HAPPENS: visit me any time as www.life-happens.co.uk

A SHORT EXPLANATION OF NLP

Although Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) was developed over three decades ago, it is only in recent years that the world is beginning to discover why it is one of the most powerful methods for creating positive and lasting change in individuals. NLP is unique in that it focuses exclusively on how the results we achieve in our lives are determined by the way we communicate with ourselves internally (also referred to as internal states).

NLP can be translated as:

Neuro = Your Nervous System (the mind & body working together)
Linguistic = Language & Communication (verbal & non-verbal)
Programming = The process used to achieve consistent results

Therefore NLP is the methodology of learning to communicate with your nervous system in a way that consistently produces the results you desire. In other words, it’s knowing how to run your own brain to get what you want in a way that’s right for you.

You see, in order to have any experience in life and know whether it’s good or bad you have to communicate with yourself, and it’s the specific way in which you do this that determines the quality of your experience. Often, the difference between someone who thinks they can do something and someone who thinks they can’t is the way they represent the situation to themselves in their minds.

When working with clients I use a range of NLP techniques to help them access their most resourceful states and identify a strategy for resolving their problems in an easy and positive way. This can often create a high level of self awareness that typically leads to improvements in other areas of their life too.

Try out this simple exercise and experience how NLP can be used to generate a positive state in you: How to feel great on purpose.

NLP Technique: How to feel great on purpose

I always like sharing this technique with people who are new to NLP because, apart from being really easy to do, it exquisitely highlights that the way we represent things to ourselves determines our emotional states. This process works because the human nervous system cannot tell the difference between a real event and one that is vividly imagined.

Before you go ahead and enjoy feeling great, ensure you are in a situation where it is safe and appropriate to relax for a few moments and focus you attention inside. Read these instructions all the way through before carrying them out. It is best to be standing for this exercise:

1. Close your eyes and recall a time in your life when you felt really relaxed. Maybe you were on holiday, lying on a beach, or listening to soothing music whilst chilling out on a Sunday morning. If you can’t think of a time straight away imagine a made up scenario in which you are very relaxed. What ever that thought is for you just check to make sure it is a time when you feel totally carefree and calm inside.

2. Now, as you think of this, notice how you see the image in your mind. Whereabouts would it be in front of you if you could point to it? Is it to the right or left; top middle or bottom of your internal visual spectrum? Notice also if it is a still frame picture or are you watching it like a movie? Is it in colour or black and white? Do you see yourself in the picture from a third person perspective or are you looking at it through your own eyes? Take some time to notice everything you notice.

3. Next, imagine you can take this scene from where ever it currently is and blow it up in size so that it’s now larger than life right there in front of you. In fact let it surround you so that you can even see it in your peripheral vision. And as you do this, allow yourself to notice how it naturally intensifies those feelings of relaxation within you.

4. If have not done so already, imagine stepping into your body so that you are now seeing what you saw through your own eyes. Make the image as focused and bright as you can. Increase the colours so that they become strong and vivid. Also become aware of the relaxing sounds you can hear around you, turn the volume up and really feel that delightful sense of calmness growing within you.

5. Keep yourself in this scene while you notice whereabouts in your body you are feeling the most amount of comfort. Give that comfort a colour and imagine its glowing in that part of your body. Now, focus on that colour and let it begin to flow into to every other part of you, taking with it that wonderful sense of calmness and relaxation. Send it up to the top of your head and down to the tips of your toes and, as you let the feeling get stronger, press the thumb and forefinger of one hand together.

6. Now, keeping that thumb and forefinger pressed together and holding onto that good feeling, imagine that you are now in another time when you felt really HAPPY. This might be when you were having lots of fun and laughter with friends or being involved in something special. Maybe you achieved something you were very proud of. Again, see what you saw, hear what you heard and really feel how good it felt in that situation. Make the image as bright and colourful as you can and make the sounds louder and the feelings stronger. Really associate into the scene as if you are there right now and magnify that happy sensation so that it radiates to every fibre of your being.

7. Still with your thumb and finger pressed, jump to another time when you felt DEEP PLEASURE (I’m sure you don’t need me to make any suggestions). Let yourself really exaggerate everything you experienced and add this to all the other wonderful feelings you have being feeling so far.

8. You’re getting the idea! You can carry on like this, adding more and more positive resources, as many as you wish, all the time pressing you thumb and forefinger together, and when you can’t take anymore of feeling this great, open your eyes and relax.

By now you should be feeling fantastic, and isn’t it fascinating that you were able to do this simply by directing your thoughts in the right way? If you are wondering why I asked you press your thumb and forefinger together, the reason is simply that your unconscious mind has made a neuro-associative link between the emotions you felt and the sensation between your thumb and finger. This is known as an ‘anchor’.

In the same way that just hearing a particular song can bring back feelings of nostalgia, your new anchor, when pressed, can reconnect you to the positive feelings you created in this exercise. Why not test it now?

Anytime you want to feel more resourceful in the future you can trigger your anchor and feel great on purpose. By doing this you are learning to take control of your own brain and as with any skill the more you get to use it the stronger it will get. Enjoy!