Do you suffer from on-stage anxiety? Do you forget your content, race through your message, or shake during delivery? Visualization might be able to help. We’ve encourage speakers to try this simple meditative technique, which can help you more fully prepare for delivery without taking up a lot of time.
So what is it?
Visualization is the process of mentally picturing the task we are about to do. It’s that simple, and we do it all of the time. For example:
“Whenever we have an idea or notion to do something we visualize it first. For instance, if we’re hungry and want to eat we picture different food possibilities; whether we want to cook a meal or go out to eat, and whether or not we want company at our meal. When we have a function to attend we picture what type of outfit to wear and where we might shop for i.” Source: Visualization: A Key to Achieving Your Life Goals.
When it comes to a presentation or speech, visualization entails closing your eyes for a few minutes and mentally running through the entire experience. For instance, you imagine yourself getting on stage after a brief introduction, talking through your main points, asking questions at the end, and so on. Think of it as meditation with a purpose; your goal is to prepare your mind for the experience that is about to happen.
Why does it work?
Visualization is a form of preparation, and preparation is the key to speaking success. It doesn’t get more helpful or easy than that. “Visualization is sometimes called mental imagery or mental rehearsal. It can take the form of a visual or kinesthetic view. If you are using a kinesthetic focus, you create in your mind the experience of doing something. You might feel the sensations in your body. You might experience the action and its consequences in great detail in your mind.” Source: Differences Between Meditation & Visualization.
In short, it’s a great way for your mind to rehearse and prepare for what may happen. When you unite mental + physical preparation, you’ll worry less about things going wrong. You can rely on the meditative style breathing that visualization requires to get you through rough patches. And finally, you will achieve a kind of “mental muscle memory” that can carry you on autopilot if you use visualization frequently.
How do you do it?
The basic steps for visualization go something like this:
Step One: Clear Your Mind. Find a quiet place to sit, alone, where you won’t have any distractions. Start with a 10 minute goal and set a timer nearby. Close your eyes and get comfortable.
Step Two: Walk Yourself Through the Talk. Don’t just imagine yourself at the starting point of your speech, begin visualizing the scene even before that. See yourself waiting to go up on stage or in front of your audience, and then walking up in front of everyone. Imagine seeing the faces of the people you know will be there.
Step Three: Keep Breathing. We recommend that you try a breathing technique like the 4×4 method, which is inhaling for 4 seconds, holding in your breath for 4 seconds, exhaling for 4 seconds, then holding for another 4. It doesn’t have to be perfectly measured with each tick of the clock, it just needs to be mindful and slow. Very slow. Continue this breathing pattern as you visualize your entire speech.
If you already use meditation as a form of relaxation, you’ll be familiar with the basics. Try running through each of these steps three different times before your talk. Then, be mindful of the difference visualization makes on your next presentation. Were you calmer? Did you forget anything? Did you feel more satisfied with your delivery? If you feel like you achieved a tangible change, you should up the number of times you practice visualization in the future.
Still on the fence? Consider that a study of mindful meditation revealed that practitioners had an increased number of neurons in the brain related to learning and memory, and a reduction of volume in their amygdala, which is related to stress. All of these benefits happened after only eight weeks of meditation. So, what are you waiting for?
