Life presents us with a number of events for which we must be prepared. Of course, mostly life deals us events for which we have no preparation, but sometimes, we have something important coming up and we want to be ready. How do you get ready?
Muscle memory is important. A wedding rehearsal is a good example. The most important day in many a young person’s life brings a lot of pressure to get it right. Unlike any other day, what you do will be observed, recorded, and talked about for the rest of your life. Of course you want it to go well – preferrably perfect. So, you have a rehearsal.
You do a run-through to become familiar with the surroundings, the motions you’ll be going through, and the things you’ll be saying. Doing so often will remove a lot of anxiety, because you’ll know what to expect, and have some idea on what is expected of you. Plus the groom’s dad has to buy a great dinner for everyone afterwards!
Many of us subject ourselves to public scrutiny much more often. If you give business presentations, host events or perform music in front of people, you recreate the wedding pressure on yourself over and over again. How do you keep from being a total wreck?
Preparation is key – just like the wedding rehearsal. Most of us do the wedding thing once – or not much more than once. Imagine if you did it once a week – you’d get really good at it, wouldn’t you? After a few years of it, you’d glide through the motions effortlessly, without a second thought.
But those of us who present ourselves to the public regularly, want to be more than smooth – we need to be impressive and/or influential. Musicians quickly learn that playing your song without mistakes isn’t enough. You want to evoke emotions in your audience, and to do that, you have to really be “in the moment”.
As an amateur, I often have to go straight to a gig from work or some other commitment, and it’s tough to jump out of the car and onto a stage and be ready to deliver much more than the right notes. I really prefer to get to a gig early – like, more than an hour early. Then, I can get my instrument(s) fully prepared, and look at the stage from several angles and visualize what it’s going to be like up there, plus look at the set list and visualize myself playing those songs, what my parts are going to be, concentrate on parts that have been problematic in the past.
I like to do the same for speaking engagements – “feel” the room, revisit my talking points, remind myself of what I’m trying to accomplish. For me “gettin’ my mind right” is like deep meditation, and makes me better and helps me to fully enjoy the experience that follows.
