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Be At Your Very Best In
Job Interviews
By Peter Murphy
In this article I will be
covering a peak performance strategy that top sportspeople and
professional communicators use all over the world. It is called
mental rehearsal, which is widely known about only the difference here
is that we will incorporate several NLP distinctions into the process to
maximize the positive effect of this mental conditioning. Neuro-Linguistic
Programming or NLP is the study of human excellence and by utilizing NLP
you can be at your best when you need to be in a job interview.
I will walk you through the
process by applying it to an interview situation.
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Define in detail how you want to perform in the interview:
Describe to yourself in words the way you want to be. How would
you look and sound to a neutral observer? e.g. I see myself in an
interview room sitting by a desk. I look relaxed, and I am
smiling, alert and energetic. I am paying close attention to
the other people in the room. My posture is upright and I am
making conversation easily and effortlessly. I exude confidence.
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Mentally rehearse the
interview from the perspective of an observer:
In your imagination visualize yourself at the interview comfortable
and at ease meeting people, feeling relaxed and confident. Pretend
that you are observing yourself from the other side of the room.
The trick here is to imagine events unfolding in vivid 3D with rich
colors. For many people, making the image large and close also
helps to make it feel more realistic. Have fun playing with
the image until it seems as real as watching television or a movie
screen.
Take care also to
introduce sounds - maybe the scratching of a pen on paper, the squeak of
a moving chair or the sound of your own voice exuding authority and
confidence (by Steven Harvey). You can make sounds come to life by turning up
the volume as you imagine that you are listening to full, resonant
sounds in the room so that it is as if you are really there. Introduce
feeling as well - sense the atmosphere in the room, the
temperature and mood, and soak up the aura of success that you exude in
the imagined picture.
Then introduce different
scenarios for different types of people you may encounter. Imagine
talking to someone who is putting you under pressure! See yourself
politely dealing with everything thrown at you. What will you do
if you are left sitting there facing a wall of silence? See
yourself acting decisively and without fear to move onto the next
opportunity to create rapport. Picture yourself at ease whoever
you talk to, it is especially important to consider worst-case scenarios
and to visualize yourself handling each challenge with unstoppable
confidence.
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Mentally rehearse the interview from your own perspective:
When you are pleased with the imagined performance you are
producing, step inside the image of yourself and run through the
scenarios again as if YOU are now doing it. See, feel and hear
it as if it is really happening. This time, you are looking out into
the world from your own eyes, so your arms are directly in front of
you with people facing you, as you feel your clothes on your body.
Allow it all to unfold in great detail - make it as real as possible
by letting your imagination free to create a rich and colorful
panoramic view of a successful day. Finally, pay special
attention again to feelings, really spend time imagining yourself
feeling exactly the way you want to feel, and then crank it up and
double the intensity until it could not possibly get any better.
Then, imagine it even better again!
-
Set up a peak
performance signal: Ask yourself - what signal will you
use as a reminder to use your ability to perform in this way?
I use the feeling of sitting on my own and getting tense as my mind
goes blank. The signal can be something you see, feel or hear
inside or outside yourself and it must happen at or close to the
point of wanting to speak to someone. Other examples include
seeing yourself surrounded by a group of strangers, hearing someone
ask you your opinion, or the feeling that you want to be more
outgoing even as you feel yourself getting more self-conscious right
now - why not use self-consciousness to trigger better communication
skills!
Imagine the signal happening
and visualize yourself performing at your best in the interview.
Some final points. Like
anything in life it takes time to get really good at mental rehearsal.
Using this visualization technique for twenty minutes a day will train
your brain to perform new behaviors. The results will astound you.
Judge mental rehearsal by
trying it out in the real world and decide for yourself how effective it
can be. Use it to prepare
for those crucial job interviews and enjoy the satisfaction that comes
from knowing that you are performing at your very best.
Eventually you will be able
to use this approach in day-to-day situations on the spur of the moment
by focusing on using the power of your imagination.
Peter Murphy is a peak
performance expert. He recently produced a very popular 5 Day Persuasion
Mastery E-course. You can still enroll free if you send a mailto:
5daypersuasion@sendfree.com
Also take a look at Peter's
new e-book, "How
To Communicate With Unstoppable Confidence in 20 Days or Less".
Remember, its not only what you say, but how you say it. Say it
with confidence!
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