"Imagine a lemon"
Teach imagery through client experiences, not abstract scripts
QUOTE
“You have to see it. You have to feel it. You have to believe it. You have to live it.”
- Steve Harvey
OBSERVATION
We teach imagery through abstract scripts, which creates more challenges than answers.
Imagery is one of the most complex skills in our arsenal and has the ability to be taught to help performers with a wide range of needs:
Managing arousal
Managing emotions
Recovery
Rehearsing key situations
Skill Development
However, athletes struggle to utilize it to use its potential and consultants struggle with confidence to teach it. Why? When teaching imagery to clients we use abstract scripts, based on the five senses because that is what we are taught in school. Unfortunately, this leaves too much to the imagination for clients to recognize how it truly helps them prepare for competition.
THE PATH AHEAD
Use real client experiences to teach imagery.
Clients have all the details you need to teach imagery in an impactful, focused manner. By using previous experiences you can not only teach them the key components of what make imagery powerful, but you can also recognize immediately where there natural challenges in lie when engaging with imagery such as perhaps they struggle with vividness or perspective (based on how they describe the experience to you). This allows you to teach the components based on a real experience athletes can relate to. Creating an easier buy-in and imagery plan with the clients based on what they need to use it for.
How to get started:
Prompt them with a recent event. Use the term “vivid” as it is essential and allow them time to get back into that moment
“Close your eyes and take me back to the last event you remember vividly, like it was yesterday. It could be a coffee you got this morning, anything…”
“Take as much time as you need to get back into that moment and give me a thumbs up once you are there”
No prompt them to go very slowly “frame by frame” and describe what they are experiencing in that moment
Be prepared for clients to describe the event back to you as a summary instead of actually being there. This allows you the opportunity to slow them down and have them engage as if it was a live event again.
After a couple minutes of starting and stopping they will begin to get the hang of it and start describing the scene with various senses of what they can see, hear, feel, etc.
Now that you have completed the scene, you can describe to them how this basic use of imagery is how we can tackle (insert challenge or goal they came with). Using imagery as a skill for extra practice.
This Months Events
Events will resume after the holidays! Along with an updated slate of resources due for release including:
On-Demand Consulting Course
On-Demand Program Design Course
Consulting Assessment and Performance Foundations Program
Free video library of interviews, short presentations, and quick tips
See you in January!