I will be facilitating a session with nearly 200 participants from the same industry in some time.
‘Are you never nervous to face all those people?’, someone asked me.
Yes and no.
Yes, since a large group facilitator, like a writer, is often judged on his very last performance.
No, because I have hosted quite a number of very big meetings in the past before. Moreover, I have more positive, ‘blue’ stress than negative, ‘red’ stress at that moment. Passion for my work takes over.
Before entering the stage I once did a little prayer to my god of positive realism, and there I went (no kidding).
What I always do beforehand, is visualising myself interacting positively with a group, whether we’re talking 10 or 100 participants.
Also with that one very, very grumpy looking man in the crowd, piercing me with his eyes and thinking: ‘You’ll go down, mister.’ Aah, it’s all in the mind. He is probably just being very, very curious and eager to participate.
‘If you are making it up in your head, make it up good’.
Can you imagine Tia Hellebaut, Belgian Olympic champion high jump at the Bejing Olympics, visualise swaying herself below the bar instead of over it?
