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3. Anchor the experience when the feeling (resourceful state) reaches its peak. You can do this with touch, sound or vision (or any combination). Using all three makes it easier to reproduce the state when wanted. For instance you could make a characteristic gesture, blow air from your lungs, or say a particular word to yourself and see a particular picture in your mind's eye. Applying the anchor as the state reaches its peak is illustrated by the graph.

Tip 35 - Getting in the right state for any situation

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Anxiety can affect many of us from time to time and prevent us from performing at our best. You may have seen presenters, who although know their subject, are unable to communicate due to nerves. A lack of self belief and confidence can stop us doing many activities well - like writing, communicating and planning.

Competence, as well as confidence, is needed to perform, but even when developing this, state of mind is important. Here’s a technique to help you mobilise a resourceful state of mind when and where you desire.

In NLP this technique is called ‘anchoring’ and uses the concept of stimulus and response. Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? It happens naturally all the time as the smell of fresh-cut grass can take you back to a vivid childhood memory or the thought of a lemon can bring saliva to your mouth or a favourite tune reminds you of a loved one. You can use this stimulus response consciously to create the resourceful state you need. It might be one of confidence, clarity, enthusiasm, flexibility, focus, relaxation, or openness – whatever is appropriate to you in a particular situation. You associate the response with a particular stimulus of your choice, so that you can consistently enter the state when you want. This stimulus can be a touch, a sound, a movement, or a mental picture – and acts as the anchor for the state.

The key points to remember in anchoring are:

1. Imagine a setting in which you want a particular resource. The setting might be a presentation, an interview, a meeting or a coaching session. In that setting, ask yourself what personal resources, such as ease or enthusiasm, you need to achieve your desired outcome.
2. Recall a time when you had the resource (say ease or enthusiasm) that you want in that situation - maybe from an experience at work (a meeting in which you were relaxed and attentive or a presentation that went well) or from a non-work situation (an interest, a hobby, a social situation or a special event). Recall the time as if you were there. Remember what you saw, what you heard and how you felt.

A coach can help you with this technique and in many other ways.

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4. Turn your attention to something else to alter your state. For example, look up and around the room or get up and move.
5. Move on to the next personal resource that would be useful to handle the situation. (For example, the first resource might have been confidence, the second might be alertness.)
6. Repeat the above steps, using the same anchor. It is important to duplicate the anchor exactly.
7. Test the anchor to see if it works.
8. Alter your state again by moving, or by looking around the room. Imagine the situation you are preparing for and then use the anchor. Does it change your state? If it does, the anchor is successful. If not, repeat the process until the response you achieve is the response you want.

This technique enables you to make best use of the knowledge and skill that you have. For instance before making a presentation, walking into a negotiation or settling down to discuss a personal issue, you can use this technique to set up an anchor as a stimulus for the resourceful response you want.