Background:
This case study is short and sweet as it relates to an on the spot coaching session that came about as the need arose. I was facilitating a corporate training session on executive presentation skills for a group of managers (and several of the advanced techniques I use are from your NLP Trainers Training series) and as I was going through my opening and agenda, I could see the typical anxiety building on several of the participants as I mentioned that they would be giving at least two presentations if not more over the course of the three days that we were together. However, one of the participants had an absolute look of horror on her face and was almost in tears.

Case:
This kind of response is not out of the ordinary in a corporate environment when people are stepping up for the first time. After my opening, I have the participants interview the person next to them for a couple of minutes about how that person got into their current role along with background details they feel are important and then each person comes up and talks about the person with no notes allowed, then we discuss why they chose the information the did, the order of information they presented and the importance of remembering what your notes said when you aren’t allowed to use them.

During this opening, the client was extremely apprehensive and spoke very softly while looking away from everyone and sat down almost immediately. I didn’t think much about it and continued my class.

At the end of day one, the participant’s are required to present a business topic for five minutes including presentation, handouts, etc., prepared beforehand.

After this, we discuss and critique each one along with feedback from the class (limited to eight participants) and then they do another five-minute impromptu speech on whatever they would like. Then on day three, after a day of rest to review videos of their presentations, they repeat their business speech and we discuss improvements based on our feedback and discussions; along with what they learn in the course.

During this initial business speech, my client started shaking with tears running down her face as she muddled through the presentation. As soon as she finished, she immediately left the room and I seriously thought she was going to pass out. I advised the class to look over their feedback, etc. and followed the person out to ensure she was ok.

I returned to class and the individual returned shortly after. I decided to take a break prior to the second speech of the day and during that time asked to speak with the individual. She quickly admitted that she has always had trouble speaking in front of people and was trying to overcome it since she was recently promoted to a management position, for fear of losing the position altogether.

I asked if she would mind if I coached her through the issue and she gave consent.

I assessed what occurred internally as she was preparing to present up through presenting when she ultimately would lose it. Her biggest complaint was the butterflies in her stomach that she couldn’t control which would ultimately lead to “near hysteria,” in her words.

As she was describing the series of events, I anchored the negative feelings. I then had her discuss a time when she had done something amazing and out of the ordinary that she was proud of. I anchored the positive states and collapsed the negative anchors. I then reframed the scenario by telling a story of how butterflies are the epidemy of that which is good and had her think about any instances she could of physical butterflies being bad and she couldn’t. I therefore finished the reframe by having her focus on the fact that butterflies precede good things and had her remember back to the amazing thing she had done prior to realize that she also had butterflies in her stomach prior to this occurrence.

So the reframe actually went from anticipation of something bad happening after she felt butterflies (like laughter, ridicule, etc), which in actuality was invalidated as she had no memories of this ever occurring and replaced the thoughts with anticipation of success and applause which was guaranteed (at least in my class which helps in setting a positive memory of speaking).

I then quickly did a chain of anchors leading from insecurity to openness, to curiosity to confidence each anchored starting with her pinky touching her palm to her ring finger touching her palm, etc. ending with a closed fist, which was also anchored through a circle of excellence.

She felt truly empowered and to make a short story even shorter, prior to the remaining presentations of the class, I could see her hitting her anchors and stepping into her circle of excellence as she opened, and each was absolutely amazing. Her demeanor and attitude was completely different and she seemed almost comfortable as she spoke.

At the end of the session, her closest friend, who was also in the class, approached me with her present and couldn’t believe the change that had occurred over a fifteen minute break. This led to her friend inviting me to come speak to her church’s youth group at another date, with them flying me back to Tampa to speak on self-empowerment and confidence to a group of over three hundred teens attending a youth rally. This occurred because of an on-the-spot coaching session that I initiated.