Inside the circle of excellence
by John Russell

What is it that we want to achieve when we go into a speaking situation? Do we really think about our expectations when, for example, we have to speak to the boss, or address a group of people? At a recent Re-Programming the Stammering Mind Follow-up Workshop that I attended in Southampton, (hosted by Mike Jones), the participants were asked to think back to a past situation when they were speaking free and easily, or felt really confident.

How did we feel in that situation, Happy? Relaxed? Elated....?. Whatever we felt, we had to re-create that feeling as if it were happening again now.

We also had to imagine that a circle was forming around our feet. The circle could have a sound or a colour associated with it. This, in NLP, (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), is known as the Circle of Excellence. When the feeling had come to mind, we had to step out of this circle, but keep the feeling inside it.

In order to make your Circle of Excellence more powerful, you can go back and recall more positive events from your past, recreate how you felt in that situation, step outside, but keep the feeling inside your Circle. You can, if you wish, add a new sound or colour to your Circle of Excellence.

From my own perspective, it is like building up a store or a reserve of powerful and positive feelings that can help you to have control when you are in a particular situation.

Another aspect that I found beneficial, was to look ahead to a forthcoming situation. Ask yourself, at what point in that situation do I want to switch on these powerful feelings that are in my Circle of Excellence?

This leads onto a key question, WHAT DO I WANT IN THIS SITUATION?. For me that is the ultimate question, and it is one that I have continued to ask myself since I have been on the workshop. In addition to the Circle of Excellence exercise, we also looked at some of the beliefs, values and identities that we took on as people who stammer, such as, I must not appear foolish when in a speaking situation. Some of these beliefs, values and behaviours were challenged (in a non-threatening environment), Do we see ourselves as just people who stammer, or do we want to see ourselves as people who can communicate with others on an equal footing?.

I found this a very powerful exercise, and it encouraged us to try and break down the limiting beliefs, values and behaviours that we may have had about ourselves.

Now, whenever I go into any situation, I always look for what I can achieve or what can go well in that situation, rather than thinking "I hope I don't stammer" or that I make a fool of myself.

I feel that I have gained a great deal from going on the workshop. I found it quite thought-provoking as well as proving to be a real eye opener.

From the Summer 1999 edition of Speaking Out.