Golf Jack Nicklause strategy on visualisation explained

‘I never hit a shot even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head. It’s like a colour movie.

First I ‘see’ the ball where I want it to finish, nice and white and sitting up high on the bright green grass.

Then the scene quickly changes and I ‘see’ the ball going there; its path, trajectory, and shape, even its behaviour on landing.’

Jack Nicklaus, American golfer.

Many of you use visualisation prior to prospect/customer interactions. I often refer to the above quote to prompt me, to vividly imagine a ‘colour movie’ that ends with my desired outcome – before a client meeting, workshop, pitch coaching session etc.

Of course, like those of you who use visualisation know, it doesn’t always happen the imagined way. However, I’m still surprised how often it does.

Another major reason why Nicklaus was a great golfer, in addition to his visulisation skills, was his practice regimen.

He said,

‘I believe that the ‘perfect’ component is to perform your golf practice with a level of intensity that closely matches or simulates a real competitive situation.’

My take on this quote, is that when you simulate customer/prospect interactions – optimally with feedback of other people or by watch a video or listening to audio playback of the simulation – bring the energy, certainty and manner that you’d bring to a live interaction.

Let me share two other points of view related to practice and to top-level performance.

Motivational speaker Denis Waitley, maintains, that

‘you’ll do what you’ve learnt, not what you know’.

Waitley suggests that you perfect your technique in practice, so it becomes a reflex technique in a live interaction.*

Success coach, Jack Canfield asserts, that by imagining a successful end in mind, your words, voice, body language and manner will perform in alignment with that successful end – increasing the likelihood of it happening.

Your CALL to action/HOW to apply for this post: Prior to your next prospect/client interact simulate part of that interaction with same level of intensity you’d have in the live interaction. Reflect on the outcome of doing this.

*In my prior career I had worked as a speech pathologist. When I had a therapy consultation (ie. practising speech fluency) with people who stuttered,  I would give the stutterer immediate feedback on their speech performance.

If they stuttered I would say, ‘Wait’. If they were fluent, I would say, ‘Good’.

The purpose of this ‘response contingent’ feedback was for the person to build reflex, fluency of speech for live interactions.

Check out this post on key acronyms and techniques for upgrading your communication