Applying The 7 Skills to impress™ : Skill 2: Manage Your State
Previously
In Skill 1, I set two clear Outcomes to guide my subconscious:
- To be authentic, calm and confident, and
- To blow everyone away with a powerful, inspirational script.
Now it was time to prepare my mind and body for the pressure ahead, so that when I walked into the rugby clubhouse, I could rise to the challenge.
This is where Skill 2: Manage Your State comes into its own.
Realisation
From the Glossary:
Realisation is a sensory‑rich visualisation of your desired Outcome. You imagine what you will see, hear, feel and think when you succeed. Realisation primes System 1 to seek ways to make that future real.
Realisation connects your Outcome with your Identity. It shapes your Edited Reality so it works for you, even under stress, by drawing your attention towards what’s possible, useful and within reach. Confidence rises, fear recedes, and your System 1 mind begins working behind the scenes to support you.
Realisation is simple. You can use it almost anywhere, at almost any time.
It starts by imagining yourself carrying out your Outcome perfectly. Ask yourself:
- What will I see?
- What will I hear?
- What will I feel?
- What will I think?
Then ask those same questions about the moments after the event: applause, relief, congratulations, the sense that you’ve nailed it.
For my inspirational talk, I pictured:
- seeing myself presenting with confidence,
- sounding convincing, calm and controlled,
- feeling my voice low, steady and powerful in my chest,
- thinking clearly, with no distractions,
- seeing all eyes fixed on me, interested and engaged, and
- hearing roaring applause at the end, tables banging, cheers erupting.
Note: Our voice tone often rises when we’re nervous. Practising a low, calm tone beforehand helps anchor confidence.
Writing this out strengthened the Realisation. Running it while doing 7–11 Breathing strengthened it even further.
But I wanted to imprint my Outcome into my System 1 so deeply that it guided every decision automatically.
So I turned to High-Performance Imprinting.
High-Performance Imprinting (HPI)
HPI is one of the most useful tools in the 7 Skills toolkit because it gives Realisation a structure. It is simple, powerful, and for many people, surprisingly effective.
HPI imprints the Outcome into your System 1 mind, turning it into a Stroop Magnet: a subconscious pull towards the result you want.
⚠️ HPI can create a deeply relaxed state. Do not use it while driving or doing anything requiring alertness.
Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Choose Your SQAs
Select 2–3 SQAs (Strengths, Qualities, Attributes) for the challenge ahead, such as:
- Calm
- Confident
- Powerful
- Focused
- Patient
- Intense
Choose the ones that best support your Outcome.
[See an SQA Prompt List here ]
Step 2: Create Your Realisation
Imagine your ideal performance:
- What do you see, hear, feel, and think?
- How does success unfold?
- What does “everything going perfectly” look like?
Take your time, make it vivid, make it authentic to you.
Step 3: Begin 7–11 Breathing
Breathe deeply and evenly for a few minutes.
Then, while still breathing, listen for 10 sounds around you, or 20 if you’re somewhere noisy.
This focuses your attention and prepares your mind for the deeper work.
Step 4: Guided Imagery
Imagine yourself nailing your Outcome.
If visualising is difficult, think or feel the experience. Either works.
Most people close their eyes.
In your mind’s eye, you can:
- Watch yourself on a screen.
- Observe yourself from the point of view of an audience member.
- Or simply think through the scene.
Notice your posture, tone, gestures, confidence, and how others respond positively.
Then step into your imagined body.
Feel:
- The movement of your chest as you speak.
- The way your weight settles through your feet.
- The steadiness of your breath.
Switch between watching yourself and being yourself three times.
Step 5: Take in Your Success
Move your mind to the moment after the event.
See the evidence of your success:
- applause,
- relief,
- joy,
- congratulations, and
- the “I did it” feeling.
This matters because your mind is not only rehearsing the performance. It is rehearsing the feeling of having succeeded.
Enjoy it. Absorb it.
People often emerge from HPI feeling unexpectedly calm, having gone deeper than they expected.
How I Used HPI for the Talk
I sat quietly in my office, eyes closed, breathing evenly.
I listened for sounds:
- Footsteps in the corridor, a door closing, distant voices, birds outside, a car starting, my own breath.
By the tenth sound, I felt grounded and calm. Then I began the imagery.
I pictured the rugby clubhouse, with around fifty people in front of me. It was all in my mind, built deliberately, so I could rehearse the moment before it happened.
I began by imagining the scene from the outside, watching myself as one of the people in the room. I noticed how I was standing and speaking: confident, calm, controlled, my voice low and steady, carrying the quiet authority I wanted to bring into the room.
Then I shifted perspective. Still in my mind’s eye, I moved into that version of myself and looked out through my own eyes. I felt my feet on the floor, sensed the audience looking at me and enjoying my talk, and noticed my voice sounding confident and commanding.
I stayed in the moment for a few slow breaths, letting the image and the physical sensations embed in my mind.
Then, still in my imagination, I stepped back out again. I returned to the outside view, watched myself give my best performance, then moved back into my own body and saw it all once more through my own eyes.
I repeated this sequence three times: watching the performance from the outside, stepping into it, breathing gently, then switching again.
Only after the third cycle did I move the scene on.
I imagined the ending: the squad on their feet, roaring, banging tables, applauding wildly. As I held that image, a warm, rising feeling spread up my spine. I stayed with it, letting it become a physical marker of confidence I could return to later.
The whole process took around 15 minutes. I repeated it every night for a week.
Soon, the Outcome, “to blow everyone away”, stopped feeling cocky and began to feel natural.
Why This Works
HPI trains your System 1 to steer your attention toward success, safety and confidence, especially under pressure.
The key point is this:
HPI links Outcomes with Manage Your State. First, 7–11 Breathing and listening for sounds settle the body. Then Realisation gives System 1 a clear, sensory-rich rehearsal of success.
Nerves often come from uncertainty and perceived threat. HPI reduces both by making the future moment feel more familiar. Your mind has already visited it. Your body has already practised feeling calm inside it. Your attention has already been guided towards success.
With fear reduced, your best abilities are more likely to stay available. System 2 remains easier to access, stress is less likely to block performance, and you give yourself a better chance of performing with clarity, composure and confidence.
Taken together, this is one continuous process. Each part prepares the conditions for the next, so by the time the moment of performance comes, your mind and body are already expecting success.
Once your state is managed, the next challenge is connection.
That is where Rapport begins.
→ Click here to continue to: Skill 3: Building Rapport in the Clubhouse