10 Ways to GET INTO THE ZONE, so you can have the ultimate set.
This was designed for comics, however clearly its for everyone.
The following is my philosophy. Feel free to pick and chose all, any, or none of these techniques. They are an offering, and if used correctly will help you. These techniques have helped me go from anxiety, to having a top Comedy Central Special with amazing inner confidence.
These tips have steered me during high pressure sets to having amazing responses. These are specific ways that I use to get in the zone and therefore, have much better performances and response.
After performing for 20 years, I have discovered that what you are thinking about before and during a set affects how your set goes. It is painfully easy to think about and notice stressful things that are happening in the room.
A booker is in the audience, a family member showed up, the comic before you destroyed, your intro was wrong, the microphone is cutting out. These are all types of things that often get into comics heads before and during a set.
Also, often just your own thoughts before a set will completely get in the way. You might be dwelling on a bad set in the past and hoping that the gig coming up won’t be the same. Maybe you are just worrying about bombing. Maybe you have a specific fear of something you don’t want to have happen. (I hope I remember my material, I hope that I don’t piss my pants when I am on stage, etc.)
The following is a list of techniques that have completely shifted my sets and many others who have used these became more powerful after.
Just looking at these will not have the same effect as when you actually do these and experience what I am referring to. Take the time to do these and watch a shift in your set.
Focus on the gig that you want.
When you are stressed about your show, you are focusing on the gig that you don’t want. “I hope I don’t bomb.” is much more painful then, “I know I will rock it.” If you live in the world of someone who actually had a great set, you will become much better than before. Take 5 minutes, turn off your cell phone, facebook, twitter, etc, and actually envision yourself having the best sets you have ever thought of. Go into a day dream of this world. This will sound corny until you actually do this action. Actually try it, and focus on a dream set uninterrupted. If during this, your mind drifts somewhere else, go right back to focusing on what you do want. Remember the only way for this to work is to actually do this. Try it for 5 minutes. What else do you need to do?
Talk about the gig as if it happened the night before.
Our mind likes to see things in the past more than the future. If we are going to be doing a set that night, it helps to fantasize about the set as if it happened the night before. Grab a friend, and with the same enthusiasm, go APE SHIT about the set that you had the night before. Riff into how well you did, how you surprised yourself, how the audience reacted etc.
Once again, if you don’t try this, you won’t understand it. The more you put into this, the better. The reason this works is, your mind doesn’t have time to sabotage itself if it is focused on this.
Channel your favorite gigs you have ever had.
You have a favorite. It has been proven that when you think about something, that your mind thinks it’s actually there. It will get re-excited and while at the height of this, think about the gig coming up. We link things together. If you have ever heard a song and it reminded you of your ex, it isn’t the songs notes that are making that connection. It’s the emotion that you were feeling while with the person. The songs notes just kicked in during that moment. So you created a link. You linked the song to your ex.
We link things together all of the time. If you focus on a bad set you had, and then think of the upcoming set, you will stress. If you re-live your favorite set, then think of the upcoming set, you will be pumped and excited.
Channel anytime that you felt good.
The method described also works when channeling anytime you felt good. This could include when you fell in love, knocked something out of the park, felt calm, etc. If you go out of your way to think about times where you felt those feelings, you will consciously put your body into an amazing state where you take control of your emotions.
Release control by being ok with whatever happens, be cool with nerves.
We don’t understand that the problem isn’t that we are nervous. The problem is that we are not ok with being nervous. Your nerves are happening. You are trying to resist that. If you actually want to be nervous, you can’t do it. The problem is that you are trying to control what is happening. Instead go with it. You are nervous. AWESOME! Just be ok with it and don’t go back to check if it’s working. Just keep being ok with nerves, they will instantly go away. You can’t try to worry, be scared, nervous or have anxiety. The problem lies in that you are trying to stop it.
Treat each moment as if they are equal. (They actually are.)
We hand over so much power to upcoming shows we have. If you have a big show at 8pm and you are worrying about it at noon, you are missing out on whatever is going on at noon. Enjoy that moment, and give full excitement to all moments. The only reason you had time to stress about the upcoming gig was because you weren’t full engaged in the current moment you were in. So you creatively sabotaged out of boredom. Instead enjoy each moment you are in fully and at the same time enjoy the process of preparing for an exciting show in a positive way. Start noticing what is awesome right now. Keep doing it. Stay present, all the stage does is makes you 3 feet higher. STOP HANDING
IT ALL THIS POWER OVER YOURSELF.
Put all focus outside of you.
We are wired to help other people. When someone we love is in a fire, we will go out of our way to pull them out, with no nerves, or fears. If you are nervous, you are thinking things that basically amount to “What if I screw up? What if they don’t like me? What if I suck?” These questions are all about yourself.
If you put your focus on the audience, “How can I shift this crowd?” Life becomes different. IF you are nervous because a booker is in the room, your focus is on what you can get for yourself. You also have a full audience who has been through a long day, each has their own story of pain, and is coming to you to make them happy. Focus on the people you can give to, not what you can get. If this is applied correctly, you will start to see a shift in your set.
Set intention on the outcome, not the work.
If you focus on an upcoming set, put focus on the outcome. Picture the after response. If you are going to get into a fight in a bar, you want to envision three guys lying down while you leave the bar. It is too overwhelming to focus on each punch. That is too much work and it is too hard to do. When you describe a road trip, you say the outcome. “We are going to New York” that is much easier than “We are going to get onto the 101 free way until we hit the 10 east, then to the 15, etc……..Too much info for your mind to handle. Just picture the amazing ending to the show, your emotions will lock into the right moves. This doesn’t mean don’t have a set list. This means set your intention “We are going to New York.” Then enjoy the journey.
Go back to being a kid.
These tips aren’t to change who you are. They are to take you back to who you were. As a kid, you were freer of worry. You just naturally did things, just to do them. You created and had fun the whole time. Life was a journey without obligation. You played effortlessly and now you have a job that requires you to have fun. Go back to that time and enjoy the ride. Back then you didn’t have to work to have fun. Life just was fun. You are capable of playing all the time on stage. Just remember how easy it was back then and bring that energy and feeling to the stage.
Remember why you are doing this in the first place.
Remember those first moments you started getting laughs? How good did it feel? As time goes on we get spoiled and forget that we are doing what we love. It makes me laugh when I hear a person bitching about a gig they have coming up. They just forgot that this is what they wanted to do in the first place. You are able to do something amazing that requires your amazing inner talents. Pull all of those talents out and enjoy that you are making people laugh for a living. Holy SHIT.
