by Pat Iannuzzi
Visualization involves using our imagination to create an idea or picture in our minds of what we want to have, be or accomplish. It can be an effective technique for thinking ahead to anticipate and prepare for the future in some way. It’s not only useful for predicting future events and situations, but also, and more important, for planning how we will deal with them when they occur. Most of us likely already visualize to some extent, but we probably don’t regularly apply visualization for maximum effectiveness in all of the more important areas of our lives.
Visualization is an often-taught mental rehearsal technique in sports. It is an extremely powerful tool and numerous studies have demonstrated its effectiveness. One such study was conducted in the 1980s at the University of Chicago by sports psychologist Judd Biasiotto, Ph.D.
First, a group of athletes were tested at basketball to determine their individual free-throw abilities. Then they were randomly assigned to one of three equal-sized groups. The first group went to the gym every day for one hour and practiced throwing free throws.
The second group also went to the gym, but instead of practicing, they lay down and simply visualized themselves making repeated successful shots.
The third group did nothing. In fact, they were instructed to forget about basketball entirely. At the end of 30 days, the three groups were again tested to determine their free-throw proficiency.
The players who hadn’t practiced at all showed no improvement in performance; some actually exhibited a drop. Those who physically practiced one hour each day showed an average performance increase of 24 percent. Amazingly however, the visualization group, by merely imagining themselves successfully shooting free throws, improved an average of 23 percent, only 1 percent less than the players who actually practiced.
According to Dr. Biasiotto, a world-class power lifter and author of a number of books on mind control, “Not only does a visualized experience condition the human brain, it will also program the human body. If you close your eyes and visualize yourself doing something, your body’s actions are programmed in exactly the same way as if you actually did them.”
These results suggest that by simply imagining that a behavior is taking place, the human brain generates the same impulses and experiences the same level of learning as if the physical performance were actually occurring. Simply by imagining or preplaying an upcoming situation in our minds, we become much more aware of the issues that may arise and get the opportunity to practice how we would deal with them. Then, when the issues do arise, we know precisely how to respond because we already are familiar with them.
If visualizing (mentally practicing) shooting baskets can lead to improved performance on the basketball court, why can’t repeatedly visualizing a successful budget presentation, job interview, sales dialogue or handling a customer complaint also be handled with increased proficiency? Why can’t it work wonders in other areas of our lives as well?
Pat Iannuzzi of Symbiont Performance Group, Inc. is a performance consultant, trainer and coach focusing on selling, presentation and interpersonal skills. He lives in Litchfield and can be reached at 860-283-9963 or piannuzzi@symbiontnet.com.
