Imposter alert! You are not alone but you can arm yourself to come out winning.
Hands up if you have ever suffered from imposter syndrome (you can’t see but I’m waving my arms in the air like I just don’t care!).
I actually only found out what this was all about 4 years ago and I was like yes, thank you I’m not alone, this is an actual thing that others experience too.
So just in case you don’t know impostor syndrome refers to an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. I’ll give an example…
When I first started out as a voice actor I set up my home studio and spent hours learning how to use the equipment, auditioning for jobs, and trying to build my experience.
A national advert came in pretty quickly and I was sitting there alone with the script about to connect online to a director and sound engineer when an overwhelming feeling engulfed me. I started to sweat and panic. I started thinking they’ve got it wrong I shouldn’t be recording this, I don’t have the talent or experience. I’ll just tell them to go with someone else.
This could have ruined my whole experience and enjoyment of the session, damaged my relationship with the client, meant I was not rebooked and affected my career moving forward. Not to mention my confidence, which let’s face it would have been in shatters.
It was all just in my head. I’m a trained actress, I’ve presented some of the biggest events all over the world and voiced some incredible projects but sadly my CV was not available in my head, only doubt.
Luckily, I knew what this feeling was (pesky imposter syndrome) and I had spent time and energy learning coping mechanisms and breathing techniques to calm my mind and refocus on the job at hand. My heart started to calm, I forced a smile and kept repeating; I am talented, I am confident, I deserve to be here. All is well.
You know what? I had an amazing hour. We worked together to create a strong piece of work. I gave valued input and created the foundations of a working relationship that is strong and active today.
These things come to test us and the best advice I can give is to arm yourself with techniques that work for you to beat it with a large stick and come out winning. I mean I wouldn’t actually advise the stick method but whatever floats your boat.
A top tip is tapping. I started this recently it’s free, easy to master, and seriously life-changing for any kind of anxiety which, let’s face it imposter syndrome fits into that box. By tapping gently on a rehearsed number of acupuncture points and repeating a mantra that relates to the issue you are experiencing it lowers your heightened experience of the issue and calms your mind, giving you space and clarity. Even 5 minutes can make a huge difference. I use the tapping solution app but have a google you’ll find the right platform for you.
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