Last night I had – debatably – my biggest audition of the year.

In Southern California, there’s a very highly respected professional theatre company that is known for putting on Broadway-caliber musical theatre in a way that only Southern California can – outdoors, under the stars. In an outdoor amphitheater that seats 2,000 people, this theatre puts on four to five incredible productions each summer, that frequently win awards and always dazzle visitors.

Early each year, thousands of hopeful actors and performers flock to this production company for a chance to audition for this magical season of shows.

Last night, I was one of them.

These auditions are always incredibly well-organized (which is great, since they see so many people!), and when you walk into the waiting room, you can instantly feel the nervous, excited energy of dozens of performers waiting for their chance to show the auditors their stuff.

It’s exciting! But it’s also so, so, nerve-wracking, as many auditions are.

And this waiting room area – this waiting time – is where so many auditions, so many interviews, and so many other high-stakes opportunities go wrong. Even if you do all the preparation in the world, if you let yourself get distracted, intimidated, or in any way thrown off during this waiting period before walking into the audition room, all that preparation can easily fly out the window.

Last night, when I walked into the waiting room, feeling focused and ready, I immediately spotted some friends across the way. After checking in, I headed over to say hi and hang out. Everyone has different ways of handling nervous energy, or just playing the waiting game. For many people, this is making conversation and chatting with friends or acquaintances.

Using Journaling for Pre-Audition Prep

And as I sat there chatting, I realized I was getting distracted… which made me feel a bit anxious… which started to make me feel nervous! And since auditions can be such a mental process, letting your nerves take over is almost always a recipe for disaster.

And I knew that! And I wasn’t going to let the nerves win. So after my last colleague went in for her audition, I immediate got out my noise-cancelling headphones, put on my prep track, and got out a pen and piece of paper.

And then I started journaling.

Not journaling as in – writing down all my thoughts and feelings, but journaling in a positive, productive, empowering way.

I wrote down all the reasons I was READY for this year’s audition.

I wrote down exactly what I was going to do in the audition room, and practiced positive outcome visualization.

I wrote down my intentions for my audition song – making them as clear and simple as possible.

I wrote down my three-word power phrase, and a few other choice words that I wanted to focus on embodying during my audition.

I wrote down helpful reminders to boost my confidence.

I tuned out the noise (literally), and I focused on myself and my audition. And when they called my name, I took off my headphones, but I took that piece of paper I had been journaling on with me, and stuck it in my music book. I reviewed those journal entries and practiced positive visualization all the way up until I walked into the audition room.

And I did EXACTLY what I wanted to do – exactly what I had prepared to do – in my minute-and-thirty-seconds to shine in front of the auditors.

And when you can walk out of an audition, or an interview, or a speaking engagement, or ANYTHING else, knowing that you did EXACTLY what you wanted to do, and you truly did your absolute best – then you can’t ask for anything more than that. Regardless of the outcome (which in my case last night, was three callbacks!), you did your job.

This practice of pre-audition positive journaling was really a game-changer for me last night. I plan to continue using it in auditions and high-pressure scenarios moving forward – and I encourage you to do the same! Find a routine that works for you, and you will be unstoppable.

Things NOT to Do Before Auditions

In my short time of really honing in on success routines for pre-audition, there have been a few discoveries that I’ve learned to stay away from during prep time. For example:

• Checking your phone (email/social media/texts) – it’s too risky that you might see something that will throw you off or un-focus you from the moment ahead. And this is so easy to do – just put your phone (or smart-watch) away for the 30 minutes before your audition. You’ll be happy you did.

Do you have pre-audition or pre-interview calming and prep routines that you rely on for success? Share them in the comments!