Sweaty Palms and Spiraling Thoughts?

Stepping into an audition room with sweaty palms and spiraling thoughts? Been there. Every actor has. But what if there’s a better way to show up in high-stakes moments—one that feels less like survival mode and more like you at your best?

In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of a recent in-person callback where I ran a little mindset experiment on myself. Instead of trying to “book the job,” I chose to focus on embodying what I call the It Factor—a calm, grounded, magnetic presence. And even though I didn’t book it, the shift I experienced? Game-changing.

We’ll talk about:

• Why your body language in the waiting room speaks louder than your scene
• How to handle feedback without spiraling
• Letting go after auditions (and protecting your energy)
• And why intention always wins over expectation

Because real success isn’t just about booking the role—it’s about knowing you can show up for yourself, fully and powerfully, under pressure.

If you’re tired of letting nerves and self-doubt run the show, this one’s for you. Let’s change the way you walk into every room—from the inside out.

🎧 Listen now and start showing up like the lead you are.

Seeking more gems of wisdom? I've got you covered! ✨

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Dive into our supportive Facebook Community. Get inspired on Instagram, and join the conversation on TikTok. Let's journey together, transforming challenges into triumphs.

P.S. Your journey doesn't end here; it's just taking flight (with a sprinkle of magic✨). Let's forge this beautifully bold path together. 💫

Your Self-Help Sidekick (KA-POW!!!),
Megan

Transcript

Welcome to Your Journey to You

Speaker 1 0:00

Could you play that song for me ? It's my favorite song . Hey , I'm Meg , and welcome to your Journey to you . This is a podcast for actors in film and TV who want to build a thriving career without burning out in the process . We're diving into mindset shifts , strategies and the real talk you need to navigate this industry with confidence . From imposter syndrome to self-care to setting healthy boundaries , we're covering it all . Whether you're just getting started or stepping into your next level , this space is here to support you . Let's dive in . So I've deemed today Mindset Monday , even though it's not Monday . So today we're going to listen to a story about an in-person callback audition that I had , and after we listen , I'm going to highlight some really important mindset work that made this experience such a huge win at the end of the day . I'm not going to lie , the sound quality is not fantastic . I'm a little mad about it , but give it a listen and we'll circle back around when the clips complete . I went and I had a callback and I decided that while I was there I wanted to take this particular experience of an in person audition and kind of do like a little bit of a experiment on myself . I had decided ahead of time that when I went in this door like walked into the door to CP casting , that I had it Like I was going to go in there . I was going to show them the it factor . I was just going to be happy and personable and stay neutral and not get too nervous and not get too excited . I was just going to really stay neutral and present . That was my whole goal of this audition . It wasn't necessarily to book the job , but it was to help myself , continue to train my brain in circumstances like this to be better and better and better . And in this instance I wanted to train my brain to go in there and stay neutral and stay relaxed and listen for the feedback and absorb it in and give my best performance , really like neutralize the nerves completely . And so I decided when I walked in there that that's the state I wanted to be in and that , to me , is the state of the it factor . I walked into this room having pre-decided that this was my little mini experiment I was doing on myself in here I was going to embody the it factor . I walked into this room having pre-decided that this was my little mini experiment I was doing on myself in here . I was going to embody the it factor and I was going to stay neutral . I was going to stay present . I was going to be charismatic . Right before I went in there , I saw a friend from a previous job that I worked on and I was like , hey , you're here too , which was so amazing . So I also got this bonus experience of getting to catch up with this friend . So I also got this bonus experience of getting to catch up with this friend .

Speaker 1 2:46

And then I went in to the CP casting waiting room and there was one other girl there and then another one came in and the one other girl there I was trying to be really observant and see , was there other people in that room that were embodying the effect or what were they doing , body language wise , like what was going on and just observing the room and taking in the room . And there was one other girl there and she was sitting on the couch and I really took note of her behavior and I want to tell you about what I witnessed in that moment . So this girl was in this bright pink sweater . She looked gorgeous , by the way , like fantastic . She looked . The part that we were asked to be dressed for , looked very easily like she could book the job . But what was interesting to observe was that her body language was really internal . If you , if we're putting our shoulders back , we're like expansive , like in our chest and in our body and in our energy , and she was like shoulders forward and very hunched in nerves , just like that little bit of like internal , internal energy instead of like outward energy . I observed that because I used to be that way . I used to be exactly the same way and I didn't think any of that mattered when it came to the actual audition .

Speaker 1 4:04

The longer I sat in the waiting room , the more I realized how nervous she was , because she would go up and ask the secretary , moderator person , you know who's next . What's going on ? What's this ? Where are we at in the lineup ? Like can I go to the bathroom ? She was so just . I could feel her energy was just a little spastic and I realized sitting there for myself that I wanted to sit there . Still , I wanted to sit there calm . I wanted to engage with people when they wanted to engage with me and when they didn't , I would look at , look through my script real quick .

Speaker 1 4:38

This was a teleprompter read . So I sat there and I decided that when my foot started to bob that nope , we were going to be still and we're going to be present and we're going to have any nervous energy and I just continue to really breathe and embody that and take the mental space and kind of work through it in this like 15 minutes that I waited there to sit and go and to do my audition and then when they called my name , I was so excited obviously to get up and show their performance because I was grounded and I was just excited to go in there and give them the best I got and hear some feedback and then give them the best I got again . And so I walked into the room big smile , greeted everybody with eye contact , we did the first uh teleprompter read and the teleprompter was a little bit too fast and I was felt like I was going through the script a mile a minute , but I lost the last few lines . I was a little embarrassed . They were like , oh , it's no problem , we'll just change the speed . Well , then they lowered the speed and it was so slow . I felt like I was talking like this . It was ridiculous . And so then they got it back up to what was the normal speed .

Speaker 1 5:56

And the coolest thing about the feedback that I got was I decided ahead of time that I was going to focus on the positive and not the negative . So if I got some negative feedback , I was going to hear it and I was going to accept it , but I wasn't going to let it feed on me and I almost forgot the feedback that I got back almost instantly because the negative part of it , which wasn't even really that negative just kind of floated out of my brain . And so the feedback that I got was we like that you made choices , but we're not sure if they were the right ones for this character , but every read that you gave us was different , it was authentic , it showed that you were directable , and that's , to me , is fantastic feedback . They thanked me for having driven all the way down from Maine and it just felt like , even though I didn't end up at the end of the day booking the job , that audition was a huge win for me , huge , huge , because I made huge mindset progress and I proved to myself that I can do an in-person audition and still remain in that neutral space I can like be the most present in the work . It was such a great experience .

Speaker 1 7:12

So I want to talk about a few really important mindset shifts and mindset tips that I touched on in the clip and I want to go a little bit more in depth on them here and make sure they're super , super clear . The first thing that I want to note is that I decided ahead of time how I was going to act and how I was going to feel , and that made such a huge difference because there was nothing , there was no room for unknowns in this situation . I went in to the audition knowing that I wanted to feel calm , that I wanted to feel relaxed and that I wanted to portray my authentic charisma . I went in there with intention versus expectation , or wanting something from them or expecting something from them . That is a very powerful way to enter an audition and also a big part of what I think that factor is . It's a blend between charisma and hyper present , being in a hyper present state and just being authentic to who you are , and that's not necessarily an easy thing to do . But I want to challenge you that when you're going into auditions that use these opportunities to experiment with your mindset , it also takes a little bit of pressure off of you and the experience you're having .

Speaker 1 8:30

When you're thinking about an experiment you can do with your mindset . It's not distracting from the audition set . It's not distracting from the audition , but it's distracting from the nerve wracking part of the audition , the part that leaves most actors in like this desperate feeling where I need something from them . You shift more into the space where you're comfortable with who you are and focused on being hyper present in that moment . The other thing that I want to know , along with this mindset , is the power of your body language and our behavior . What we're thinking inside of our head is reflected in our body language and , without even knowing it , we very easily read other people's body language . It's almost innate , to the point where we're not even noticing it .

Speaker 1 9:18

Watching the other actor in the waiting room with a hunched shoulders and the nervous energy and needing to go in and out of the bathroom , and the vibe that she was giving off was very nervous , which is not , at the end of the day , what casting directors want to book . They want somebody who's going to go into the job like confident , because they have to make a name for themselves too right . So they want somebody who's going to go into that job and execute with confidence . And if you're sitting in a waiting room and you're anxious and nervous and you're hunched and you're fidgeting and your foot's bobbing up and down and all of those things are signs that that confidence that they need from you when it comes to actually doing the job is potentially not going to be there on the day . That is why what we're thinking is so powerful , because it influences all these other areas . It influences how our body physically moves , not just what's happening in our mind , our emotional state . They affect how our body interacts with other bodies . It is so powerful to go into an audition with intention versus just going in there blind and trying to navigate what the challenges that arise in those moments .

Speaker 1 10:27

Lastly , I want to touch on maintaining composure during the actual audition portion of it . I want to be clear on how I reacted when I got feedback . When I got feedback , not that I was focused on how I was reacting , but when I was given feedback in the moment after the script went too fast and I ran out of lines to say I didn't instantly apologize . I did not say , oh , I'm sorry , I ran out of lines , oh , I don't . I didn't freak out in the moment when I ran out of lines . I just said I ran out of lines . It was a little bit too fast for me . I asked for a change and , as a result , they made a shift for me . That was really helpful and made my job even easier . And then , when the script was too slow , they mentioned that they had liked it at a faster pace , and so we readjusted then .

Speaker 1 11:24

But when I was getting feedback , I was maintaining eye contact , I was hearing the feedback and I was maintaining a composure , thinking about how I could implement the notes that I was given in a split second and then executing to the best of my ability . And it's really important in those moments when you're given feedback and you're having the opportunity to make a shift , to maintain composure , because you're going to have to do the same thing when you've booked the job and when you're on set as well . And they also , in that moment , have the opportunity to see how you handle pressure and how you react to pressure . So when you go in there with the intention of maintaining composure , no matter what the feedback is , and you're lucky enough to get a second take or a third take or fourth take or whatever they're offering you . You take advantage of that . That's your moment to shine . You got that . They're there for that split moment to listen to you , and so take that opportunity to be uniquely you .

Speaker 1 12:26

Even though they gave me the feedback that maybe the choices weren't the right choices for this character , I still made choices and that was the important part of all of this was that I still made choices , even if they weren't the right ones . And then the last thing I want to touch on is after the fact audition . I didn't really talk about this a lot in the original clip , but after the audition finished I didn't go home and I didn't ruminate on how the audition went . Sometimes I think what happens to us as actors is we finish the audition and then we get in the car and then all of it hits us and we feel like a failure , whether we did well in the audition or not , because we're nitpicking at all these things . We could have done better and I could have said it this way . I could have made this choice . I didn't do that .

Speaker 1 13:09

Once an audition is over , it's time to let it go . I did the best I could do . I can't go back in time . I want to have jobs that fit me as well as I fit them . I want to have jobs that are unique and that I enjoy and that my skill set serves . So if I don't book the job , it's no pressure . At the end of the day it's not . It's not the end of the world if I don't book one job . So I just wanted to give you a little recap on those mindset tips . The reason why this audition felt like such a huge win for me was not because I booked the job , because I didn't . It was because I proved to myself that I could change my behavior , that I could alter my behavior and that I could go into a room and be whatever I needed to be in that moment , and that's a powerful place to be in where you can manipulate how you react to a situation and prove to yourself something important . So , even though I didn't book this job , this audition was a major win for me and I hope that , as you have an upcoming auditions , you run some experiments , see how you can change your behavior , see how you can become a better you and see how you can win even when you don't book the job .

Speaker 1 14:23

I hope you enjoyed this Mindset Monday that was not on a Monday . And that's a wrap on today's episode of your Journey to you . I hope you found something here that inspires you to step into your power , embrace your worth and take your career to the next level . If today's episode resonated with you , I'd love for you to check out my free access plan . It's the perfect way to dip your toes into the work that we do in the six-week Stick it to Self-Sabotage Challenge . You'll get a real taste of the tools and the mindset shifts that have helped so many creatives step into their next level . And , of course , if you're loving the show , please subscribe , leave a review or share it with somebody in the industry who could use a little support . You can also follow me on social media at YourJourneyToYou . All the words are separated by a period For more tips , mindset , tools and behind the scenes realness . Links are in the show notes . Until next time , remember your success is just as important as your well-being . You got this .