3 SIMPLE TOOLS TO DO OUR BEST UNDER PRESSURE: public talk, pitch to investors, presentation to potential clients.
“…as people’s motivation to succeed increases, their likelihood of failing does too”
Bummer!
Unless you practice these below!
I’ve started reading this book about high performance and why so many really smart people, talented athletes don’t do their best in the top moment.
"CHOKE: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To"
People do much worse than what they show in practice!
Why is that?
It has to do with different types of memories involved, it has to do with practice, with stress levels and other things I’m yet to learn about.
Here I want to share 3 simple practices I’ve learned so far from the book, practices I’ve tested in my life, I’ve trained my clients in, practices, that help you do your best when it matters the most.
But first, consider this quote, I find it fascinating and very true,
“…as people’s motivation to succeed increases, their likelihood of failing does too”
Bummer!
Unless you practice these!
(More tools are coming - stay tuned!)
1. SIMULATE THE EXPERIENCE IN REAL LIFE
To perform well under pressure in real life, be that an important tournament, an exam that you studied for the whole year, or a pitch that can be life-changing for your career and business - we need to make our mind and body accustomed to the same situation as much as possible.
We need to make an extraordinary experience seem ordinary.
We need to make our brain and body used to certain stress levels.
We need to feel "at home" in the challenging environment.
How do you do that?
Simulate as much as possible the situation.
Give a talk to friends.
Ask to take part in some test examinations.
Take part in pitch and public speaking competitions.
The more accustomed you get to any experience, the less chance there’s that you’ll choke under stress - it won’t be that much stress any longer!
2. SIMULATE THE EXPERIENCE IN YOUR MIND
They did a bunch of studies showing that imagining something and doing something create very similar activity in the brain and body.
Have you ever imagined something bad happening to you or your loved one?
How did it feel?
Did your heart start racing?
Did your palms start sweating?
Exactly!
So when you practice your public talk in your head, imagining the audience, yourself on stage - you’ll be training your brain to feel ok in the environment, you’ll be training your neural circuits to produce a specific outcome in specific conditions.
Heck, people who train their biceps in their heads get increased strength results!
Mind-blowing and effective!
3. BREATHE
Today I interviewed Simon Lancaster, the author of “Winning Minds: secrets from the language of leadership”.
Simon is a professional, world-class speech writer, performer, neuroscience fan.
He shared with me that he teaches breathing, 4-7-8, to all of his clients who tend to get too anxious, worried, unfocused before their talks. This exhale-focused breathing done before the talk helps to get into a calmer state of mind, it helps to reduce stress and anxiety that often block our peak performance, our excellence, our talents, making us choke.
I’ve written a lot about breathing. I’ve demonstrated it here, here and here.
One of the most potent tools that work for absolutely everyone who uses the lungs to breathe.
Any important talk, pitch or exam coming up?
Use these!
Show what you are capable of!
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