Almost everyone
talks himself or herself through situations, good and bad. Research reveals
that self-talk can improve your performance by helping you regulate your
emotions, thoughts, and energy, increase your confidence, improve coordination,
control fine motor skills, enhance focus, and more.
No matter your
skill level at a particular task, self-talk can help you perform optimally. To
get the greatest benefits from self-talk, develop your own statements that are specific
to you and what you are doing. These Performance Strategies will help you
develop such instructional and motivational statements so you can execute tasks
with precision and confidence.
Instructional
Self-Talk
Instructional self-talk involves talking yourself
through a task with step-by-step reminders at each phase while performing the
task order to complete it successfully. When you are learning a new task,
instructional self-talk can be a very useful tool to help you remember all the
necessary steps of the new task. Experts use this method to ensure that all
steps are completed in the correct order and manner. To develop effective
instructional self-talk statements, it is important that the steps are accurate
to begin with; being shown how each step looks is ideal.
Example: if you are practicing marksmanship, statements such as “See the
target…straighten elbows…lock onto target…and fire” are helpful. You may even
want to number each step, especially if there are a lot of them, so the
previous statement would be “Step 1, see the target; step 2, straighten
elbows…”
Results: Using this method to break down complex tasks or activities that
require, for example, precision (fine motor skills) can help you focus and
complete them with greater accuracy.
Motivational
Self-Talk
Motivational self-talk is composed of positive
phrases that encourage you to keep on track and work through challenges. These
phrases can be used to get you psyched up, stay the course, or calm down.
Examples: Statements like “I can do this” or “let’s go” are examples of
self-talk that motivates you to get your energy primed and ready for action.
Statements like “take a deep breath” or “I’m okay” can release the nervousness
you may experience in tense situations. Simply repeating the word “focus” may
help you concentrate on the task at hand.
Results: These positive statements boost performance by helping build
confidence, enhance self-efficacy (belief in your ability to perform a specific
activity), reduce jitters, and improve mood. Motivational statements are
particularly useful for tasks that involve strength and endurance, reaction
time when faced with making a choice and/or speed.
Sports science studies have shown that positive self-talk can
improve reaction time and enhance physical performance such as balance and
vertical jumps.
