Performing under pressure
8 tips for a clutch performance
By
C. Nick Savage
of
All-Stater Sports
The symptoms are
familiar for every student-athlete around the world. Butterflies flutter
like bats in a cave. The stomach churns. The knot in your throat grows
larger with each passing second. Sweat beads form on the brow. You wipe
your sweaty palms as the clock ticks down in the waning minutes. You’ve
got to pull through. You do your best to fight back that little voice
screaming,“You can’t do it.” Adrenaline courses through your veins as you
make your big move. The clock winds down to zero. The bell jolts you from
the chair, and the teacher turns to say those final words of doom,“Okay,
class, time is up. Please put your pencils down and pass your papers to
the front of the room.” This happens all across the world as we take pop
quizzes, quarterly exams, and college entrance exams.
We all want to avoid that feeling we dare not speak of, choking under
pressure. How do we beat the beast? Many of us face the anxiety and rise
to the occasion while some of us falter in the end. How do we face this
challenge head-on to increase the odds of success under test conditions?
Simply treat academics the same way you’d approach your athletic pursuits.
Here are eight tips that will help you achieve your goals:
Drill under pressure prior to the exam
Preparation is the best way to avoid test jitters when it’s time to
perform. Since I was young, I always enjoyed taking the shot and counting
down to zero as I released the ball. Playing by myself, my imagination
would run wild as I attempted the sudden-death kick, or hit the go-ahead
home run into my backyard with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom
of the ninth. Of course, I never lost because I kept adding a new reason
to keep the game going until I eventually won. More important, it helped
me practice dealing with stress in the real games. Use the same
imaginative approach to improve your chances when preparing for a test.
First, identify a helper. Make sure you’ve studied the material and
recorded your notes. Then give the material to a friend, family member, or
teammate. If it’s work that requires memorization or a written response
(e.g., multiple choice exam, history essay, language, vocabulary test, or
balancing formulas), give the helper your notes to ask the questions. If
your helper can’t understand your notes, you probably aren’t ready to
proceed. Go back and study and refine your notes....
