A Simple Tip to Avoid Choking Under Pressure

We have all choked at one time or another.

It might have been on the sports field, while writing a big test, doing a big interview, or giving a speech or presentation. Likely each of us have replayed that moment over and over and thought about what we could and should have done differently to perform better.

For me, those moments were mostly on the volleyball court.  I learned early on that in high pressure situations I needed to be able to perform. Over decades of competition, I tested many different strategies to help myself maintain focus, remain relaxed and centered and get into the zone.

One key tool that I recommend is music.

Singing or listening to music to prepare for big performances is a technique that is widely used in sport; just think about how many Olympic and professional athletes you see wear their headphones before big matches.  So I wanted to share two experiences that solidified the effectiveness of using music to avoid choking under pressure.

Our Team as the Underdog
 

In my late 20s, I was competing at the Canadian National Beach Volleyball Championships with a brand new partner.  I had played the entire summer with an old teammate from my indoor university team and, although she was a relatively inexperienced beach volleyball player, I was committed to playing out the summer with her.  Two weeks prior to the National Championships she decided to switch partners and play with a great, young player from Quebec.

I was left scrambling. 

Thankfully, I had enough points to qualify for the National Championship on my own so I asked a even newer player to partner with me, Tricia Stragliotto D’Amata.  She’s an amazing athlete and fierce competitor who had played professionally indoor in Europe and had recently transitioned to beach volleyball.

We ended up practicing just a few times prior to the National Championships and were ranked close to last coming in. We won the first three matches. In the quarterfinals, karma came to visit and we handily beat the partner who had unceremoniously dumped me just two weeks prior. And then, to our surprise and delight, we beat the second ranked team in the semi-finals and made it to the FINALS.

In the Finals, there was a lot of pressure; the stakes were high and there were tons of people watching.  In addition to my family and all my beach volleyball friends, I had invited a partner from my law firm to come and watch and was keenly aware that he and his wife were there cheering us on.  We were matched up against the top ranked team – two great players from Quebec, who later ended up representing Canada in the Olympics.

And we were the underdogs.

Through the entire match, we were neck and neck.  One of my greatest weapons had always been my jumpserve.  My jumpserve was a high risk/high payout gamble that I relied on to get a series of quick points to swing the momentum back our way.  We were tied 15-15 and I could feel myself tensing up so as I walked back to serve so I started singing my theme song to myself: 

Don’t think that I’m not strong
I’m the one to take you on
Don’t underestimate me
Boy, I’ll make you sorry you were born.

This song is a top dance song from the late 90s by Madison Avenue so many of you may not know it but I had heard it at all the National Tour Beach volleyball stops because DJ Mike always played it.  In fact, he knew it was my theme song and he had played it during those finals. Singing that song to myself in my head helped me get my jumpserves in during those final crucial points.

And against all odds, Tricia and I won our first of two back-to-back National Championships! 

And the crowd went wild…

A Libero on Fire
 

I also learned that this tip worked for players I coached.

A couple weeks before a big tournament, I shared the above story with the team and even sung them that small part of the song that I would sing in my head.  At the tournament, our libero – the backrow specialist who digs the balls – was on fire.  We won the tournament and after the match, she told me that all she was doing was singing her favourite song in her head the whole time.  She dug everything that match and was selected as an All-Star for her stellar performance.

These experiences have shown me that singing is one way to perform at one’s best. And importantly, cognitive science confirms that singing help us calm down and enter the peak state of focus that is required for high performance.

So it works.

Music can help us in so many ways, including helping us perform under pressure so we avoid choking. So the next time you’re walking into a high pressure situation where you want to perform, strike that power pose then hum your favourite song on your way in.  That song can help to calm your nerves so you perform at your very best!

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