Wetin People Wey Dey Deliver For Di Main Day Dey Really Do Different

Some people dey do better for di main day pass how dem dey do for practice. You don see dem before: di colleague wey im pitch hit harder for di room pass how e be for rehearsal, di candidate wey sharp pass for final round pass how e be for phone interview, di player wey just dey normal all season but e blow big for di final match. E easy make person tag am as personality, as if dem born dem with different kain nerve.

E no be so. If you check dem well, na usually dem tension dey almost same level with everybody wey dey di building. Wetin dey separate dem no be how much adrenaline dey run inside dem body. Na how many question wey never settle wey dem still dey carry alongside am, and unsettled question na di thing wey pressure dey press hardest.

Na good news be dat, because how many question wey never settle na decision wey you fit take two days before time, for quiet room, when your whole mind still full available.

Why my performance dey drop wen e really matter?

Because pressure no dey attack your skill straight, na di extra capacity wey you dey use take decide things e dey attack, and for day wey stake high, you don leave many more choice for yourself pass normal. Any decision wey you never take, from how you go start to wetin you go do if demo fail, e go push go di moment wey your attention don tight, your working memory don small, and clock still dey run.

You fit see am for di research wey dem do about wen person mind go blank under pressure. For one study, dem give people wey get high test anxiety hard arithmetic work under plenty stress, and na di people wey get di biggest working memory capacity fall di most, na because dem get pass everybody to lose wen dat memory crowded full. Wen dem use short writing exercise wey make you express your feeling before time to clear part of dat load, di way people dey fall under stress just comot. Di capacity never be di problem. Na wetin dem dey spend am on na di real problem.

So di question wey get sense no be "how I go feel less nervous." Na "wetin I still dey decide di moment I waka enter." Any item wey you fit answer di night before, na capacity wey you don hand back give di work.

Wetin exactly I suppose settle before time?

Three things, write am down: your opening, your backup plan, and your finish. Di opening na your first sentence, word for word, di backup plan na wetin you go do if di thing wey you dey depend on no work, and di finish na di last line wey you go talk before you stop di whole thing.

Dis three things dey cover almost every kain collapse. Shaky start go make di room already judge you before you even talk anything wey get substance. If backup plan no dey, broken slide or hostile question go turn to improvisation for di worst possible moment. And if finish no dey, na why even competent people go just trail off with "so, yeah, dat na am," wey go wipe good twenty minutes for only four words.

Write dem down somewhere physical, no be for your head only. Card wey dey your pocket, one line for top of page, note wey you tape inside folder. Di value no dey inside di paper, e dey inside say you don turn three live decision to three settled fact, wey be something wey your brain fit confirm for one glance wen e no dey trust itself again.

One more source of settled fact still dey worth mention, because na di cheapest advantage for dis whole category and nobody dey charge for am: almost everything wey person wey get composure know about one room, na person wey don already enter dere tell am. So wen you comot, tell di next person how e really be. Who ask wetin, how long dem really give you, whether di screen dey work: na two minutes of your time, and e go give another person di same head start wey dem give you.

How I go stop to dey make new decision di day before?

Declare say di last twenty-four hours na closed shop. No new material, no new slide, no new story, no fresh advice wey you go collect from person wey mean well.

Dis na di rule wey feel like e wrong but e right. Change wey come late almost never improve di content well well pass how e go cost you your smoothness, because di new thing na di one part wey you never really talk out loud fast before. Na di same part wey your attention go stumble on for di room, na how one improvement fit pull whole section drag am down.

Second reason still dey, e small pass but e worth to know. Under real competitive pressure, even people wey get plenty skill go start dey narrate di technique to demself. Wen dem tell golf players make dem talk out loud during competition round wey money prize dey involve and dem go read dia score back give di whole group after, di strong players begin dey call plenty technical rule out loud pass how dem do for practice, especially wen dem dey putt. Dat na skill wey person don start dey steer with hand again after years wey e dey run by itself. New material go multiply di number of places wey dat kind steering fit happen, because anything wey no familiar go need conscious control by definition.

So di day before na for reduce, no be for add. Read wetin dey exist one time. Arrange wetin you go carry. Den close di file, make di thing wey you rehearse be di thing wey you go do.

How I go judge di day if di result no dey my hand?

Score how you execute am, no be di outcome. Before you go inside, write down three things wey go mean say you do your job well, everything inside your own control, den check yourself against dat list instead of against whether dem tell you yes.

Dis no be consolation and e no be say you dey lower di bar. Na di only scorecard wey go improve your next attempt. You no control di panel budget, di other candidates, di mood for di room, or whether di client board meet dat morning. But you control whether you open as you plan am, whether you reach your three moves, whether you answer di hard question straight instead of dodge am, and whether you finish well for your line. Na dose things dey carry go your next attempt.

Live benefit still dey, no be only di one wey you go see after everything don finish. Person wey dey judge demself based on result go need keep dey check di result, meaning say dem go dey monitor face mid-sentence to see sign of how e dey go. Dat kind monitoring cost pass and e no dey usually correct. Person wey dey judge demself based on execution get checklist wey dem sabi from inside, so dia attention go stay for di work.

Wetin I go do wen things start to dey scatter for di room?

Go to di backup plan wey you don already write, talk am out loud, no beg pardon. Call where you dey go, carry di room follow you, keep your pace normal.

Almost everything wey go wrong for room, person fit survive am if you no add panic on top. Slide fail, so you talk without am. Question come early, so you answer am early and tell dem say you go come back for di rest. Some senior person join late for ten minutes, so you give dem one sentence context and continue. None of dat na failure. Na just Tuesday, and person wey get backup plan go treat am as normal Tuesday.

Wetin di room really dey read na your pace. Speed na di signal wey audience go pick up fastest, because na di one thing wey dem fit read even if dem no know your material. To keep your normal rhythm through small disaster na wetin dey make am remain small disaster.

To want am more no be di problem

Nothing wey dey here suggest say make you want am less. People wey dey deliver for di main day, na dem usually want am pass di people wey no dey deliver, and dat one fine well well, because to want am plenty na wetin make di preparation happen for di first place. Di problem never be desire. Na to leave desire dey control decision wey e never build to take.

Di founder of KEEP CALM don put im own version of dis one plain plain. E hustle im whole life for wetin e want, and e still find way to hold body calm through am, and both things be true di same time. Na dat be di shape wey dey useful. Composure no be wetin you go get after you don make am, and e no be opposite of drive. Na di thing wey dey keep drive productive for normal Thursday wen stake real, and na why some people still dey do dis one for high level twenty years later.

So settle your three decisions, close di shop di day before, score how you execute am, den go get am. Dat combination na something wey you fit repeat, wey be bigger claim well well pass to just brilliant one time.

Sources

• National Library of Medicine (USA Government Medical Library), Evidence Wey Show Skill Level Difference For Golf Players Thinking Process During High Pressure and Low Pressure Situation
• National Library of Medicine, How Expressive Writing Dey Affect "Wen Mind Dey Block Under Pressure" For People Wey Get High Test Anxiety
• National Library of Medicine, Di Fourth Dimension: Motor Angle On Di Relationship Between Anxiety And Performance