By Jet Taylor and Eric Martin
(September 21, 2024)

As coaches, it is our responsibility to effectively teach sport skills and equip athletes with the tools to effectively use those sports skills in competition. Game situations elicit pressure and mental challenges, more so than practice environments. These challenges may also be accompanied by decrements in performance, even if the athlete is particularly skillful. Since the pressure-like situations of games are not easily mimicked in practice, it is important to offer athletes avenues to manage game stress, thus optimizing their acquired skill and psychology. One way to do this is through self-talk.

What is self-talk?

Self-talk, simply stated, is how we talk to ourselves. Unsurprisingly, self-talk has the ability to affect our mental status and behaviors. In sports, self-talk is a psychological strategy in which athletes use either explicitly spoken (e.g., said out loud) or implicitly thought words or phrases (e.g., thinking to themselves; Todd et al., 2009). Many types of self-talk have been identified, but two types that are used most frequently are motivational self-talk and instructional self-talk.

Motivational self-talk typically comes to mind when one considers self-talk. This type of self-talk is used to “psyche up” athletes and motivate success. Examples of motivational self-talk includes phrases like “I can do this!” or “I am a good volleyball server.” In instructional self-talk, rather than focusing on motivation and saying reaffirming phrases, instructional self-talk focuses on the execution of the task and uses a few words or phrases to direct attention to specific aspects of a task that an athlete is trying to accomplish.

Instructional self-talk can either be internally focused or externally focused. In the case of a volleyball player serving a ball, internally focused self-talk might include phrases such as “release the ball in front of my right shoulder,” whereas externally focused self-talk might include phrases such as “toss the ball in front of my right shoe.” The difference in these two statements is that the first cue (i.e., “release the ball in front of my right shoulder”) draws attention to the bodily movements, while the second cue (i.e., “toss the ball in front of my right shoe”) draws attention to external references associated with the movement, such as the area on the floor in front of their shoe.

Between these two types of instructional self-talk, internal and external, which one might be more beneficial to performance? To answer this question, let’s explore some of the previous studies regarding focus of attention and how that influences performance.

Internal Focus vs. External Focus of Attention on Performance

In general, the research surrounding internal focus versus external focus on performance has found that internal focus leads to performance decrements, while external focus leads to performance improvements. There are many reasons to explain this difference in performance among attentional focus (i.e., internal versus external). Research theories suggest that pressure situations cause attention to shift inwards and cause an increase self-consciousness and anxiety when performing a movement/task (Baumeister, 1984). Furthermore, this inward shift in focus of attention causes decreases to performance by “dechunking” the movement, which reduces the fluidity and automaticity of the motion (Beilock & Gray, 2007). This inward shift of attention has been linked to the phenomenon of “choking”. Choking is defined by uncharacteristically low performance when incentives to perform well are at a maximum. In essence, focusing on internal processes associated with a given task can cause athletes to feel self-consciousness, anxiety, and also negatively affects performance by reducing the natural feel of the movement.

In contrast to internal focus of attention, there is extensive evidence that external focus of attention has been associated with optimizing performance. For example, in a balancing task, Wulf and colleagues (1998) found that when participants focused on exerting pressure to a board (i.e., external focus) to maintain balance rather than their feet (i.e., internal focus), performance was significantly better. Since this foundational study, a number of other studies have found external focus to be preferable to internal focus in regard to balance, movement effectiveness and efficiency (Lohse et al., 2011), accuracy and consistency (Lohse et al., 2010), automaticity (Wulf & Lewthwaite, 2016), and performance, and learning (Wulf et al., 1998). Furthermore, these findings have remained consistent among different types of tasks, skill levels, and age groups (Wulf, 2013).

To imagine the effects of internal versus external focus, consider a scenario involving a golfer on the brink of winning a tournament. The critical moment arises when he faces a seemingly straightforward 4-foot putt to win the tournament, a shot he has effortlessly executed countless times in the past. Despite the familiarity with such shots, the significance of this particular putt triggers anxiety within the golfer. In an attempt to avoid any potential mistakes, he adopts an internal focus by hyper-focusing on monitoring his putting stroke, concentrating on the precise movements of his arms and ensuring his wrists remain perfectly straight. Despite the golfer’s usual proficiency in making such putts, the pressure of the situation leads to unfavorable focus (e.g., his arms instead of the putting path) which results in an uncharacteristic miss. This is an example of how inward focus induced causes anxiety and can have detrimental performance effects. To decrease these detrimental effects, self-talk with an external focus—such as focusing on the hole while putting—could be a useful tool for easing anxiety and optimizing performance.

Consider a second scenario: a typically proficient volleyball blocker “chokes” by missing a blocking assignment in a high-pressure situation. In this instance, the athlete might be focused on the steps he/she is making to perform the movement (e.g., take one step, arms straight back, square off hips, press hands over the net) instead of task-relevant cues such as focusing on the ball, the attacker, and timing that allows for correct execution while accounting for a number of factors. The over prioritization of their focus on steps and movement in this scenario takes away from task relevant information. In contrast, a volleyball blocker who performs well in high pressure situations might be focused on set location, getting in front the ball, and other task-relevant information. Perhaps this athlete could implement self-talk to guide attention throughout the game to effectively manage game-time stress. Thus, self-talk using externally referenced cues allows this blocker to experience success, despite perceiving high levels of pressure, relying on blocking skills and external self-talk cues honed through repeated efficient performances.

Given this knowledge, it becomes essential for coaches to focus on the most positive aspects of skill instruction, especially during high pressure situations. External focus, then, empowers coaches to equip athletes with the essential tools for improving performance, especially in situations of heightened pressure.

How Coaches and Athletes Can Use External Cues for Self-Talk

Recognizing the influence of self-talk and attentional focus on athlete performance enables coaches to deploy more effective coaching strategies. Specifically, coaches can use external references when teaching skills and, in turn, invite athletes to use the external references in their self-talk. How many times have you heard a coach say something to the effect of “Get out of your own head”? Not only does this cue lack specific information for how to achieve a given goal, but it also induces an inward focus for the athlete which has the potential to hinder performance. Because this coaching cue might not be helpful to the athlete, it is important to highlight different coaching cues that can be adopted to help reduce self-consciousness and inward focus of attention while also optimizing performance outcomes.

Once coaching cues have adopted external focus, coaches can invite athletes to use these external cues in self-talk. For example, if an athlete feels pressure or makes a mistake, rather than spiraling and having attention shift inwards, it can be helpful for athletes to redirect their focus via external instructional self-talk cues. This type of self-talk can be especially helpful in pressure situations or key performances.

Below are some basketball examples that can be used by coaches to promote an external focus, as well examples of self-talk cues for athletes. This table can be used as a guideline and adapted to a variety of different sports. To do so, 1) Identify the skill being taught, 2) identify the outcome goal of the specific task, 3) identify external references associated with the goal, and 4) create cues surrounding these external references to share with athletes.

Similar to any skill, self-talk can be honed through practice, transforming it into a habitual tool to alleviate stress and self-consciousness in high-pressure situations. When employed effectively, self-talk can serve as a valuable instrument for athletes to unleash their full potential and overcome self-doubt.

In conclusion, as coaches, we carry the dual responsibility of not only imparting technical skills but also equipping athletes with the psychological tools necessary for success in competitive environments. Instructional self-talk, then, acts as a tool that can be used in game situations, offering athletes a way to regulate their thoughts and focus when they are perceiving pressure to perform. Through externally focused instructional cues, self-talk directs attention to relevant game information and shapes positive performance outcomes. By employing coaching cues that emphasize external references and encouraging athletes to utilize externally focused self-talk cues, coaches can prepare athletes to manage pressure and maintain performance levels in games. Through deliberate practice, self-talk can become a habitual tool for athletes to utilize in game situations.

References

Beilock, S. L., & Gray, R. (2007). Why do athletes choke under pressure? In G. Tenenbaum & R. C. Eklund (Eds.), Handbook of sport psychology (3rd ed., pp. 425–444). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118270011.ch19

Lohse, Keith R., David E. Sherwood, and Alice F. Healy. “How Changing the Focus of Attention Affects Performance, Kinematics, and Electromyography in Dart Throwing.” Human Movement Science 29, no. 4 (August 2010): 542–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humov.2010.05.001.

Lohse, Keith R., David E. Sherwood, and Alice F. Healy. “Neuromuscular Effects of Shifting the Focus of Attention in a Simple Force Production Task.” Journal of Motor Behavior 43, no. 2 (February 28, 2011): 173–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.2011.555436.

Tod, David A, Rhys Thatcher, Michael McGuigan, and Joanne Thatcher. “Effects of Instructional and Motivational Self-Talk on the Vertical Jump.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 23, no. 1 (January 2009): 196–202. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181889203.

Wulf, Gabriele, and Rebecca Lewthwaite. “Optimizing Performance through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning: The OPTIMAL Theory of Motor Learning.” Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 23, no. 5 (October 2016): 1382–1414. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-015-0999-9.

Wulf, Gabriele. “Attentional Focus and Motor Learning: A Review of 15 Years.” International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology 6, no. 1 (September 2013): 77–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2012.723728.