Athletes have a lot to think about during competitions and must be able to cope with and perform well in high-pressure situations.
The thoughts that occur during these situations can have a large impact on the performance of an athlete in a specific skill (e.g., taking a penalty) or during a key stage of a competition (e.g., the last mile of a marathon).
Being able to manipulate the natural thoughts that you are having during a competition into more strategic thoughts regarding motivation or executing a skill or strategy, could help to give you an edge over your competitors.
One way of manipulating your thoughts during competition and training is by using self-talk.
This blog post is going to explain self-talk and give you an opportunity to create your own self-talk statements.
Contents
- What is “self-talk”?
- What are the benefits of self-talk?
- How can self-talk improve performance?
- Types of self-talk
- Should I use motivational or instructional self-talk?
- 4 W’s of self-talk
- Example self-talk statements: Professional athletes and research
- Create your own self-talk statements
- Practicing self-talk
- Final thoughts
- Resources
- References
What is “self-talk”?
Self-talk can be defined simply as what people say to themselves – this can be performed aloud or silently in your head (McCormick et al., 2018).
Even though self-talk can be said aloud, the person who is sending the message (using self-talk) is also receiving the message (Van Raalte et al., 2016).
The main function of self-talk is to evaluate, react to, or direct attention to events or actions that are occurring (Hatzigeorgiadis et al., 2014).
Self-talk can occur (Hardy, 2006):
-Automatically: Happens naturally without the athlete even thinking about it.
-On purpose: The athlete can strategically plan what they want to say in response to different events or stages of performance (Hatzigeorgiadis & Galanis, 2017).
What are the benefits of self-talk?
Performance benefits
Using self-talk has shown performance benefits in a range of sports from team to individual sports, winter to summer sports, and from the pool to the gym.
See the images below for examples of performance improvements after self-talk in a variety of activities (ST refers to self-talk).
Psychological benefits
Not only does self-talk provide athletes with performance improvements, but also improvements in psychological outcomes including:
-Focusing attention 1
-Increasing motivation 2
-Regulating arousal 3
-Increasing confidence 4
-Decreasing the perception of effort (endurance tasks) 5
-Increasing effort and persistence to complete tasks 6
-Decreasing interfering thoughts 7
-Decreasing cognitive anxiety 4,8
-Increasing self-efficacy 9
(1) Hatzigeorgiadis & Galanis (2017); (2) Park et al. (2020); (3) Theodorakis et al., 2008; (4) Hatzigeorgiadis et al. (2009); (5) Blanchfield et al. (2014); (6) Hatzigeorgiadis (2006); (7) Hatzigeorgiadis et al. (2004); (8) Tod et al. (2011); (9) Chang et al. (2014).
How can self-talk improve performance?
There are four mechanisms that allow self-talk to increase performance: cognitive, motivational, behavioural, and affectual.
Cognitive mechanisms
Self-talk is a strategy that can increase performance by improving cognitive mechanisms, such as focus, attention, concentration, and informational processing (Hardy et al., 2009).
Attention can be directed to perfecting a skill, reaching a goal, or being motivated to master a task, which may prevent distracting thoughts (Hatizigeoriadis & Galanis, 2017).
Motivational mechanisms
As mentioned, motivational self-talk is a key type of self-talk used by athletes.
Using self-talk can increase self-efficacy, which is defined as the belief a person has about themselves and their ability to reach a chosen level of performance (Bandura, 2010), via verbal persuasion.
Increased self-efficacy can then increase persistence and effort in a task (Hardy, 2006) as well as being related to increased performance (Moritz et al., 2003).
Behavioural mechanisms
Self-talk can also have a direct impact on performance in terms of aiding the learning of a skill.
This mechanism links to instructional self-talk, as movement patterns you need to master a skill can be directly influenced (Hardy et al., 2009).
Affectual mechanisms
‘Affect’ can be used to refer to feeling of positive or negative feelings or emotions.
So, examples of positive affect are feelings of happiness, excitement, enthusiasm, or joy.
Negative affect on the other hand can include feelings of anxiety, depression, or anger (Cohen & Pressman, 2006).
Self-talk can have an impact negative affect, specifically anxiety, as using positive statements may decrease anxiety (Calvete et al., 2005), which can lead to greater sporting performances (Woodman & Hardy, 2003).
Now that we have covered what self-talk is and how it can improve performance, the following sections will explain key areas to consider when creating your own self-talk statements.
There are four overarching types of self-talk (Hardy, 2006):
- Inherent vs strategic
- Internal vs external
- Positive vs negative
- Motivational vs instructional
| Type of self-talk | Description |
| Inherent | Statements that are automatic and unplanned. |
| Strategic | Planned phrases or cues that are used systematically for mental self-regulation. |
| Internal | Silent and said in your head. |
| External | Vocalising or saying statements out loud, which can range from mutterings to loud exclamations. |
| Positive | Positive statements about performance. |
| Negative | Negative statements about performance. |
| Motivational | Statements to increase confidence and drive. |
| Instructional | Statements regarding skill and strategy execution. |
As mentioned, this post will give you a chance of making your own self-talk phrases for different scenarios in your sport, therefore, those self-talk statements will be a form of strategic self-talk.
When practicing your self-talk, you can either choose to practice aloud (external) or silently in your head (internal).
Traditionally, athletes were always encouraged to use positive self-talk, which has been shown to result in greater performances compared to negative self-talk (Van Dyck et al., 2018; Van Raalte et al., 1995).
However, some research has shown that negative self-talk does not necessarily negatively impact performance (Tod et al., 2011) and can even be beneficial to some athletes (Peter & Williams, 2006).
For this activity, it is best to start by using positive self-talk, as this has not shown negative impacts on performance.
Either motivational or instructional self-talk can be used depending on the sport you participate in and a specific scenario that occurs during your sport.
Should I use motivational or instructional self-talk?
When you are creating your own self-talk phrases, it is important to consider whether you want the statements to be instructional or motivational.
In some cases, your sport or a specific aspect of performance that you want to improve may lend itself to either instructional or motivational self-talk.
Instructional self-talk
An instructional focus is based on specific skills, physical movements, or a strategy (Hardy et al., 2001).
Novices are thought to use instructional self-talk when learning a new skill in order to break down the task (Hardy et al., 2014).
As the athlete becomes more familiar and competent with the skill, the technical elements of the skill may become more automatic, so instructional self-talk could occur less often.
For example, a gymnast learning to do a back handspring on a beam may say “swing”, “jump high”, “spot” when breaking down the steps.
Instructional self-talk is also argued to be the most beneficial for fine motor tasks (Hatzigeogiadis et al., 2011). This refers to sports with an emphasis on precision and attention regulation – for example: golf putt, snooker, darts, archery.
For example, an archer may tell themselves “focus on centre”, “breathe”, “hold string tight” in preparation for shooting.
Therefore, if you are learning a new skill or want to become more competent in a skill, instructional self-talk may be very important for you.
Also, if you want to improve your performance in a fine motor task, it’s a good idea to consider using instructional self-talk.
Motivational self-talk
When self-talk is mentioned, the first thought you might have is someone shouting (or whispering) “come on” or “let’s go” to themselves. This is a good example of motivational self-talk.
There are three main ways that self-talk can impact motivation:
1) Arousal regulation = Arousal refers to the amount of mental and physical activation that is felt by the athlete. This can range from deep sleep (low arousal) to extreme excitement (high arousal; Gould & Krane, 1992).
If a footballer needs a high arousal level and feels very excited to perform at their best, they may use self-talk phrases such as “let’s go!” to ‘psych up’ before the game.
2) Mastery = Self-talk can be used to increase confidence and self-efficacy (or belief in yourself), and to direct attention.
A diver in the final 8 of a competition may tell themselves “I’m the best here. I’m going to win this”.
3) Drive = Self-talk can be structured to focus on increasing or maintaining the effort shown by the athlete.
A marathon runner who has hit the 30km point where the race becomes the most difficult may use phrases such as “push through” or “keep up the pace”.
Below is a diagram showing the breakdown of types of motivational self-talk with examples.
Motivational self-talk is argued to be the most beneficial for gross motor tasks (Hardy et al., 2009) which include sports based on strength or endurance, such as rugby, running (both short and long distances), and powerlifting.
It is also thought that experienced athletes move away from instructional self-talk to motivational self-talk (Hardy et al., 2014), as they are an expert in the technique, so instead focus on increasing mastery and drive.
Using instructional self-talk for fine motor tasks and using motivational self-talk for gross motor tasks is referred to as the “matching hypothesis” (Hardy et al., 2009). However, there are mixed results regarding the matching hypothesis (e.g., Theodorakis, 2000).
Tip:
When you first start making self-talk scripts, it may be beneficial to incorporate both instructional and motivational self-talk. This can be altered in the future if you feel that one type works better for you.
The 4 W’s of self-talk
So now, we have covered the different types of self-talk statements that you can create.
The next things to do is to think about how you can implement this into your current routine – whether it is your training schedule or current psychological training.
When thinking about creating and implementing your own self-talk statements, it may be useful to follow the 4 W’s outlined by Hardy et al. (2001):
Where
The first area to consider is where you will be using self-talk. Often, athletes report using self-talk before, during, or after training or a competition.
You can also think more specifically about where the statements will be used, for example, on the team bus before a game.
When
The next area for consideration is more specific regarding when during the competition or training session that self-talk will be used.
For example, self-talk may be used just before a complex skill or a high-stress task.
What
The third area regards what the self-talk will sound like.
This includes whether you will use key words (“Calm”), phrases (“Keep going!”), and/or sentences (“Forget about the mistake, concentrate on the next pass”).
Within this section, another consideration is whether the self-talk is given in first-person (“I’ve got this”) or second-person (“You’ve got this!”).
Often in exercise, a second-person narrative is used (Gammage et al., 2001) to directly regulate behaviour (Zell et al., 2012).
However, first-person statements have also been used often when the self-talk refers to feelings and emotions (Oliver et al., 2008).
Creating self-talk statements is a trial and error process, so use a range of lengths for the statements, and try both first- and second-person narratives to see which works well for you.
Why
The final consideration is the purpose of the statements, so why you are using self-talk.
This is a great time to bring in what you have learnt already about motivational and instructional self-talk.
You should decide whether the main purpose for your self-talk is to be instructional (“Flick the wrist”), motivational (“You will win”), or a combination.
Example self-talk statements: Professional athletes and research
We have now covered what self-talk is, the different types that can be used, and key considerations (4 W’s) to think about when creating your statements.
To help you come up with ideas for your own self-talk statements, examples of self-talk used in previous research are provided below. Athletes using some of these statements have shown improvements in performance or psychological outcomes.
Below are some examples of specific phrases that elite athletes have used in their own performances, from Cristiano Ronaldo using instructional self-talk before taking a free kick, to Muhammad Ali using motivational self-talk by telling himself that he is the greatest, even at the start of his career before he became World Heavyweight Champion.
Create your own self-talk statements
Now you have background information on self-talk and some example phrases, it’s time for you to think about creating your own statements tailored specifically to your sport and areas for improvement.
Follow the outlined steps to help you make your own self-talk.
1) Use the worksheet linked here. Start by identifying your current strengths and areas of performance that you want to improve or strengthen in the “Background” section of your worksheet.
2) Break down the performance or skill into stages (e.g., splitting a 100m run into the 0-30m stage, 31-60m stage, and 61-100m stage) or identify different events that happen (e.g., a footballer may think about a free kick, scoring, being one-on-one with the keeper, going one goal up, going one goal down). Write these down in the first column of the “Self-talk statements” table.
3) Think about self-talk that you may use during your best performances.
If you are struggling, you can watch videos of yourself performing to trigger the thoughts and feelings you had during a good performance.
Or, you could make a note of any self-talk you use during your training (you can simply log these on the notes app of your phone during your next training session).
Tip:
If you often use negative self-talk during competition, think about how you could reframe the negative thoughts to a positive interpretation. For example, as Sir Chris Hoy recommended, rather than using “anxious” or “worried”, reframe by using “excited”.
4) Write down 2-4 self-talk phrases for each skill or stage of competition in the second column.
Use the examples in this post to help and any self-talk you already use.
5) Next, write down the type of self-talk each phrase is (motivational or instructional) in the third column.
You can use this to make sure you include both types, but to also assess which types of self-talk work the best for you.
6) In the final column, write when you will be using the phrases (e.g., just before a penalty when looking at the goalkeeper).
7) Finally finish off the 4 W’s (Hardy et al., 2001) by going back to the “Background” section, and adding in where you will use self-talk and how often.
Practising self-talk
There are limited guidelines on how often to practice your self-talk.
It may be best to bring your list of phrases to training and practice your 2-4 self-talk statements every time you physically practice the skill or stage of a skill that you have identified in your worksheet.
Through regular practice, you can assess which statements work the best for you, and how many times you want to repeat the statements before the skill.
The self-talk worksheet also has additional tables and a notes section that you can use to record any updates to self-talk statements and/or performance.
It is important to reassess your self-talk to ensure you are using the most effective phrases or types (e.g., motivational or instructional) for your performance.
Regular practice will also make using self-talk feel more natural, so when it comes to a competition or a high-pressure situation, you feel prepared to use the psychological skill to your advantage.
You don’t want to use self-talk for the first time during a competition, in the same way that you wouldn’t want to use a new physical skill during a competition without adequate practice beforehand.
Final thoughts
Self-talk is a popular psychological skills training method that athletes may already be using either naturally or strategically.
By using this blog post and the worksheet, you can start to build the foundations of self-talk statements that can be regularly used in training and competition.
Identifying the best self-talk phrases will require trial and error as well as regular practice during training and competition.
However, creating effective statements that work for your sport, level of competition, and sport-specific skills, could potentially lead to improvements in performance and/or psychological outcomes that could give you an edge over your competitors.
Resources
Worksheet
If you are interested in hearing more about self-talk, see below for some links to podcasts and videos that you may find helpful.
Podcast episodes
Videos
Self-talk overview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy07XjKp6XA
Joe Hart and Nike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjYlBFXxda0
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