Startling New Research on Performing Under Pressure

Create the confidence to change the world.

Remember Malala Youasfzai, the courageous Pakastani girl and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize winner, who stood up for a woman’s right to be educated and was shot in the head for it by the Taliban? She survived the wound, and when asked about it on The Daily Show, she shared her thought process about the possibility of the Taliban coming for her when they did. She said she asked herself, “If the Taliban comes, what would you do, Malala?” She answered herself saying, “Malala, just take a shoe and hit him.”

Youasfzai’s recollection of her thinking so impressed Ethan Kross, Ph.D. that he designed a series of ground-breaking research studies to examine the difference between the first- and second-person self-talk in stressful situations. Here is what he found:

1. When you speak to yourself in the first person (beginning your sentences with “I”):

• You are likely to get flustered and perform poorly in stressful situations.

1. When you use second person self-talk (you begin your sentences with your name, or you) in stressful situations:

• Your probability of having success skyrockets.
• You will have a decrease in ruminations (worrying).
• You increase your consciousness.
• Your brain is freed to perform its best.

The Harvard Business Review “Management Tip of the Day” on May 4, 2015 included the following when summarizing the research of people using second-person instead of first-person self-talk:

• More able to control their feelings and actions
• In preparing to deliver a speech, they were calmer and more confident
• Perform better when speaking
• Felt better about their own performance when it was over
• They had less shame
• Ruminated (worried) less

These findings stunned me, until I read Kross’ explanation in the Psychology Today article. It’s brilliant. Self-talk in the first person uses a different part of the brain than self-talk in the second person. He demonstrated that when speaking in the first person under stress, you are operating from the amygdala, which is the “fear center” of the brain. When self-talking in the second person, using your name, you utilize the cerebral cortex, which is more like our “thought center”.

By moving your thoughts when under stress away from your amygdala and into your cerebral cortex, you leave your “emotional brain”, giving you distance from your feelings. Thus, you experience less fear and less stress. In this part of your brain, you will have more self-control and clearer thinking, allowing you to perform up to your potential.

The situations where this seems to be most effective are those where you find yourself stressed or afraid, but you want to be your best performing under pressure. Using first-person “I” statements when not in stressful situations is probably very effective. But when stressed, and you want to be your best, consider using second-person self-talk. I think you’ll be happy you did!

These studies are all included in “Pronouns Matter when Psyching Yourself Up” by Ozlem Ayduk and Ethan Kross