What is self talk?

 Anytime you have a thought or talk to yourself (out loud or in your head) you are using self talk. Some examples of self talk are:

• “I’m so bored”
• “I can make that shot”
• “How good was that putt”

Positive & Negative self talk

Self talk can be positive and productive which helps you perform better or negative and unproductive which hinders your performance.

The more negative self talk you use the more likely you are to get frustrated, lose confidence, lose motivation and perform poorly because you are in a poor state of mind.

The more positive and productive self talk you use the more likely it is that you will feel confident, motivated, think more clearly and play your natural game.

Uses for positive self talk

Positive self talk can be used to improve:

• Motivation (e.g. “I’m still in this, stick with it.”)
• Skills 1 Techniques (e.g. “Eye on the ball”)
• Confidence (e.g. “I know 1 can make that’ or “Stay relaxed and it will happen”)
• Focus (e.g. “I have about 150m with water on the left, I want to ……..”)

Write down an example of some of the self talk you have used in each area:

Motivation, Technique, Confidence, Focus