Widen the goalposts

It’s easier to overcome our doubts if we visualise the target in a positive light.

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I came across some psychologically themed presentation advice in a US business magazine, which, at its heart, was about visualisation.

Specifically, it said that if imagining the goalposts are wider means you're more likely to slot that penalty, or picturing a larger hole on the green means you're more likely to make the putt, then imagining that an audience is hanging on your every word will make it easier to manage presentation nerves, and so on.

First, there is evidence that visualising you're about to do something successfully improves performance, and that imagining your target as more acquirable enhances performance.