I suggested that he take several days away from the pool table and help a friend improve his game. About ten days later I heard from the same fellow, and I asked him what advice he gave to his friend when he got into a jam with position play or difficult situations. "I told him to try to stay focused on the shot, and on cue ball control," he replied. "I said not to worry, and that he was a very good player, and was more than capable of handling the various game situations."

Then I asked him what he usually said to himself in the same situations. "What a stupid shot!" was the quick answer. "Can't you even control a little cue ball? Now you'll probably get careless, and get out of line, and end up blowing the game because of it!" Almost as soon as he said this, he started to laugh, because he realized what he really should have been saying to himself.

Pool players do this. Everyone does. They "talk" to themselves for two reasons:

1. First, they have a reasonable amount of time between shots, unlike players of some other sports, who must react immediately to their opponent's play. For many players, it's a way to vent their frustrations and/or embarrassment over a missed shot or a blown safety. It affects their perception of other players' images of them, and their own self-image, because their own performance fell short of their expectations. You can't hide it. After all, the mistakes are out there on the table for all to see.
   
   What does this self-talk include? Sometimes a player may briefly talk about some non-pool things, but then quickly return to self-talk reminders as a "psych-up" to get back to concentrating on the game. Self-talk can control a pool player's focus. It can also regulate his emotions and moods, all which, in turn, can affect performance. After you miss a shot or blow your shape, you may do a slow burn, and feel the fire creeping up the back of your neck, and you might say something like: "Okay, forget about that shot now. Let's get to work and hit a nice, controlled break shot and focus on the game ahead (the last game is history now), so I will use purposeful patterns and smooth strokes."
   
   
2. The second reason for self-talk is instruction. Just think about how much of your self-talk is concerned with the appropriate skills required to hit a certain shot or play a particular position or strategy. This technique is not unique to just pool players. People often do it when they are learning something: typing, playing an instrument, or driving a car. They would talk to themselves during math problems, or when they bowl, throw darts, or play golf. You may have often heard a tennis player chastising himself aloud over a poor shot, and then come right back with short "psyching" reminders to help them re-focus on a particular facet of their game. This is not a bad idea, because research suggests that verbal "self-prompting" is most effective during the initial learning of a psycho-motor skill.
   
   

We could probably talk about the disadvantages and detractions of self-talk all day, and give many examples citing its psychological effect on us and our play. However, we should probably turn our attention toward getting the most out of our self-talk.


Of course, I have some helpful hints for doing just that:

1. Be dispassionate. Self-talk, whether it is instructional or regulatory, should be done in an even, matter-of-fact tone. Pool players must especially keep an even keel, and they just can't afford to be too emotionally high or too emotionally low at the table. It actually happens quite often, mostly because of intense concentration changes, or expectations vs. results, or any number of other things. It almost sounds too easy to just say you will now try for higher lows and lower highs to help you keep that even disposition, right? Self-talk, in fact, works best when you feel you're on the outside looking in, and teaching yourself in a calm and factual manner. This form of self-talk can help you in tense or nervous situations.
   
   
   
2. Analyze, don't Evaluate. Instead of telling yourself how dumb you were after making an error, try to focus only on the reasons behind the mistake or bad shot.
   
   Were you not lined up correctly?
   Did you not aim correctly?
   Did you make a poorstroke or follow-through?
   
   More than a few players take practice strokes after a bad
   shot or misplayed position. They're most always analyzing why they missed, and
   often rehearsing this same stroke for a future situation.
   
   
3. Keep things positive. Most average pool players tend to be too harsh with their self-talk. They're generally too easy on themselves in practice, and too hard on themselves in the tournaments, largely because their performance may not match up to their expectations from practice. This can affect their self-image, and lower their confidence, and subsequently, their judgment and performance. A pro, however, is generally the very opposite: He's normally hard on himself in practice sessions, but in the tournament he's often his own best friend, and his self-talk usually shows this.
   
   
4. Talk in the present. Rather than tell yourself what has already happened to you, or even what could happen to you in the future (whether it's good or bad), focus your self-talk on the present tense. "Talk" yourself through the preparation, the analysis, and the execution of the shots you're about to play. Then, after your stroke, review the results in a rational, non-judgmental way, and begin to "talk" yourself through
   the next situation (even if it's your opponent's shot, not yours). You may be surprised how much good this will do toward helping your correct analysis and concentration.
   
   
5. Don't get sidetracked. If your opponent starts talking aloud about difficult playing
   conditions, or a "brutal roll" in the last game, or how the upcoming games are going to be really tough because of this or that, just re-double your efforts to keep your self- talk (and your concentration) oriented to the present situation. It will definitely help you learn to control yourself, instead of being controlled or influenced by others.
   
   
6. Defend your ego --- temporarily. Rationalize while at the table, almost to the point of denying reality, if that's what it takes for you to keep calm and focused. Even the greatest pool players have used temporary rationalizations about "weather" conditions (humidity), or out-of-round balls, or dead rails, or texture of the cloth, or nap and speed of the cloth, etc. Okay, you may blame the table conditions for some of those missed shots while you are playing, but you should head back to a good practice table after the match to help determine whether those missed shots or blown positions were caused by the table or rather by your own stroke mechanics or your own faulty judgment.
   
   
7. Decide ahead of time what things you're going to say. There are some pool players who can't seem to control their own self-talk. They say that bad breaks, old habits, or their own emotions just overwhelm their best intentions. I just suggest to them that they make a tape of what they want to tell themselves in these situations. This method can be especially useful if you haven't played pool in a while. How does it work? On your tape, just describe the situations that give you the most troubles, and choose an appropriate way to handle them. Then write a script of what you plan to think and say when that situation does occur, and make your tape from that script. Then just play your tape back, and memorize your positive affirmations and your helpful self-talk.
   
   
   ---Paul Gerni