Performance anxiety can show up minutes before a job interview, presentation, exam, race or performance, when a person knows what to do but suddenly feels unable to do it well. Psychologist Cindra Kamphoff, who works with athletes and business leaders on confidence in high-pressure situations, has shared several practical techniques for handling those moments.
In an October 2, 2026 NPR report, Kamphoff outlined four tools from her book The Confidence Habit: 7 Core Practices to Transform Self-Doubt to Self-Belief: move on quickly after mistakes, use deliberate self-talk, set multiple levels of goals, and question negative thoughts. A fifth strategy, practicing under conditions that resemble the real event, adds an evidence-based layer to those techniques.
What is Performance Anxiety?
Performance anxiety can be defined as the fear or apprehension experienced due to concern about performing poorly or not living up to the expectations of oneself or others. It may extend to include test anxiety, fear of public speaking, anxiety in meetings and jitters while performing in front of other people.
A little anxiety before a high-stakes situation is quite understandable. The problem arises when anxiety, self-doubt, or physiological symptoms are so severe that they diminish one’s ability to focus or perform. The Mayo Clinic adds that relaxation strategies, practice, and conditioning oneself to perform under test-like conditions can help alleviate test anxiety.
1. Learn from the mistake, then let it go
Kamphoff calls her first technique “learn, burn, return.” The idea is simple: take a useful lesson from the mistake, use a physical cue or short phrase to mark the end of the moment, and then return your attention to the task.
For example, someone who loses their place during a presentation could ask, “What will I do differently next time?” Once the lesson is clear, there is little benefit in replaying the mistake while the presentation is still happening.
The useful difference is between reflection and rumination. Reflection produces something you can use. Rumination keeps you mentally stuck in the same event.
2. Create a power phrase before pressure hits
Positive self-talk is another technique Kamphoff recommends. She suggests creating a short statement beginning with phrases such as “I can,” “I will” or “I am,” based on the qualities you want to bring into the moment.
The practical advantage is that the phrase is prepared before anxiety peaks. Instead of trying to invent confidence while your heart is racing, you already have a sentence that brings your attention back to what you can do.
Keep it specific. “I am prepared to explain this clearly” is more useful for a presentation than a vague instruction to “be confident.”
3. Stop making one perfect outcome the only acceptable outcome
Kamphoff recommends setting gold, silver and bronze goals. The method creates several acceptable targets rather than making one result the only definition of success.
For an interview, for example, a bronze goal might be staying composed and answering every question honestly. Silver could mean communicating your strongest experience clearly. Gold might be receiving an offer.
This changes where attention goes. Instead of repeatedly asking, “What if I fail?” you have different outcomes and can concentrate on the actions within your control.
4. Fact-check the voice of self-doubt
Before an exam, presentation or interview, anxious thoughts can become exaggerated very quickly: I am going to mess this up. Everyone will notice. One bad answer will ruin everything.
Kamphoff suggests challenging those thoughts by asking whether the thought is true, whether it is useful and what a more empowering statement could be.
That approach has a broader psychological connection. Cognitive behavioral therapy also focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and developing more flexible ways of interpreting situations.
The aim is not to replace every negative thought with blind optimism. It is to replace an extreme prediction with something accurate enough to act on.
5. Practice the pressure, not just the performance
One useful addition to Kamphoff’s four techniques is to rehearse the conditions that create the anxiety.
Reading presentation notes alone is different from standing up, using a timer and speaking without stopping. Reviewing answers silently is different from sitting through a realistic mock interview. Studying in a quiet room is different from completing a timed practice test.
Mayo Clinic recommends studying early, using practice environments similar to the real test and developing a consistent pre-test routine.
There is also a broader principle behind gradual exposure: repeatedly approaching a feared situation in manageable steps can help people learn to respond differently to anxiety. Cleveland Clinic describes exposure therapy as gradually increasing contact with feared situations rather than relying on avoidance.
For everyday performance anxiety, that can translate into a simple progression: practice alone, then in front of one person, then a small group, then under conditions that closely resemble the real event.
Conclusion
The common assumption is that people need to feel confident first and perform second. Kamphoff’s approach reverses that idea: prepare a response, set a realistic target, recover quickly from mistakes and keep acting even while some anxiety is still present.
That matters because the goal of managing performance anxiety is not necessarily to eliminate every nervous sensation. It is to prevent fear and self-doubt from taking control of the task.
When performance anxiety repeatedly disrupts work, school, relationships or daily activities, professional support can also be appropriate. Mayo Clinic notes that psychotherapy can help people work through thoughts, feelings and behaviors that contribute to anxiety, while CBT provides practical skills for managing unhelpful thinking and behavior.
