When the pressure hits, your internal prompt will beat your AI prompt every time.
💚 Welcome to the weekly newsletter for ambitious leaders staying sharp and staying human in the age of AI.
Every edition is:
Curated: One standout piece I read, watched, or listened to this week + my riff on what it means for you
Counterintuitive: A surprising angle that shifts how you see your day-to-day.
Cross-pollinated: Draws unexpected connections between the worlds I live in—sales, sports, and Stanford.
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The Problem
Have you, in preparation for a tough, high-stakes, potentially awkward conversation, asked AI for help?
I sure have. Within seconds, it spits out an opening script. You have your talking points, your data. Logically, you are ready.
But as you’re about to click the “Join Meeting” button, your heart rate still spikes. Because having the words is not the same as having the nerve.
The Discovery
If you want to know how elite performers prepare for those high-stakes, unpredictable moments, watch what they do right before showtime.
Before the serve. Before the free throw. Before stepping onto the balance beam. They talk to themselves. Out loud.
Research in sports psychology shows that verbalized self-talk acts as a neural circuit breaker. When the pressure is high, speaking an internal cue rapidly shifts the brain out of the amygdala's panic response and forces it back into the prefrontal cortex—the part of your brain responsible for executive function and emotional regulation.
A recent study on athletic performance specifically highlighted how internal self-talk interventions improve accuracy during dynamic, complex rallies.1
Dynamic, complex rallies—just like your most difficult professional conversations.
The Experiment
The first hurdle to using self-talk is getting over the fear that you look ridiculous doing it.
So, your experiment this week is simple: Destigmatize the mutter.
The video that inspired this post was Cristiano Ronaldo telling himself, “For you, it’s normal to score,” ahead of a free kick. Watch how the top performers in the world actually talk to themselves right before high-stakes moments:
I get emotional watching these. You are witnessing an unapologetic commitment to performance. They are actively giving themselves the best possible shot, ensuring that all the grueling, unseen work that led to this exact moment actually gets the chance to shine.
The Takeaway
When you are preparing for a high-stakes moment, by all means, engage AI. Let it help you outline your thoughts or script your opener.
But AI can't give you courage or get you grounded when it’s showtime.
So, coach yourself. Talk to yourself before you step into the room. It’s not crazy, it’s exactly what the pros do.
Because when the pressure hits, your internal prompt will beat your AI prompt every time.
Join the community of leaders staying sharp
and saying human in the age of AI.
