Choke!

A psychologist’s new look at why we choke under pressure, and what we can do about it

By Chris Berdik, Boston Globe, October 10, 2010

" ... In her new book, ”Choke” (Free Press, September 2010), Beilock argues that doing well under pressure begins with understanding the demands that different types of performance make on the brain. For example, success on a math exam or a business presentation requires sustained focus, and worries can distract us. By contrast, athletes and musicians do better when they let their well-practiced skills run on autopilot. Too much focus can trip them up. In that case, when the stakes are high, a little distraction could be helpful.

Beilock sees choking at work beyond...

Click here to listen to Sian Beilock, author of CHOKE:  What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To talk  about why we "choke" when stressed. She paints a portrait of how people handle -- successfully or unsuccessfully -- life's daily pressures.

How To Raise A Superstar

An early six-figure figure offer jumpstarted the bidding on University of Chicago psychologist Sian Beilock's CHOKE: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal about Success and Failure at Work and Play, which reveals astonishing new scientific research that turns on its head what we know about body-brain intelligence and performance, specifically what makes us flub and freeze. After two days of intense jockeying the young rising star's first book went to Leslie Meredith at Free Press for publication in 2010. The sale was handled by Dan O'Connell of The Strothman Agency.