Under pressure—impact on techniques#

A technique may work well when you practice it in the comfort of your home or classroom. When you get out and try it in the real environment though, you may find it doesn’t work as well as you expect. This is often due to pressure.

I’ve found that pressure causes issues with techniques both during learning as well as after you’ve learned something well. Let’s look at both these situations.

Experiences during learning #

When you are still learning, pressure in the real environment can expose weaknesses in a technique. Includes examples from flight training where acronym mnemonics failed under pressure, and how switching to alternative techniques (such as acrostic mnemonics or the mental journey method) solved the problem.

Experiences after learning #

Even after you have learned something well, pressure can cause you to skip steps or neglect established procedures. Covers how to identify these issues through reviews and use assertions to counter the behavior.