Winning a spelling bee—or any competition for that matter—hinges on more than just raw skill or knowledge. More often than not, your mental and emotional state is just as important.
After all, being too nervous will get on your nerves and not allow you to focus, potentially negating or at least diminishing how well you can apply your abilities.
That’s why people always say that there are always mind games within the game itself.
Nerves are inevitable with anything intense or high-stakes. But it’s not impossible to minimize them or even master them completely.
In this article, we’ll go through the top ways you can overcome performance anxiety and perform your best in spelling bees.
Understanding Performance Anxiety
Performance anxiety is incredibly common for athletes and competitors of any kind. It’s a natural response to situations where one is being evaluated, competing with others, or experiencing an event that one has been anticipating.
In fact, studies show that up to 60% of athletes feel nervous before competing.
This anxiety can manifest in many different ways:
- Sweaty palms;
- Rapid heart rate;
- Lack of focus;
- Chills;
- Stomach butterflies;
- Inability to recall a word (even one that you may have practiced countless times).
These reactions are caused by our body’s “fight or flight” response. This is triggered by the brain perceiving the event or other competitors as an existential threat.
As a result, this can hinder you from being able to focus and perform your best. However, the aim is actually not to eliminate nerves altogether. Not only is that virtually impossible, but science shows us that a moderate amount of stress can actually help you perform better.
The aim is to lower them to such levels and prevent them from affecting your performance in a negative way.
Here are the best ways to do just that.
Strategies to Overcome Nerves
1. Prepare as best you can
Duh.
Well, it’s still worth reiterating as our first point. After all, failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
If you’re reading this, you probably already know how to train well for spelling bees. Consistent practice with word lists, understanding etymologies, learning common spelling patterns—you know the drill.
Many spelling bee contestants might also feel nervous despite sufficient practice because they’re not used to the atmosphere of the actual competition. So, instead of just locking yourself in a room doing all those things, make sure to simulate the spelling bee’s environment as well.
Another underrated tip is to use VPNs to change your geographical location, making it easier to access spelling resources from other parts of the world. This can help you spell borrowed words in the English language. A cheap VPN monthly subscription will be more than enough for this.
The more practiced you are, the more confident you’ll feel and the less nervous you’ll feel come competition day. Ask your friends and loved ones to watch you practice or ask the questions. This will mimic what it feels like to be observed.
2. Breathing Techniques
Trying to mitigate the symptoms of anxiety can often mitigate the feelings of anxiety itself. After all, not only can our mental state affect our physical state, but the reverse is also true: our physical state can also alter our mental state.
Do you experience rapid breathing and a high heart rate during competitions? If left unchecked, this can actually further exacerbate the anxiety causing it in the first place. It can be a vicious cycle.
To counteract this, try out this simple deep breathing technique:
- Inhale deeply for 4 counts;
- Hold your breath for 4 counts;
- Exhale slowly over six counts.
You can search for other deep breathing techniques to try out as well.
3. Explore Other Ways to Relieve Stress
While breathing exercises are some of the most common ways to mitigate anxiety, there are countless other ways to do it.
Try using a stress ball or listening to calming music before an event. Another common calming technique is focusing on your five senses. Ask yourself: What can I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell at this very moment?
By focusing on the physical phenomena around you, you can get out of your head more easily. Try these different calming techniques and see what works for you.
I personally even know one speller who watches comedy skits on the day of the competition!
4. Staying in the Present
Another common source of anxiety is thinking about what may happen after the competition.
Thinking about the next round, what people might think of you if you win or lose, or what you might win or lose out on is a recipe for disaster. This will cloud your focus and foster feelings of doubt—and, consequently, anxiety.
Instead of visualizing potential outcomes, do your best to stay mindful and grounded in the present. Concentrate on the current competition—or even better yet, the next word you’re about to spell. Think about that and nothing else!
In fact, the deep breathing techniques mentioned above can help you do this. When you perform those deep breaths, focus on the sensations of the air entering and leaving your body. This will help you clear your mind and restore your focus.
5. Positive Visualization
Instead of thinking about what comes after the spelling bee, think about what the spelling bee might actually feel like.
Before the competition, imagine yourself confidently stepping up to the microphone, clearly hearing the word, and spelling it correctly. By replaying that scene constantly in your head, your body will get used to that scenario.
So once it actually happens in real life, your body will not go into a state of shock and activate its fight or flight response. Or, at the very least, it will not do so as strongly.
6. Set Realistic Goals
Of course, winning is often the ultimate goal. However, being overly fixated on it rarely helps.
Or worse, some even set incredibly lofty goals and expect to reach them in no time. Having these kinds of expectations will put undue pressure on you during the competition, making you feel even more anxious.
It can even destroy your confidence if you don’t reach them as soon as you might have hoped (and, truth be told, you might not, given how high they are).
So instead of expecting to be a world champion within the next few months, set smaller and more attainable goals.
For example, you can aim to:
- Make it through the first three rounds;
- Place higher than you did in the last competition;
- Remain calm and composed regardless of the words you receive.
Achieving these smaller milestones fosters a sense of accomplishment and helps you build your confidence.
We’re not saying that you shouldn’t reach for the stars. Instead, the journey is slow and gradual. You’ll be taking a ladder there, not a spaceship. So, focus on making it to the next rung in the ladder.
7. Normalize Mistakes
And part of setting realistic goals is allowing yourself to fail and make mistakes. And you will, in fact, make mistakes. You’re human, after all!
Demanding absolute perfection out of yourself actually backfires, more often than not. This puts a lot of pressure on yourself and will lead you to feel tense, uptight, and anxious.
As soon as you make a mistake (and you most likely will), you become frustrated or grow even more anxious, leading to even more mistakes.
Giving yourself the grace to make mistakes allows you to not be as fazed by them. You can continue on with the next word or competition without getting bogged down by your past errors.
And perhaps more importantly, while you may not win it all right now, remember that making mistakes is how you get better. Adopt a growth mindset and see every experience—whether it be successes, challenges, or losses—as a chance to learn and improve.
And we’re not just talking about improving as a speller either. All these experiences help you develop discipline and teach you how to perform under pressure. These are things that will help you in all aspects of life, not just spelling.
For the Speller’s Support System
The speller can do a lot of things right, but at the end of the day, they still need a solid support system. Parents, teachers, and coaches all play a pivotal role in shaping their mindset.
Consistently give them positive reinforcement, encouragement, and constructive feedback. Allow them to make mistakes and celebrate all their accomplishments with them.
Additionally, try to get them to be connected with other spellers. By having friends who share the same interests, they’ll feel less isolated and know that someone else intimately understands their experiences.
This will not only help with their spelling bee career, but the sense of security and self-worth they get from your support will help them in all aspects of life.
Conclusion
Performance anxiety is an inevitable part of competition. But through preparation, adopting the proper mindset, and a solid support system, you can master your psychology and get rid of the nerves—or at least perform your best despite them.