Pressure: Dave Alred MBE

How to deal with pressure and thrive when the stakes are high with elite performance coach Dave Alred MBE. Dave is the go to elite performance coach of many of the world's best athletes. He's best known for coaching Jonny Wilkinson during his career, but also steered Francesco Molinari to his golf major and has worked with top footballers, cricketers and businesses too. He started out life as a teacher though, and it was there that he developed many of the guiding principles. The theme of this week's episode is 'pressure', and what Dave knows about coping with it can be applied to any area of life, whether is be giving a presentation or speech, in social situations or even just driving a car. In this episode they talk about the key factors in dealing with pressure situations. It all stems from having you self-esteem left intact, and learning to embrace failure rather than fearing it. Dave explains what you can learn from fighter pilots, the army and Mick Jagger, and why you need to learn to embrace being in 'the ugly zone'. He explains the mind-body connection and the importance of posture, and why skilful use of language is crucial as careless use of language, with ourselves or others, can be crippling. Dave also explains how to practice anything properly. This episode is full of useful tips and timeless wisdom, so sit back and enjoy. Do get in touch on social media too @simonmundie