You're listening to the Driving Confidence podcast for drivers who want to be calm and confident on the road. We will be sharing tips, stories and advice to beat driving nerves and anxiety and build your driving confidence. Whether you are just starting out as a learner or have had your driving license for years, if you want to transform how you feel about driving, this podcast is for you. We've got some content here for you that's a little bit different. And the reason for that is because when we created it, we weren't thinking about the podcast. We were actually creating this as training materials for driving instructors. So yeah, so we want you to listen to this season from a different perspective. We want you to hear things Slightly differently, because we're talking to driving instructors, predominantly in this. you might hear the phrases slightly differently. So it will give you a different perspective of what we're trying to say as well. Now of course, because we were talking to driving instructors, we've used some of the lingo. So you might hear us say phrases like ADI or PDI, and that just means an approved driving instructor or a potential driving instructor. Yeah, other words that you will hear us say are part two, Part three and standards check. And here we're just talking about the tests or the assessments that people have to take to become a driving instructor or to stay a driving instructor. So really it's a bit like the equivalent of the driving test. We hope that you enjoy listening to things from a fresh perspective. And remember that while we are talking to driving instructors in these episodes, we are talking to them about how they could help you. We'll be talking about some of the common themes that people ask for help with. So, Kev, we decided we wanted to talk a little bit about some of those common themes that we hear about all the time. And this isn't just driving test, is it? This is ADIs with their part twos, their part threes, standard checks. Yeah, I suppose it's any type of test, isn't it, where people feel they're being watched or judged or assessed. You know, these are some of the common themes that we get through from people and ask for help with. They say they suffer from anxiety or nerves on the day. Or the nerves got the better of them, or it's just as soon as they hear the word test, anxiety sets in. Yeah, and these are sort of coverall phrases that we hear a lot, but also that almost make it sound as if it's a single thing. When in actual fact, there are lots of underlying causes behind. test nerves, test anxiety. So it isn't as simple as one size fits all, driving test nerves. We've got one magic one solution that will work for everybody. It just doesn't work like that. It's important to find out a little bit more. What is the underlying cause? So now that you've mentioned that, what we need to do really is to, what is the root cause of the problem? Is it actually the root cause? And that's where we need to dig a little bit deeper sometimes just to find out what people are actually saying and where the test nerves test anxiety comes from. Yeah, I mean, this is where your coaching questions come in. This is where your client centered approach comes in and whether you're using this for yourself with your own standards check or whether you're using it for your students is that. asking some questions to just delve a little bit deeper than that shallow level of test nerves. But also just having a little bit of knowledge as well. So this is what, um, hopefully this is going to give you some of the insight into what may well cause test nerves. Yeah, and. We think this is really important as well because depending on what is the cause means you're going to work in a very different way either with yourself, with your preparation and planning, or with your student. You can't work the same way with everybody with all of these causes. No, and if the common phrase we use is there is no one size fits all, and you all hear us saying that lots, but what it means is that you have to realize that and ask those questions to find out what the common cause is or root cause of people saying, I get nervous when people mention tests. Yeah, it's looking for those clues so that you know how best to work with somebody. And before we go on to these causes, this list isn't complete. These are just some of the most common themes. Um, obviously there are lots more. Yes, yeah, we don't really have time to, but yeah, these are the common things that we hear and some of the common root causes of people saying that they suffer from test nerves. Yeah. So this is very common, um, especially with younger people, I find, is because they have past experiences of the school tests that they've done, where every test they've done in the past has been in silence. So they have past experiences of tests. So that is definitely one type of past experience that hasn't even got anything to do with driving, but can cause those underlying nerves and anxiety. Basically because sometimes their thoughts are telling them it's going to be the same sort of test. Well, your brain is constantly making predictions based on your past experiences. Yes, because that's where, when people mention the word test, what do they refer to? Past experience, isn't it? Yeah, absolutely. So now what we need to do is to find out what's happened before. How did they deal with it? What, if at all, what went well? You know, what was good about those experiences and try and highlight some of the positives from those experiences to bring them forward into driving test, part three, standards check, whatever it may be. Yeah, trying to bring some of those strategies that were helpful forward and leave behind the things that weren't helpful. So, of course, other past experiences are going to be experiences around driving. Yes, and they might well have already failed a test before. Yeah, definitely. You know, so that's a past experience. So they think if they fail once and they get the same examiner for the second test, they're going to fail again. This is what the brain tells them. Yeah, it's a human instinct, isn't it? This is what happened before, so that's what's going to happen again. So this is where it's important to look at, well, what are the difference between last time and this time? So yes, failing a past test. Also experiences maybe as a driver or experiences. as a passenger. Yeah, and also, you know, it might be friends as well. You know, friends that they believe were good drivers have failed their driving test. Yes, that's a good one. If they failed, well, they're better than me, so that means I must be gonna, I'm gonna fail as well. Yeah, that's always a really interesting one. So having past experiences that aren't your own, just based on other people's experiences. So the thing to do here with those things is, is challenging. So challenging some of those thoughts. Is that true? Just because that happened in the past, what's different now? What's changed? What might make a, make that a different outcome? this time around. So challenging some of those thoughts and then trying to overlay with some new, more recent positive experiences. So what you're trying to do is you're trying to overwrite those negative past experiences with some positive new experiences. Negative thinking habits. Now, I think we, we've all had experiences of this either with ourselves and with other people. Yes. And it's, um, You know, I've never passed something first time, so why am I going to pass a driving test first time? Yeah, I'm not cut out to be a driver. I don't like doing that roundabout. I don't need to pass on my first test. This one's just a practice to get ready for my next test. I think that's just the sum of the snapshot of some of the negative thinking habits that people will have. And if you went for driving instructors Um, the standards check is different to what I normally do on a normal lesson, but that is, uh, but that is a common thought that driving instructors have, and it's a negative thought because it immediately puts you into the realms of when I'm doing something different. So that means I'm gonna, I'm gonna fail because it's not what I normally do. And that causes stress. All these sort of things come into play, don't they? So, yeah, it's a negative thought that people have. Yeah, I'm thinking that the examiner's against you. Yeah, the examiner won't want to pass me. Um, he doesn't like the way I teach, he doesn't like my students, and I suppose this is where an old wives tale comes in as well. You know, if, if the examiner's passed so many tests already this week, he has to fail so many. So, I'm taking my test on a Friday, I've got no chance of passing. And so a lot of these habits, thinking habits, they are exactly that, they're habits, they are ways of thinking that people use all the time in their everyday life, so they can be quite hard to break. So here again, it's another case of challenging. So when you hear a student or when you catch yourself saying something that is a negative thinking habit, then it's challenging that. Is that true? Is that a thought or is it a fact? Um, and how can we change things to have a different outcome? Yeah, and also some things like adding in some extra words. So, when somebody says, oh, I can't do this roundabout or I can't do this maneuver, adding in the, the word yet. So, Encouraging them to say, I can't do that yet, but I'm still learning, I'm still practicing. So that, instead of just saying, oh, I'll never be able to get it, it's I can't do it yet, but I'm still learning and I'm still working towards it, which is a much more positive reframing of the current situation. Yes, and we sometimes have, um, we're not allowed to mention fail. In the car, someone doesn't like failing, so we're not allowed to mention the fail. So what would we be doing if we were successful? If we're going to pass, what would we be doing? So change in that. So you have a positive thought process, fear of the unknown. Now, if our brains hate doubt, whenever we are doubting, then we will feel a little bit nervous or a little bit anxious. So if there is something that we don't know, if there is. a situation where we don't know what it's going to be like when we go into that situation. That will always generate a little bit of doubt and a little bit of fear and that's perfectly normal. So how does this play out in driving lessons or driving tests in particular? One of the common ones that I have is, but I don't know where I'm going to go. Yeah, not knowing the route. Not knowing the route. Not knowing the route. Um, what about going to the test centre in itself? Yeah, they don't know where they're going to park, they don't know where they're going to wait, they don't know what examiner they're going to give. You know, this is a fear of the unknown, because it's not happened yet. And this is what the mind plays tricks on us. It starts telling us things that are thoughts. They're not facts, they're thoughts. This is where we get those what if thoughts that we talk about a lot. So if somebody, this is, that's a clue to look out for. If somebody's coming out with lots of what if this happens, what if that happens, what if something else happens, and they're scenario making, then quite possibly that's a clue that that what's making them nervous is a fear of the unknown. So of course the key here is, doing some preparation, doing some planning, trying to fill in some of the gaps where you can, trying to make some of those things known. You can't make everything known. Um, they don't, they're not going to know what route they're going to be on on their driving test. But if they're familiar with the area and all of the hot spots, it's going to make it easier. But they might say, well, what if I go to that roundabout? Okay, well, let's go and play with that. Let's go and let's go and do that on a lesson. Let's see what we can do in that roundabout. We'll go every different way that we can. We're approaching from different angles. How will you feel then? Well, yeah, that's okay. So we've changed it from what if to that's okay. Let's put that into some of this training that we're doing to make the fear of the unknown less prominent. Yeah, I won't say go away because it will still be there potentially with certain people, but we can reduce the fear of the unknown. So fear of tests. examiners, fear of failure, or a fear of success. Yeah, I love that one. The fear of success. We'll come back to that one. We quite like that one. Um, but the fear of tests. And I suppose this is linked to previous experiences. It could also mean what if we're going to bring the fear of success onto it, but fear of tests as well. They don't like being judged. Yeah. And it's a common one, isn't it? This is, you know, even if you swap out the word test for assessment, it's still the same thing. It's still somebody having a look and assessing whether you're doing something correctly or not. So there is an element of judgment that makes us all feel on edge. Um, it's whether that tips over into being a fear. As opposed to being on edge and being a bit nervous. And I suppose, you know, we, we practice mock tests, whichever way you want to do them. Um, but do they feel they're being assessed on a mock test? They'll probably turn around you and say, but it's you, you're not an examiner. Well, this is where it comes into, they've gotten a fear of the examiner. So, fear of success. Now the examiner tells you, Congratulations, you've passed. Oh God, that means I've got to drive to wherever, work, family, on the motorway. It comes with a whole list. It's a list of worries and concerns for some people. Yeah. And it's, you know, if you think it can be part and a part free, now I have to make a decision whether or not, do I do driving instructor full time, do I carry on part time or do I just leave it? You know, what happens? What, what is going to happen now? If I leave my job now, cause I'm, I'm a qualified driving instructor. What security have I got? How many holidays am I going to have? Who's going to pay? We're not on holiday, who pays me? So success can come with a whole, it's like that safety net has been whipped away. Um, yeah, it can come with a whole bag of issues. So it's well worth looking out for this one. And trying to tease apart From the test or the standards check. So trying to not allow it be part of the same issue because if you're worried about what happens when you succeed, then your brain will protect you, um, throw spanners in the works to try and stop you succeeding because it's. If it feels it's safer for you to not succeed. So, yeah, keep an eye out for that. So, before we move on to the next topic, one of the things I wanted to say about all of these is what's interesting about all of these is that they're a distraction. None of these are about somebody's driving ability or their ability to become an ADI. So all of these are pure distraction, nothing to do with driving at all. And it's well worth recognizing that and mentioning it as well. If somebody fails because of one of these, then they haven't failed because of their driving ability. Yeah. Very true. So this is, um, a great topic to delve deeper into, uh, gaps in knowledge or understanding. Yeah. And I like this one because actually this is an easy one for you, whether this is your students or whether it's you on your part three or your standards check, this is an easy one to solve. And this is not done the day before, really. No. So we want to do this. Three months before, potentially, you know, when, when that first test, when that test is first booked, whether it's an assessment or whatever it is that you've got, let's find out what's still missing. Yeah, what's still puzzling you? What bit don't you quite understand? Because if you're, you're thinking about a part three or standards check, what is it about the assessment form that you don't understand? You know, when, if you're talking about learners, you know, what is it that they don't understand about the driving test, what's going to happen? But then we look at the gaps in knowledge, and then we want to be working out, you know, what is missing from their knowledge to make their driving safer. And it's important not to make assumptions here, because one of the things I hear quite a lot is ADIs saying, but I know they can do it, or I know they know that, or we've done that in lessons. That doesn't mean that that isn't a gap in their knowledge or understanding. Have they, have they remembered that and have they embedded that? To be able to retrieve and bring that information out when they need it. So don't make assumptions on gaps in knowledge or understanding. But if somebody has a gap, if somebody is missing a piece of information that they've forgotten, they will always feel nervous. They will always feel, they will always have that element of doubt. And so remembering that the brain doesn't like doubt. If there's, if they've got a gap, they will have that doubt and they will feel nervous. So filling in those gaps in knowledge or understanding. Lack of confidence or trust in their driving ability. This is another one that I hear ADI saying, I know they can do it. I know they can drive. Doesn't matter. Whether you know or not, what's important is your student needs to know, your student needs to have confidence in their ability. So your confidence in them is important in helping them build their confidence, but it's not enough on its own. They need to have confidence in themselves. And this links to the trust. Do they trust their driving ability? Thank you for listening. Find out about the different ways that you can work with us on our website www. confidentdrivers. co. uk and begin to transform the way you feel about driving.