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. Kev, here we are, back with Season 9 of the Driving Confidence Podcast. Yes, slightly later than we had anticipated. and that's just because life gets in the way, or should I say works got in the way. We've been busy creating qualifications for driving instructors, or people wanting to become driving instructors. So yeah, that's just taken slightly longer than we thought. Yeah, so we're about a month overdue with this season. So apologies for that. But 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. But then we listened back and edited it and realised that it was too good not to share. And And so we hope that you find this season interesting because it's got a bit of a twist. 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. And you can use that in your own training as well. Now of course, because we were talking to driving instructors, we've used some of the lingo. And driving instructors tend to abbreviate lots because we have lots to say. 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. So we hope that you enjoy this season. 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're going to talk about the difference between stress management and confidence building, and why we think that you should use both in your lessons with your students. So, what is stress management? Well, basically, it's what you do so you don't end up feeling really stressed, feeling really frazzled. And I suppose if you get to that state, it's gone too far, hasn't it? Yeah, I would say so, in the, in, certainly in driving less. You don't want to be coming up to a bend with the, trying to pull your hair out. It's, it's, you know, it's gone too far, hasn't it? Yeah. So what we're really talking about is noticing, I suppose, stress and how we can manage that, is that? Yeah, it's making sure that yourself and students have strategies so that they recognize when they're becoming stressed, recognize what their triggers for stress might be, so what scenarios and situations are likely to make them feel more stressed. And then having some tips and tricks that they know will work for them to help to keep them calm because you know that the more stressed somebody is, their driving changes, doesn't it? Yeah, I also noticed that they're, you know, I can notice them getting more stressed. I mean, it's, it's their body language, the way they grip the steering wheel, the way they change gear. Or, or not change gear, should I say, sometimes it's just like, okay, something's happening here, or I might notice in them the face changing to a different color, like red, you know, so there's lots of different things that I notice, and it's probably about getting them to be more aware of what they notice as well, isn't it? And this goes for you as well, you know, if you're getting stressed, where do you feel it? You know, in the body, what happens? Is it you start clenching your fists? Is there a, like a feeling in the chest that goes a bit tight or something, you know? So being aware of when you become stressed, what does it feel like? Where is it? And then, okay, what do I do now? So even as an experienced driver, Your knowledge about driving, your driving in theory should stay the same, but if you're emotional, if you're feeling stressed, then your driving changes. You, it becomes more jerky and faster or slower or you get closer to people, you're distracted because you're stressed, you're thinking about other things. So this affects everybody. Yes, and it's, I suppose also as well, it's to deal with your emotions, because again, if you're running late for something. You know, your stress levels are going to increase, aren't they? So what have we got in place that's going to help you? I suppose this is what I think stress management is all about, isn't it? Definitely. So back to that old chestnut that you hear us saying all of the time, one size doesn't fit all. And there are lots of different ways that you can manage your stress. Yeah, I mean, something like stopping the car, getting out the car and just getting back in the car, you know, whatever it may be, whatever you feel helps you. The most important thing is to notice that you're getting stressed. Where's those signs coming from? And then think, right, okay, what do I need to do? And not all stress management has to be a technique. Not everything has to be a stress management technique of hypnotherapy or imagery or anything else. So stress management can be as simple as, like you say, stopping, getting out, going for a walk, spending time with people that you like, reading a book, listening to music is a big one, isn't it? So, so there are lots of different ways that you can manage stress levels without it having to be a technique. Or a chore. Yeah. Again, sometimes people feel, oh, I'm feeling stressed, now I've got to do this, that's something else added in. Yeah, something else I've got to learn. Whereas in actual fact it could be, Yeah, I'm feeling stressed, I'm running late. Do you know what? I'm just going to take my time. It's not actually going to take that much more. So I recommend thinking in terms of strategies rather than techniques. Yes, definitely. So one, one size doesn't fit all. What suits me? What helps me to feel calmer? And that doesn't have to be the same for everybody else. So. Just recognizing which strategies are going to be most useful for you as an individual and for each of your students as an individual as well, so that they can bring them into their driving. And the situation might be different as well, mightn't it? You know, you might be dealing with a complex, uh, road system. Well, you deal with it one way. Whereas if you're stuck in traffic and you can't get to where you want to do or want to go, you're going to deal, you're going to have something else happening. Yeah, definitely. So if you're stuck in traffic, then it might be that changing the music, having some music on might be beneficial. Whereas if you're on a really complicated piece of driving, then. talking to yourself, talking yourself through it might be the most beneficial stress management strategy for that. But equally, both of those scenarios, you could bring in some coaching, you could bring in some positive self talk, you could bring in some breathing exercises and some mindfulness. So techniques, strategies, pick a mix, choose what works best for you, choose what works best for a particular scenario or situation. So what is confidence building and for me as an instructor, how do I build confidence in my students? And I suppose it's one I've looked at myself first. And I think that's quite important, isn't it? What did I do that built my confidence confidence up as an instructor? But then also think of how does, how does my confidence build in my students? How do I do that? And then this is important because we can have lots of stress management techniques or strategies and they're brilliant. They can help people avoid that overwhelm and frazzle. However, those strategies and techniques don't take the stress away. So they're a bit like a sticky plaster. They don't sort out the root cause of the problem, whereas when you're building confidence, when you're helping people feel that they have the ability to do something, then you're dealing with a deeper level. Yeah. Does that make sense? Yeah. So I'm going to try and explain it in my way. So what I tend to do for myself is. You know, we have the confidence wheel, don't we? We have the driving test confidence wheel. Um, when people look at that, it's interesting when they scale themselves on the competency and they score themselves a seven. And I say, yeah, great, brilliant. Let's have a look, you know, what is your evidence for this? And what happens is they can't tell me all the good things that they do to make it a seven. But they can tell me 10 things they need to improve. So, where is the confidence gone from that? And it's really interesting when you talk about self confidence, but people talk of the negative. They don't talk about the positive. And I think this is one of the confidence building things, is to talk about the positives. Yeah, so the thing here really is about helping people acknowledge the positives, acknowledge their progress, and start to believe in their own ability, start to have trust in their own ability, in this scenario, to drive. Making them self aware, you know, I think is a big part in this, because when they become self aware of their driving, especially the positive parts of their driving, it will build confidence. And confidence building really is. One of those step by step things, it isn't something that one day you're not confident and then the next day you are. Confidence is something that builds gradually and it builds based on your experiences. Yeah, and you can, um, lessons with your students or, um, if you're going for a part three, again, it's the same process. You're building your confidence in the competencies. Or you're building your confidence in different scenarios, whether it be roundabouts, street crossings, hill starts, whatever it may be, you are starting to build the confidence. And it comes from, like Tracy said, the experiences. So, how are stress management and confidence connected? Yeah. Now, like I said earlier about the sticking plaster, sometimes stress management can be a bit of a, a sticky plaster. So somebody might be feeling stressed because they haven't got much confidence and then you give them the stress management strategy or technique and it can calm them down and they feel a bit less stressed. But the problem is, is if you don't resolve. the confidence issue. If you don't look a little bit deeper as to what was making somebody stressed in the first place, then you're just going to be repeating that cycle again and again and again. So there's a problem. You don't feel confident. You feel stressed. You have to put in a stress management technique. or strategy to calm yourself down and feel less stressed again. And you just repeat that every time you drive. So stress management is really important. And stress management can give you a level of confidence because you know that if you've repeated a strategy several times, you will then have the confidence that if you feel stressed, you've got a strategy that can help you feel better. But this is where the confidence building is crucial, because otherwise you're always going to have a driver who feels stressed and then has to use stress management techniques and never really resolves the underlying issue. So they're both equally important, but I think. You know, concentrating on confidence, building up an individual's confidence in how they do something. Do they believe in their ability to do that again and again and again? Do they believe in their ability to do that in their test and to do it post test? So can they do that when they're driving on their own? So that they're not always having to rely on stress management strategies to help them feel calm. And that's where that building confident blocks force, taking an action plan, do it step by step, simple steps, small steps, bite sized steps. And repeatable steps. Yeah. So that they can do it, practice it, they learn how to do it, they do it, they do it with you, and then gradually moving towards doing it on their own, doing it without being guided, prompted, helped. So that. They build up a bank of evidence that they can do it confidently and that they can trust themselves to do it and that they do have a level of confidence in their driving ability because they've got a bank of past experience, a bank of evidence that shows them that they can do it. And if you can do that, then they'll be less stressed when they need to do it, and they won't need so many stress management techniques. But it's always there for them, isn't it? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the great thing with the stress management is that it's transferable into other areas of their life as well. So it's not just driving that's stressful, is it? So, um, No, and that's going to help other areas of your life come into your driving as well, isn't it? So that cycle as well goes round and just, yeah, being able to use it, recognising what works for you, building confidence, makes you better. Yeah, and there is, there are always, even as an experienced driver, there are always new scenarios, new situations that you find yourself in where you've got to use your confidence, your confidence in your driving ability, but you might also have to still draw on a stress management strategy that you know works for you to help. You in that situation. 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.