Every quizzer at some point will suffer from what I have termed (although I am sure I have heard it before) "Quiz-stipation". Where that answer that is oh so obvious gets stuck somewhere in the realms of the mind and just will not come out! How do you approach this when it happens?
Usually it never happens, for me anyway, on tough questions. Its always the ones I have known for years and sometimes even the chestnuts where an answer just won't come to mind. In quiz there is nothing more frustrating than when the answers are being read out and you know you have had a bout of Quiz-stipation.
It has happened to me a few times recently. It happened on the second question of a quiz and I spent an hour trying hard to remember it, almost ignoring the other questions in the process. It still did not come! However, when it happened early on next time I left it to stew a little and the answer popped up to the front of my mind.
In honesty, my one big fear about my first Tv appearance, whenever that will be, is getting a bout of Quiz-stipation!
I think that you should try to go on Only Connect or another quiz show without an audience before you do something like Mastermind. I realize that everybody is different, but from my experience, it seemed that when it was just the host and the contestants and the cameras, everyone played as if they would if the cameras weren't there. Also, only bring family members that don't cause you to get extra nervous.
ReplyDeleteQuizstipation is far less likely to strike when you play in a TV quiz, for the simple reason that even on quizzes that allow you a bit of thinking time you´re still only talkinng about seconds of time. Often on TV part of the secret of success isn´t so much knowing everything ( although life would be a lot easier if you did ) as much as being able to forget immediately abouut the questions you have got wrong.
ReplyDeleteAs reagrds quizstipation in a pub quiz, well, thinking hard isn´t the answer - it just get´s you more and more distracted, and means you pay less and less attention to what´s going on in the quiz. I try to make an association. Do I remember where and when I heard the question ? Does the help. On a number of occasions recalling these associations with the question helps. If it doesn´t, then I promise myself I´ll forget about the question for a couple of minutes, then try to come fresh to it again. This works sometimes. But other times, it just ain´t going to come. Make a mental note when you´re given the answer, and promise yourself you won´forget it next time.