Following our series of public speaking topics, we continue to explore a persistent phobia many people face Stage fright.
So how to overcome stage fright effectively?
How to Overcome Stage Fright? When it comes to this term, you might think of your university time when you are deadly afraid of presenting in front of several classmates and professors. Or you might see yourself perspiring and altering your heart rate while introducing your first proposal plan for the business market development strategy.
It is normal to encounter these symptoms; like many people, you are just in a kind of anxiety, a part of stage fright. Is it dangerous? Don’t worry too much. Here, we give you the causes of stage fright and how to overcome it to complete your presentation or speech perfectly.
Overview
| You can overcome stage fright during a presentation by… | Take a deep breath |
| Another word describes 'stage fright'? | Panic Attack |
Table of Contents
- Overview
- What are stage fright symptoms?
- What are the seven causes of stage fright?
- How to Overcome Stage Fright? The Best 17 tips
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
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What are Stage Fright Symptoms?
When it comes to a fear of public speaking, we call it glossophobia. However, it is just a part of stage fright. Stage fright is a much broader concept; it is a state of anxiety or fear when an individual faces a performance requirement in front of an audience, either directly or indirectly, through a camera. Basically, it can be a panic for many professionals, speakers, performers like dancers and singers, politicians, or athletes…
Here are nine widespread stage fright symptoms you might know before:
- Your heart beats faster
- Your breathing gets shorter
- Your hands get sweaty
- Your mouth is dry
- You are trembling or shaking
- You feel cold
- Nausea and uncomfortable in your stomach
- Change in vision
- Feel their fight or flight response activating.
Symptoms of stage fright are not adorable at all, are they? So, how to Overcome Stage Fright?
What are the 7 Causes of Stage Fright?
While we don't know how exactly stage fright happens, some possible contributing attributes exist. Understanding their causes may help to come up with solutions to release your freedom from fear.
- Self-consciousness in front of large groups
- Fear of appearing anxious
- Concern that others are judging you
- Fail experiences in the past
- Poor or insufficient preparation
- Poor breathing habits
- Comparing yourself to others
How to Overcome Stage Fright in 2023? Best 17 Tips
How to conquer stage fright? Here are some stage fright cures that you might need.
Be prepared
How to Overcome Stage Fright? First of all, there is no better way to exude confidence when performing than to make sure you are 100% competent and knowledgeable about whatever it is you might be performing. Prepare all materials you need beforehand. If you use videos, audio or visual aids in your presentation, ensure everything is organised. If you are dancing, acting, or playing music, be sure you have spent enough time training. The more you are comfortable with what you are presenting to someone else, the less you will worry.Practice uncomfortably
How to Overcome Stage Fright? Secondly, although seeking comfort seems ideal, embracing discomfort is key to facing some unexpected situations. When practising “uncomfortable” on a daily basis, is a powerful tool to strengthen your both mental and physical flexibility. In the long-term effect, you might find the question "How to get over stage fright?" no longer bothers you; it seems easy, like a piece of cake.Practice mediation
How to Overcome Stage Fright? In the third step, all I can say is that it is never superfluous to start mediation training right now. Mediation is known for its miracle effect on health treatment, decreasing pressure, and of course, stage fright treatments. The secret of meditation is to control your breath and stay away from negative feelings. Breathing-related exercises are relaxation techniques to calm your body and clear your mind before any presenting engagement.Practice power poses
In addition, it is said that certain poses may trigger the transformation of the body’s chemistry. For example, a “high-power” pose is about opening up. you stretch and expand your body to take up as much space as possible. It helps to release your positive energy, affecting how you deliver your performance and how you interact and communicate more confidently.
Talk to yourself
Come to the fifth step, according to the law of attraction, you are what you think, therefore, think positively. Always remind yourself of your success. When you realize the stage fright anxiety caused by self-consciousness in front of the massive rooting stage fright, you can fool yourself into being more confident. Remember that your value doesn’t rest on your performance-you’ve achieved excellent and bad things in your life, something the audience might not know.
Sleep
Before jumping to the final step, reward yourself with a good night’s sleep. Lack of sleep might result in fatigue, stress, and poor concentration. You certainly don’t want to waste all the time and effort you have spent before; therefore, turn off your mind and relax.
Get there early to meet your audience
Now that you have fully prepared to participate in the event is time for the last step. It is essential to arrive at your speaking venue earlier than the required time, at least 15-20 minutes, to get familiar with the environment. If you use any equipment, such as a projector and a computer, ensure everything is working. Besides, before beginning your speech, you can take time to get to know your audience, and greet and chat with them, which helps you appear more approachable and personable.
Smile and make eye contact with your audience
In many ways to overcome stage fright, relaxing and smiling are essential. Forcing yourself to smile, even if you don’t feel it, upsets your mood. Then make eye contact with someone. Finding a sweet spot for “long enough” to look at your listeners without being offensive or creepy is necessary. Give it a try to look at others for about 2 seconds to lessen awkwardness and nervousness. Don’t look at your notes to make more connections with your listeners.
Own the space
Moving around a space with a sense of destination and purpose as you speak demonstrates confidence and ease. Telling a good story or making a joke while walking around intentionally will make your body language more natural.
Calm yourself techniques
Whenever you want to figure out how to deal with stage fright, don't forget to focus on your breath. Breathing deeply and slowly in and out two to three times in about 5 seconds is helpful to calm your nerve-racking situation. Or you can try touching either the left or right ear to loosen your anxiety.
Don’t fear the moment of silence
It is okay if you suddenly lose track of what you are conveying or start to feel nervous, and your mind goes blank; you may fall silent for a while. It sometimes happens to most experienced presenters. Since it is one of their tricks to make more effective presentations, in this circumstance, release your pressure, smile genuinely, and say something like “Yeah, what have I spoken?” or repeat the content you had said before, like “Yeah, again, repeat it, it is important to repeat?...”
There are countless occasions when you have to give a presentation in front of an audience. Probably those are also the times you have encountered stage fright - or glossophobia. With butterflies in your stomach, you may lose energy, forget some points during your speech, and show awkward body gestures like a fast pulse, shaky hands, or trembling lips.
How to Overcome Stage Fright? Can you eliminate stage fright? Sadly you barely can. However, successful presenters, they do not try to avoid it but think of it as their motivator, so it pushes them to prepare better for their speeches. You can also redirect your anxiety so that you can make more powerful performances with these not-so-small tips from us!Take up healthy lifestyle habits (exercise, eating, etc.)
How to Overcome Stage Fright? This sounds irrelevant to controlling stage fright, you may ask, yet it helps you get better physical and mental conditions for your D-Day. For instance, a lack of sleep may get you tired during your speech, while an over-reliance on caffeinated beverages will stimulate your jitters, something you obviously won't want to face. A healthy lifestyle also brings you a sound mind, surrounds you with a positive vibe and pumps you up in challenging situations. If you haven't followed this lifestyle yet, you can take little steps by abandoning 1-2 negative habits and taking up good ones every day until everything is on the right track.Make sure your content and technical props go well.
How to Overcome Stage Fright? You should do this 45 minutes before your speech - long enough for you to avoid last-minute errors. Don't rehearse your whole speech in such a short time as you may freak out, missing some minor points. Instead, review your content plan again, think about critical points you are about to deliver and visualize yourself conveying them to the audience. Also, check the IT properties to ensure they function properly and nothing can interfere with your burning energy and passionate performance in between. This physical act can also distract you from the mental tension and bring you an ever-ready attitude for what comes next.
Form a clear, simple intention.
Instead of surrounding yourself with skeptical thoughts about what might go wrong, you can form a clear expectation of what you want to achieve with your presentation and how you will do it.
How to Overcome Stage Fright? For example, suppose you are presenting on interactive presentation tools. In that case, you can set a goal to "show the audience insights into available presentation software", which could be done by "giving a thorough analysis of different presentation software", "suggesting the most effective ones such as AhaSlides" or "make a smile and ask questions". This small act can give you a sense of security and a guide on what you need to focus on in your speech. Don't use negative words like "don't" or "no" since they may stress you on not making mistakes and distract you with self-doubt. Being positive is the key.Relax mentally & physically before & during show-time
How to Overcome Stage Fright? Physical manifestations of your body are the most visible indicator of stage fright when you are on stage. We tend to tighten every part of our body when facing a fearful situation like this. Try relieving your jitters by releasing the tension on your muscles one by one. First, try taking deep breaths and exhaling slowly to calm your mind and body.Loosen every part of your body from head to toe, starting with relaxing your face, then your neck - your shoulders - your chest - your abs - your thighs and eventually your feet. As you may have known, physical movements can change how you feel. Do these occasionally before and during your speech to feel at ease and redirect your nervousness.
Start your presentation with a question
How to Overcome Stage Fright? This is a beautiful trick to clear up your tension, win back the audience's attention and spice up the atmosphere. In this way, you can engage the whole room by making them think of an answer to your question while introducing what you will discuss. You can use AhaSlides to create a multiple-choice or open-ended question and get answers from every audience member. Remember to make it relevant to the topic you are talking about, as well as not too specific and not requiring much expertise. You should also use a question that needs personal perspectives to encourage more involvement and in-depth thoughts from the audience.
Think of the audience as your friends.
How to Overcome Stage Fright? This is easier said than done, but you can do it! You can connect with the audience by asking questions and getting them to interact, or let them make their questions, do some quizzes, word cloud or even show visual reactions to your slides. You can try doing all of these with AhaSlides, a simple web tool for creating interactive slides with any device.This engages the audience throughout the speech and fully indulges you in an enthusiastic atmosphere to present with much ease and confidence, so give it a try!
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Conclusion
So, how to overcome stage fright? Mark Twain said: “There are two types of speakers. Those who get nervous and those who are liars”. Therefore, there are no worries about being nervous or having stage fear; accept that stress is every day, and with our helpful suggestions, you can be more confident to face pressure and become more energetic to present effectively and aspirationally.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Stage Fright?
Stage fright, also known as performance anxiety or stage anxiety, is a psychological phenomenon characterised by intense nervousness, fear, or anxiety when a person is required to perform, speak, or present in front of an audience. It is a common reaction to the stress and pressure of being in the spotlight and can affect individuals in various performance contexts, including public speaking, acting, singing, playing musical instruments, and other forms of public presentation.
What Are The Stage Fright Symptoms?
Physical: Weating, trembling, rapid heartbeat, dry mouth, nausea, muscle tension, and sometimes even dizziness (2) Mental and Emotional Distress (3) Performance Impairment and Avoidance Behaviors.
