I was much younger when I first experienced stage fright. I was just a child when I noticed that I got nervous whenever I had to stand before crowds to speak in school, church, or other gatherings. Later on, I was told that one can get over stage fright by constantly making performances in front of a group of people, starting from small groups to even larger ones.
Many years later, we all still experience stage fright when we get on a new stage with different people even after being comfortable with countless others. Does that mean we can never fully overcome stage fright? What then is performance anxiety?
I consider stage fright/performance anxiety a perfectly normal thing. This is not just to encourage you that you are not abnormal but also to let you know that you are not alone. Stage fright is a natural response experienced when one stands to perform to people on stage, especially new and unfamiliar ones.
Stage fright comes from your inner desire to perform well or not to flop before an expectant audience. While that could spur you to perform at your best, it can also bring out a feeling of anxiety in you. Thus, the majority of people experience stage fright. However, only a few eventually learn the tactics of overcoming it.
When stage fright sets in, it can destabilize one and make one mess things up on stage but once you learn ways to get hold of it, the performance starts to feel more natural and interesting.
Here, you will learn more about stage fright or performance anxiety, and practical ways to overcome it to perform more freely and confidently at every level.
Symptoms of Performance Anxiety
Stage fright is similar to sympathetic responses when one encounters a frightening situation like meeting a lion or writing a determining examination. The symptoms are therefore similar, and these include:
- Sweaty palms
- Shaky voice, hands, and legs
- Palpitation
- Increased/fast breathing
- Nausea or stomach upset
- Blurry vision/inability to perceive what you see
Like other ‘flight and fright’ circumstances, an excessive sympathetic response during stage fright can lead to another phenomenon called “paradoxical fear”, which is a situation where one becomes too paralyzed to take any action. This usually ends with confusion, uncontrolled urination, and psychological paralysis.
Practical Tips To Overcome Stage Fright/Performance Anxiety
Overcoming stage fright requires an adequate understanding of your performance/presentation, as well as some tactical ways to divert away anxiety and fear while on stage.
Here are some practical ways to overcome stage fright or performance anxiety.
1. Prepare adequately
Adequate preparation boosts your confidence and makes you less likely to develop severe stage fright. One of the major reasons why people have performance anxiety is their desire to satisfy their audience and the realization that they may not have all it takes to do so.
Thus, you must practice as much as possible before the main performance. Study your script several times, perform for a smaller number of people, and try to picture what your performance is about. Once you can form a vivid picture of what you are trying to say, it starts to come easily and naturally, even on stage.
2. Don’t rely on performing exactly as you practiced
Performance anxiety gets worse when you are trying to remember every given detail as when you were preparing for the performance. Forgetting an important keyword can destabilize the entire performance if you do not prepare a backup plan.
The backup plan for every performance is to understand everything in the performance without planning to rely solely on memory. That way, instead of stressing too much on the next word, you can use your own words and words your audience can relate to, to describe what you are trying to talk about.
Remember, stage performance is not about repeating verbatim what you have studied previously. It is about making sense and meaning to your audience in a relaxed, exciting, and natural way as possible.
3. Focus on people or objects that make you more relaxed
One helpful tip that has helped many stage performers overcome stage fright is focusing on people or objects that make you more relaxed. This helps you get a hold of the situation until you are more confident to gaze everywhere you like.
Some people look at static objects like the ceiling, or other objects within the stage vicinity. Others focus on familiar faces while avoiding intimidating faces until they have put themselves together.
4. Use a low pitch voice if possible
A low-pitched voice masks your shaky voice when you have stage fright, thus making you appear more confident until you have gotten yourself back. The first few minutes into any presentation can be the most terrifying but starting with your lowest pitch will make you look more relaxed and confident while you gradually get more comfortable.
5. Breathe in and out adequately
Breathing adequately before going on stage can help you relieve performance anxiety. Breathing exercises keep you relaxed by maintaining your breathing synchrony and prevent hyperventilation during anxiety. Hyperventilation worsens performance anxiety and makes you lose your breath while on stage.
You should deliberately take deep breaths in and out in a regular pattern. This practically helps you overcome stage fright and gets you back in control.
6. Think about a positive outcome
The fear of failure is one of the major causes of performance anxiety. Seasoned performers and presenters have mastered the act of stage performance by assuring themselves that there are no mistakes on the stage. As long as you take every outcome as a positive one and not a flop, your audience will accept it that way with you.
To overcome stage fright or performance anxiety, you should focus less on the possibility of failing, and more on the positive outcome. Once you let it come naturally and in a relaxed manner, it will be a success.
7. Note down points or cues to make you remember
The brain has its way of playing funny games sometimes and it is not always possible to remember everything one has prepared to say. This is why they say that the smallest pen is sharper than the sharpest brain.
Trying to remember everything without putting down cue points can make it difficult to remember everything you need to talk about. So, if it is a performance that allows you to use notes, why not utilize that opportunity?
8. Rest well before the performance
After preparing adequately, rest well before the performance. Adequate rest and sleep keep you relaxed and confident throughout the presentation. The secret is to start preparing early, so you can have enough time to rest before your performance.
Resting well before your performance can help you overcome stage fright and performance anxiety. You should consider getting adequate rest as part of the overall preparation.
9. Be yourself
Sometimes, other people’s performance might make you feel intimidated and less confident. But it shouldn’t be so. No matter who has performed before you or who is coming next, it’s now your turn to shine the way you know how to do best.
Being yourself requires that you adopt the style you are comfortable with, and stick with your prepared patterns. With time, your audience will forget the performances of those who came before and listen to you with rapt attention.
10. Stay confident
Adequate preparation is important in boosting your confidence on stage but irrespective of your level of preparedness, you should consciously muster enough confidence and tell yourself that you have all it takes to perform at your best.
It is possible to muster enough confidence if you continue to reassure yourself that you can do it. After the performance, you will eventually realize that confidence, whether mustered or earned, is a more important strategy to satisfy your audience than just your content alone.
Personal Tips on Overcoming Stage Fright
In addition to the above tips on overcoming stage fright/performance anxiety, here are some extra tips that work for me in dealing with stage fright and getting back my confidence.
1. Avoid overthinking
Sometimes, overthinking too much on stage or in a public space is the major reason most of us get nervous and anxious. We think about what our audience is probably thinking, we try to imagine how it would feel when we perform poorly, and countless other scenarios.
Avoiding overthinking has helped me overcome stage fright on several occasions. Instead, I just focus on the moment and the memories it will create for me in the future.
2. Don’t think yourself too highly
This may not sound like something that should boost your confidence but it’s something that has often worked for me. One of the common reasons why people experience performance anxiety is thinking about the shame that they would face if they didn’t perform adequately.
Simply telling myself that I am not the most important person in the room has helped me maintain my calm in public most of the time. If you check well, you will also discover that many renowned public speakers who talk confidently in large audiences also do not consider themselves any different from the people they are talking to.
3. Accept that your audience wants you to succeed
Every audience wants to enjoy your presentation and be entertained. Your audience wants you to perform well. That is why they would cheer you up to encourage you even when you are underperforming.
Understanding this early or even before you start can make you realize that your audience is your most important partner in delivering a wonderful and perfect presentation you would be proud of.
4. Hydrate
Staying hydrated is important in overcoming stage fright and preventing performance anxiety. This is because adequate hydration moistens your mouth, tongue, and airway, thus making vocalization easier and more efficient.
I have come to find out that I feel more tense on stage whenever my voice is hoarse or dry, compared to when I am vocalizing well. Thus, one helpful way to deal with performance anxiety is by drinking water adequately before and during your presentation.
