4 Ways To Overcome Stage Fright

It’s a crippling form of anxiety that attacks you at really inappropriate times. It occupies your whole mind and is able to deprive you of all your means. We are of course talking about stage fright,  an uncontrollable tremor that takes hold of us when facing an audience. Whether for a speech, to sing, to play a role or to receive an award. Any situation can cause you to have this type of raging panic.

First of all, you should know that this fear is very common. Even the actor who has great self-esteem and believes in himself can feel it at any time.

Therefore, and even if it has never happened to you, you need to know what are the keys to overcome it and to come out brilliantly from such a difficult situation. It is necessary to train your body and mind and to dominate your breathing. Now let’s dig deeper into all of this.

Prior relaxation

If you are going to walk on stage and face an audience that is waiting for your performance, the first thing you should do is try to calm your body and mind. It is a question of  calming yourself internally to be able to go on stage without the slightest fear, in all peace and with clear ideas.

If you are going to do a concert, are an actor, or have to give a speech in front of a large crowd of people,  it is essential to try to stabilize your voice. This is going to be your main tool, so you need to make sure it is in good condition. Sing in a low voice, hum a song, gargle and heat it up.

One very important thing:  whisper words of tranquility and positivity to yourself and then take a deep breath. Repeat this process five times. You will see how much you can manage to decrease your heart rate and feel more confident. For this you can use some expressions like:

• “Everything will be alright”.
• “Trust in yourself”.
• “You can do it”.

You can also  stretch. Tilt your head side to side, move your shoulders, stretch your back, legs and arms. It is a way to release yourself from the body tension that you yourself are creating.

You can have your own tricks or rituals. For example, chewing gum a little before going on stage, drinking an energy drink, meditating, dressing in a certain color… The goal is for you to have confidence in yourself. If you have to start your performance five minutes later for that, don’t worry. It’s better to wait a moment than to put the pressure on and let the jitters take hold of you.

Prepare your speech

Very often we feel nervous because we are not sure that  we are in control of the subject that we are going to talk about. It is therefore recommended to know it and to handle your arguments and key points intelligently.

Repeat your speech as many times as it takes to gain confidence. This doesn’t mean that you have to memorize every sentence:  you have to master the key points and know how to express the same idea in different words. This will make it easier for you to retrieve the wire if you ever get lost. It’s about feeling comfortable and acting like a fish in water.

Find a mirror and practice in front of it. Speak, listen to yourself and correct yourself. You can even film yourself doing your presentation. Seeing yourself will help you immensely in this whole process of overcoming the jitters. Better to be careful!

Use easily understood words and simple sentences. If you resort to words that are difficult to pronounce or to subordinate sentences that are too long, you will probably end up making mistakes and getting lost in your speech. This will make you even more nervous and completely paralyze you.

Visualize and familiarize yourself with the environment

Although it is often very complicated to visit or know the place in which you will be standing in front of an audience, it is worth doing it. Visualize yourself talking to people, it will help you gain confidence.

If it is not possible for you to go to the place of your performance beforehand,  you can arrive there a few hours before the arrival of the spectators. This way you will become familiar with the environment you will be playing in when it is full of people.

A few minutes before entering the stage, you can also try talking to a few spectators. This closeness will calm your nerves and your jitters.

Calm and imagination during your speech

Speak slowly. One of the biggest points that indicates that you are going through an episode of stage fright is that your voice begins to accelerate. If you speak too fast, you will stutter and the audience will not understand you well. However, by noting this disturbance in the audience, you will begin to panic and all the efforts which you will have made until then will have been for nothing. The key is to focus on the consistency of the speed of your words.

If you notice that even while doing this, your voice, hands, or whole body are shaking, try taking a deep breath. Give yourself five seconds and imagine that someone you really like is in the room. Someone who loves you, who respects you and supports you. Tell yourself she’s sitting in every seat. Feel the strength and positive energy it sends to you.

Another trick you can do is imagine everyone in their underwear or wearing really weird costumes. Thus, you will not be the only one who is vulnerable to them.

Finally,  remember: relaxation, preparation, visualization and concentration. Here are the four basic keys to being able to overcome stage fright in a brilliant way. Try all of these tips and you will see how much you enjoy speaking in public!

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