Suffering from Stage Fright?

Growing up, I played guitar, piano and sang for social engagements and for church services. One time I was on stage singing with a piano accompanist when all the power went out in the hall. I was about 12 years old at the time. My parents in the audience assumed that when the lights went on, I’d be backstage crying my eyes out but instead they heard my voice booming without a microphone on a dark stage, cracking knock-knock jokes! That incident should’ve scared the heck out of me, however as I performed more on the professional stage performance anxiety/stage fright managed to get hold of me.

I remember the first time performance anxiety spooked me, was at Baldwin-Wallace conservatory of Music performing during my junior recital. It was a rainy day and an audience member, a professor, stood up in the middle of one of my French songs, picked up his umbrella, and walked out as I was looking in that direction. He distracted me for a moment, and I felt like I was completely lost in my song. It felt like forever. The feeling of forever was only about a measure and a half long that I lost my French lyrics but it caught me off guard . I remember at intermission crying in the green room until my professor instructed me to “get over it and get back out there.” That didn’t really help but I continued through the other half of my recital anxiously awaiting another misstep. Every time I performed after that recital I was anxious. I needed to be able to control myself and I learned how using the psychological technique of conditioning. To this day I am a bit anxious before speaking or singing but I have managed to learn how to get control of myself - and you can too!

When I taught Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communications at the University of Rhode Island I experience students in my class completely losing it during speeches; I will never forget the first class I was teaching as a big bruiser of a football player got up to present a one minute speech introducing himself to the class when he passed out. Of course it wasn’t just this student; the feeling of dread happened to about 80% of the class : The knees knocking, the shaking speech, the look of fear on each of those undergraduates faces is a reminder of just how much people are afraid of audiences whether it be speakers, actors, or singers.

What is Stage Fright?

Stage fright, also known as performance anxiety, is a common experience where a person feel nervous, anxious, or fearful about performing in front of an audience. It can occur in various situations, such as public speaking, singing, acting, or even presenting in a small group. Here are some key points about stage fright:

Symptoms of Stage Fright:

- Physical symptoms may be trembling, sweating, rapid heartbeat, dry mouth, nausea, or shortness of breath.

-Emotionally you may have a fear of failure, feeling overwhelmed, or not feeling confident.

- Cognitively you may struggle concentrating, negative thoughts, or imagining worst-case scenarios.

Causes of Stage Fright::

- Worrying about how others will perceive your performance.

- Setting unrealistically high standards for yourself.

- Feeling unprepared or unfamiliar with performing in front of others or of the material.

-Negative past performances can contribute to anxiety.

Tips to Overcome Stage Fright:

-Practice thoroughly to build confidence in your material or performance.

-Deep breathing can help calm your nerves and reduce physical symptoms.

-Imagine yourself succeeding and receiving positive feedback.

- Shift your focus from yourself to connecting with your audience.

- Perform in front of smaller, supportive groups to practice and increase the size of the audience.

-Consider working with a coach, therapist, or teacher who specializes in performance anxiety.

Voice and speech professionals, like myself, have strategies to help you overcome stage fright, especially for singers and speakers. If you'd like, I can assist you by utilizing my many years of practical advice and psychological conditioning. Please let me know if I can help you!