To Start,Stage fright is usually defined as the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, either real or imaginary, whether it is actual or potential(for example, when performing before a camera). Performing in front of an unknown audience can cause significantly more anxiety than performing in front of familiar faces.
How Common Is Stage Fright?
The statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health, shows that fear impacts approximately 73% of the population, making it the most commonly cited fear.1 Performance anxiety can happen to anyone, even in people who regularly speak or perform in front of crowds. Many professional athletes, actors, and musicians report instances of feeling insecure or anxious before important events. While some people can avoid public speaking or performances, (and, subsequently, avoid dealing with this fear), others face it on a routine basis.
What Can Trigger Stage Fright?
Stage fright usually occurs in any setting where you feel worried about being judged for your performance. This fear can happen even if you identify as being gifted with public speaking or whatever you may be performing. It may emerge in front of large audiences and in front of smaller, intimate groups or one-on-one settings.
Someone may or can experience stage fright during the following events:
Job Interview
Class presentations
Exercise classes
Work meetings
Speaking to customer service representatives
Making small talk with strangers
Making speeches or toasts
Causes of Stage Fright
These days stage fright is very common, and a few experts believe it originates from social anxiety disorder, a condition rooted in fear of judgment and rejection.Someone may also have a severe fear of failure or embarrassment.
Neuroscientists suggest that stage fright might simply represent the fight-or-flight response: the phenomenon where our body reacts to how it perceives certain dangers.During the fight-or-flight response, the amygdala sends the stress response throughout the body, which stimulates epinephrine (commonly known as adrenaline). This adrenaline is responsible for the physiological symptoms experienced during stage fright. The patterns happen so quickly that we don’t recognize when it’s happening until we’re in the middle of it.
How to Overcome Stage Fright
Form a clear intention:Define your goal. What do you want to achieve with what you are about to do? This intention should wipe away any and all other thoughts. The intention is what you should consider while you are getting ready, driving or pumping yourself up for your big moment. A good intention is something simple. To give an example, if you are going into a negotiation, it might be, “Get the buyer to sign and stay firm on numbers‘ ‚.
Pick a Focal Point
It is good to pick a far-off, unimportant point in the back of the room or auditorium. Later, one can use that point to throw off your nervous energy. This will help you to ignore your nervous energy, and redirect it.
Breathe Mindfully
Most times, when we are nervous, without realizing it, we turn to take shorter, shallower breaths or hold our breath entirely.This exacerbates the cycle of anxiety, making us light-headed, dizzy and even more out of breath. So it is advisable to go into mental preparation to breathe purposefully. First, close your eyes. Secondly, it is advisable to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, then push out your belly with each breath. This deep belly breathing and closing your eyes will help focus and center you.
Release Muscle Tension
When we get anxious, we tighten everything. We clench our jaws, tense our shoulders and squeeze our arms to our sides or in front of us. Even our stomach gets tight. This is terrible for blood flow and anxiety. So it is advisable to practice a relaxation exercise to help relax your muscles. If possible take some chocolate to relax your nerves before any presentation.
Direct Your Energy
Think of that focal point that we picked out in the back of the room in point 2? This is your dumping ground for excess nerves, anxious energy and bad thoughts. If you just tell yourself, “Don’t be anxious” it doesn’t work, but if you redirect the energy somewhere else, it can have a very soothing effect.It is good to start your performance or begin to feel anxious, just take that nervousness and mentally hurl it toward that focal point. Usually It will give an amazing lightness of throwing off a heavy backpack and is a powerful mental exercise to combat nerves.
To Conclude, stage fright may be a common occurrence, but it doesn’t have to hold you back from achieving your full potential as a performer or presenter. By understanding the causes and how to overcome stage fright and employing effective techniques such as preparation, relaxation exercises, positive visualization, and gradual exposure, you can conquer your fears and unlock your true performance potential.