Mood Music: New Rules by Dua Lipa
For some reason it seems that people who are oriented with the performing arts are the ones who usually have the worst stage fright. No matter what it is like acting in a play, singing at karaoke or even giving a speech for a presentation, most people gain a form of stage fright. For those who don't know what stage fright is:
Stage Fright (Noun): The feeling of nervousness before or during an appearance before an audience.
I've talked to a few of my close friends who have had experiences of stage fright and asked them when it happened, why it happened and what they had done to overcome it. I have even taken my own experiences to talk about this topic. I first had talked to my roommate Hayley about her experiences with stage fright as an actress.
"Well, honestly I really did not deal with stage fright or any type of performance anxiety until freshman year of high school where I started performing in theater. I was getting major roles in plays and was doing well in practice but when it got to show night... the anxiety just kind of set in. It was only because I was afraid of what would happen if I messed up. I was scared of being judged by a group of people if I did not do well in this play. I was able to manage it though by taking deep breaths and drinking plenty of water, even though I had to pee in the middle of the play I got through it."
From my own experiences as a singer my anxiety was a bit smaller than others. I felt the anxiousness in the bottom of my stomach and tried to just breathe through it all. I would close my eyes and just pretend the audience was never there, I was just singing to myself. And when I got out onto the stage I just belted out the notes with no problem. After I got off stage though my nerves did come back and I got a little shaky. But, I just sat and told myself I did the best I could do that night.
However, I do have a few friends who can't even walk up to a podium to do a presentation without twisting every word they speak. They get so sick to the point that their heads end up stuck next to the toilet for the next few hours. I do believe though that there are a few ways that you can overcome and help your performance anxiety. Here are a few tips I have gathered while looking through multiple articles and stories.
For more information and to see where I found these tips you can check out WebMD, Anxiety And Depression Association of America (ADAA) and Huffington Post.
1.Be Prepared
Make sure that you are prepared and know all of your stuff: your speech, song, audience, and basic points throughout the performance that you have to cover. The more you know it, the less chance there could be of making mistakes.Take the time to just relax and let it all flow naturally.
2.Change Your Outlook
Talk yourself into a more positive outlook than a negative one. Instead of asking yourself, "Well what if I mess up? What if I don't remember this?" tell yourself that you can do this. "Hey, why am I doubting myself? This is what I am great at!" You will be wonderful at whatever you do.
3. Perfection Isn't Real
You do not need to be absolutely perfect. And it is perfectly okay to make mistakes because you will learn from them and next time you'll do even better than before.
4. Shift The Fear
Try to shift the fear point onto something else so it's not a hundred percent on you. Focus on the true purpose of the performance and what you are attributing to the show and audience.
5. Eating
Before your event, try to have a sensible meal beforehand to make sure you don't get too nauseous or full beforehand. Possibly avoid sugars and caffeine through the day and overall, make sure you have plenty of energy to carryout the task. You can easily get nervous about passing out or not doing your best from not eating properly.
6. Be Natural
Finally...Just be yourself. If you are just yourself, you will do the best you can. You can do virtually anything. Never let anything tear you down, when you can get so far in life.
