It is a form of paralyzing anxiety that attacks you at truly inappropriate times. It occupies all your mind and is able to deprive you of all your means. Of course, we're talking about stage fright, an uncontrollable tremor that seizes us as we face an audience. Whether it's for a speech, singing, playing a role or receiving an award. Any situation can cause you this type of panic.
First, you should know that this fear is very common. Even the actor who has a high self-esteem and believes in himself can feel it at any time.
Therefore, and even if it never happened to you, you need to know what the keys are to overcome it and get out of such a difficult situation brilliantly. It is necessary to train your body and mind and control your breathing. Let us now go into all of this in greater depth.
Prior relaxation
If you are going to enter the stage and face an audience waiting for your performance, the first thing to do is to try to soothe your body and mind. It is a question of calming yourself down inside so that you can go on stage without the slightest fear, in complete tranquillity and with clear ideas.
If you're going to play a concert, be an actor or make a speech in front of a large crowd, it's important to try to stabilize your voice. This will be your main tool, so you need to make sure it is in good condition. Sing in a low voice, hum a song, make gargle and heat it up.
One very important thing: whisper words of tranquillity and positivity and breathe deeply. Repeat this process five times. You will see how much you can reduce your pulse and feel more confident about yourself. To do this, you can use some expressions like:
"Everything's gonna be okay."
"Trust yourself."
"You can do it."
You can also stretch. Bend your head to one side and then to the other, move your shoulders, stretch your back, legs and arms. It's a way to release yourself from the tension you're creating.
You can have your own stuff or rituals. For example, chewing gum a little before going on stage, drinking an energetic drink, meditating, dressing in a certain colour... The objective is that you trust yourself. If you have to start your performance five minutes later, don't worry. It's better to wait for a moment than to put pressure on yourself and let the stage fright get to you.
Prepare your speech
Very often, we feel nervous because we don't have the confidence to dominate the subject we're going to talk about. It is therefore advisable to know it and handle your arguments and key points intelligently.
Repeat your speech as many times as necessary to gain confidence. This does not mean that you have to learn each sentence by heart: you must master the key points and be able to express the same idea with different words. This will make it easier to retrieve the thread if you get lost at some point. It's about feeling comfortable and acting like a fish in the water.
Look for a mirror and practice in front of it. Speak, listen to yourself and correct yourselves. You can even film yourself making your presentation. Seeing you will help you enormously in all this process of overcoming stage fright. It's better to be careful!
Use easily understandable words and simple sentences. If you use words that are difficult to pronounce or too long subordinate sentences, you will probably end up getting confused and lost in your speech. This will make you even more nervous and paralyze you completely.
Visualize yourself and become familiar with the environment
While it is often very complicated to visit or find out where you will be standing in front of an audience, it is worth it. Visualize yourself speaking to people, it will help you gain confidence.
"Knowing the distribution of the hall, the seating arrangements, the spaces and the light will help you to be calmer."
If it is not possible for you to go to the venue of your performance beforehand, you can arrive a few hours before the arrival of the spectators. In this way, you will become familiar with the environment in which you will play when it is full of people.
A few minutes before entering the stage, you can also try to talk to a few spectators. This proximity will calm your nerves and your nerves.
Calm and imagination during your speech
Speak slowly. One of the biggest points that indicates that you're going through an episode of stage fright is that your voice is starting to speed up. If you talk too fast, you'll be mumbling and the audience won't understand you. But by noting this disorder in the audience, you'll start to panic and all the efforts you've made so far will have been wasted. The key is to focus on the speed consistency of your words.
If you notice that even in doing this, you have the voice, hands or whole body shaking, try to breathe deeply. Give yourself five seconds and imagine that someone you really like is in the room. Someone who loves, respects and supports you. Tell yourself she's sitting in every seat. Feel the strength and positive energy it sends you.
Another trick you can use is to imagine that the whole audience is in underwear or wearing really weird costumes. That way, you won't be the only one vulnerable to them.
Finally, remember: relaxation, preparation, visualization and concentration. Here are the four basic keys to be able to overcome stage fright brilliantly. Try all these tips and you'll see how much you'll enjoy talking in public!