Stage Fear! Surely we all have gone through it. Some of them have conquered it and may be some of them still have it. Well actually the official word for stage fear is Stage Fright. So let’s talk about What is stage fright?
Simply speaking, it is a feeling of nervousness before public speech, recital, some dance performance or even some singing act. So basically, it’s kind of an anxiety develop in a person who has to perform in front of live audience. It is also called by the name of Performance Anxiety. No wonder it affects performance during live stage.
Now the question is What causes Stage Fear? Although many causes are there but what I felt when I first went on the stage to give my first speech in college, I felt my heart beating literally fast and hands shaking. I felt very low confidence at that time so my award goes to ‘lack of self confidence’ when it comes to stage fright. A person with low level of self confidence always have this stage fear. Being unprepared or less practice only helps stage fear to get worse. People have a mind set that if they make mistakes on stage, then audience will think least of them. And this reason causes a lot of damage to the self confidence level.
Now the Geniee was out the lamp and I have to manage speaking on stage. I know it's a little thing for some people but for a majority of people, stage fear is still come on top of their list. So without further ado, I did few things which gave me confidence to get over that stage fright.
"Don’t Fight It, Rather Work With It"
You already know that you’ll feel anxious during first few minutes of presentation, so accept it. Don’t fight it. Rather divert your focus on your presentation and your anxiety will ease off at the moment you’ll change your focus. And that's what I did. Fighting my stage fear was only making it worse, so I completely diverted my attention towards the content of my speech and somehow it gave me confidence.
"Never say ‘Sorry’ for being Nervous"
You know you’re nervous and your hands are cold, so why tell your audience, why say sorry to them. You may feel yourself shaking and shivering, but your audience might not be aware of it. Don’t mention it. It will make your audience nervous too and they will be too worried about your performance to get much out of your presentation.
"Keep Spinning Your Content In Your Mind"
Being prepared is the key to get rid of stage fear. You must know about your content you have to present, you must know your audience . If you know what are you talking about, then there will be no need to fear. Rather it’ll come naturally to you. And always try to keep revising your content in your mind. It'll give you confidence.
''Remember Someone Important''
Well, this point worked for me very effectively. Whenever you fear something in your life, just remember someone you love the most and who you never wanted to let go. It may be anyone- your parents, your girlfriend, your spouse or anyone you get attached to. Trust me, in the moment of fear, the memory of them will give you power to conquer your fear.
That's all Steemians. I hope you did find it interesting to read. Give me your feedback in the comment section.
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