Stage Fright: How to Get Over it!
"He has lived with such bad stage fright that he has failed projects and even ditched class in order to avoid giving presentations."
There is nothing wrong with you if you have stage fright, it is completely normal. Most people, even famous musicians, never eliminate stage fright - they just learn how to control it.
I used to have stage fright but I learned to get over it, so I will use someone else as an example. I have a good friend who has grown up with extreme stage fright, but I am trying to help him out and he is starting to realize that stage fright really isn't anything to worry about. I will share with you my plan for overcoming this common fear.
I can assure you that if this works for my friend, then this will work for YOU! He has lived with such bad stage fright that he has failed projects and even ditched class in order to avoid giving presentations. It was bad, but with this plan, he is gaining more and more confidence - so I have no doubts that you can too!
Things to Remember:
1. The audience is supportive, they want you to do good!
Everybody with stage fright thinks that the audience is the enemy, but you are presenting to them, they are friends. Everybody thinks, "they won't like me, they will laugh if I mess up, oh no." When you watch someone, do you sit there and think, "MESS UP! I can't wait to laugh at your mistakes! MESS UP!!!!" No, you want them to do good.
Put yourself in their spot.
Thats what I used to do. When I was sitting in class on presentation day, I would just sit quietly and relaxed as I listen to everybody else. But then as soon as my name was called, it was all of a sudden time to freak out. There is nothing different between myself and the previous presenters, so why worry? I don't, not anymore. I now realize that the audience is just as relaxed and calm as I was 5 seconds ago.
You're too hard on yourself.
If you stuttered in your presentation then you will be thinking about it all day long. Do you know how long the audience will be thinking about it? Probably about 10 seconds. Nobody is as hard on you as you are hard on yourself.
2. PREPARE.
Yes, it sounds like a no-brainer, but this is SO true and SO overlooked! I would say that half of stage fright is created when people worry about messing up, it scares them. You don't have to worry about messing up if you have gone through the process 1,000 times before! If you get on stage and think, "will I be able to hit that note? Will I be able to do this right?" then you haven't practiced enough. If you have hit that note 1,000 times before the performance, then you won't need to worry about if you will hit it or not. If you have played that guitar melody 1,000 times before then you won't have to worry about getting it wrong. The pro's make it look so easy, and it IS easy after they have done it every single day for the past so many years. "Practice makes perfect" is such an overlooked statement, it is SO true.
3. You can't get over stage fright without going through it, so JUST DO IT!
You will never get over stage fright with time, it isn't like that (unless you do the following). Time heals a lot of scars, but time doesn't heal stage fright UNLESS YOU GO THROUGH IT! You can't just sit on the sideline and wait for it to go away, you have to learn to control it. This worked very well for my friend. He was too shy to raise his hand and answer questions in class, and he couldn't give presentations because he was so nervous. But I told him that things would never change unless he dealt with them. You have to face your fears. It will be hard at first, I'm not gonna lie! It does work though. My friend is starting to raise his hand and answer questions in class, and give presentations with confidence. He actually looks forward to presenting now. You just have to deal with it and get it over with. When I used to have some stage fright I just went for it and the first few times were awkward and I felt a little odd, but that fear slowly faded. It can for you too, you just have to step up and do it!
Don't forget, it is all in your head! People will NEVER know how nervous you are unless you show them.
From now on, whenever you are put in a position where stage fright starts to kick in, JUST DO IT! It might be hard the first few times, but I promise you will start getting over it with time. I can also promise you that you will NOT get over it with time if you just sit around and wait for it to go away. It won't go away, you have to kill it!
Good Luck!
SingersConnect.net / CanAnybodySing.com
"He has lived with such bad stage fright that he has failed projects and even ditched class in order to avoid giving presentations."
There is nothing wrong with you if you have stage fright, it is completely normal. Most people, even famous musicians, never eliminate stage fright - they just learn how to control it.
I used to have stage fright but I learned to get over it, so I will use someone else as an example. I have a good friend who has grown up with extreme stage fright, but I am trying to help him out and he is starting to realize that stage fright really isn't anything to worry about. I will share with you my plan for overcoming this common fear.
I can assure you that if this works for my friend, then this will work for YOU! He has lived with such bad stage fright that he has failed projects and even ditched class in order to avoid giving presentations. It was bad, but with this plan, he is gaining more and more confidence - so I have no doubts that you can too!
Things to Remember:
1. The audience is supportive, they want you to do good!
Everybody with stage fright thinks that the audience is the enemy, but you are presenting to them, they are friends. Everybody thinks, "they won't like me, they will laugh if I mess up, oh no." When you watch someone, do you sit there and think, "MESS UP! I can't wait to laugh at your mistakes! MESS UP!!!!" No, you want them to do good.
Put yourself in their spot.
Thats what I used to do. When I was sitting in class on presentation day, I would just sit quietly and relaxed as I listen to everybody else. But then as soon as my name was called, it was all of a sudden time to freak out. There is nothing different between myself and the previous presenters, so why worry? I don't, not anymore. I now realize that the audience is just as relaxed and calm as I was 5 seconds ago.
You're too hard on yourself.
If you stuttered in your presentation then you will be thinking about it all day long. Do you know how long the audience will be thinking about it? Probably about 10 seconds. Nobody is as hard on you as you are hard on yourself.
2. PREPARE.
Yes, it sounds like a no-brainer, but this is SO true and SO overlooked! I would say that half of stage fright is created when people worry about messing up, it scares them. You don't have to worry about messing up if you have gone through the process 1,000 times before! If you get on stage and think, "will I be able to hit that note? Will I be able to do this right?" then you haven't practiced enough. If you have hit that note 1,000 times before the performance, then you won't need to worry about if you will hit it or not. If you have played that guitar melody 1,000 times before then you won't have to worry about getting it wrong. The pro's make it look so easy, and it IS easy after they have done it every single day for the past so many years. "Practice makes perfect" is such an overlooked statement, it is SO true.
3. You can't get over stage fright without going through it, so JUST DO IT!
You will never get over stage fright with time, it isn't like that (unless you do the following). Time heals a lot of scars, but time doesn't heal stage fright UNLESS YOU GO THROUGH IT! You can't just sit on the sideline and wait for it to go away, you have to learn to control it. This worked very well for my friend. He was too shy to raise his hand and answer questions in class, and he couldn't give presentations because he was so nervous. But I told him that things would never change unless he dealt with them. You have to face your fears. It will be hard at first, I'm not gonna lie! It does work though. My friend is starting to raise his hand and answer questions in class, and give presentations with confidence. He actually looks forward to presenting now. You just have to deal with it and get it over with. When I used to have some stage fright I just went for it and the first few times were awkward and I felt a little odd, but that fear slowly faded. It can for you too, you just have to step up and do it!
Don't forget, it is all in your head! People will NEVER know how nervous you are unless you show them.
From now on, whenever you are put in a position where stage fright starts to kick in, JUST DO IT! It might be hard the first few times, but I promise you will start getting over it with time. I can also promise you that you will NOT get over it with time if you just sit around and wait for it to go away. It won't go away, you have to kill it!
Good Luck!
SingersConnect.net / CanAnybodySing.com