Five Proven Tips for Letting Go of Stage Fright

Lose your stage fright and take control of that microphone as soon as possible.

At some point in your life, you were left with no choice but to walk up onto that stage and address yourself to the many questioning faces staring up at you. If you were in the corporate world, maybe you needed to present a report to the board of trustees. If you were a student, you might have been assigned to discuss a topic in front of a lecture hall.

Before the task in front of you even begins, your mind is already wheeling on so many things. What if audience doesn’t listen? What if you’re embarrassed? What if you just can’t do it?

This is stage fright.

But don’t worry because it is curable. And the best person to cure this stage fright is you! You have the tools you need, you just need to harness them.

Here’s a list of five proven tips to overcoming stage fright.

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1. Lessen the significance of the audience. When you’re in front of other people, it’s common to think that they are better than you, and that they’ll be sizing you up. Instead of thinking about how intelligent the audience might be, focus on your own many strengths. Remember, in some aspects you are better than they are. Accept that you may not be an expert in every field but you are an expert in some areas of life. That is what you can let shine through during your talk.
2. Shoo away negative thoughts. In most cases, your mind drifts into “negativelandia”, an imaginary place where all the things that could possibly go wrong do go wrong. You imagine that you can’t answer even the simplest question. You worry that you’ll be hounded with grammatical errors and mispronunciation. You are sure that you’ll forget everything, and even worse, that you’ll look stupid. As a result, you decide you don’t want to go through with it. Remember that perfection doesn’t exist. Instead of looking at the worst case scenarios, focus on the positive and on what you are about to create. Imagine the best case scenario where everyone loves what you are saying. What you imagine is what you project, and that is what people will experience from your talk.
3. Take a deep breath. This may be a simple tip but it will definitely release unwanted stress. A deep breath can empty your mind of negativities and pessimism. Even when you are just practicing your talk, you might already experience some anxiety. Pause for a while, inhale, exhale and start again. Before you know it, you are done strutting your stuff in front of the crowd and enjoying the applause. Focus on the impact that the experience of being in front of a crowd will bring into your life. Remind yourself that whatever it is that you are going to do or say, you will somehow make a difference in the lives of your audience. Savor the moment you are on stage and take note of the things that you can learn from this experience.
4. Always be prepared, whether it is a recital or an oral report or science project presentation. Yes, nobody is perfect but you can lessen the chances of being caught off guard. Preparation is the first line of defense. If you are not prepared, then most likely your remaining fortress will fall. If you are 100% ready, you will feel far less fear because you know that you know your stuff.
5. Talk about what you know and care about. This is by far the most important thing you can do to prepare. If you know your stuff in advance, you can speak easily, using a few short notes, and feel prepared for all questions. This is called speaking “extemporaneously.” It’s by far the best method of delivery because it keeps your audience engaged. So choose a topic you know about, and if you don’t have a choice about the topic, make sure you give yourself time to find out about it and make it interesting to you. If you are passionate about your subject matter, your audience will be as well, and that’s the easiest way to make a connection and forget about all your fears.

Most people experience at least a certain degree of stage fright. It’s normal. But it’s not incurable and it’s not something you need to put up with.

Just remember not to build the audience up in your mind, to project a positive outcome instead of a negative one, to take a deep breath, to be prepared, and to talk about what you know and care about. You have all the tools you need.

If you want to get more from your life, and are looking for concrete action steps to get you there, check out our Request a Coach page. It’s a “cut the fence-sitting and take action” way to tackle your issues and actually find success. You’ll be matched with the coaches most suited to you to get you from where you are to where you want to be. To get off the fence and start to take action, click or tap here.