Stage Fright
Stage Fright Definition
• Stage fright is a type of anxiety that describes feeling anxious when
speaking or performing in front of a group of people.
• It isn’t just limited to literal stages.
• In general, stage fright is a colloquial term used to describe
performance anxiety, presentation anxiety, or the
fear of public speaking.
• It can happen to anyone, even in people who regularly speak or
perform in front of crowds.
• Many professional athletes, actors, and musicians report instances of
feeling insecure or anxious.
When & Where Does Performance Anxiety Happen?
• Performance anxiety can happen in any setting where you feel worried about
being judged for your performance.
• This fear can happen even if you identify as being gifted with public speaking or
whatever you may be performing.
• It may emerge in front of large audiences and in front of smaller, intimate groups
or one-on-one settings.
• A person may experience stage fright during the following events:
• Job interviews
• Class presentations
• Exercise classes
• Work meetings
• Speaking to customer service representatives
• Making small talk with strangers
• Making speeches or toasts
Symptoms of Performance Anxiety
• Stage fright symptoms may emerge long before your presentation or performance.
• You might start feeling nervous in the days or hours leading up to the event and the
symptoms tend to become more pervasive and noticeable as the event gets closer.
• Common stage fright symptoms include:
• Excessive dread or worry about the event
• Feeling distant or withdrawn from others
• Experiencing a sense of numbness
• Dry mouth
• Throat tightness (which can make talking painful)
• Racing heartbeat
• Perspiration
• Nausea or vomiting
• Stomach pains
• Desire to escape and leave the scene
• Intense paranoia about rejection or judgment
Causes of stage fright
• increased self-focusing;
• fear of not meeting audience expectations;
• believing that one is dissimilar and subordinate to the audience;
• perceived skills deficiency;
• fear of evaluation;
• audience scrutiny;
• an uninterested or unresponsive audience;
• lack of experience in public speaking situations;
• poor preparation;
• and a contagion effect in which adjacent speakers' anxiety increases an individual
speaker's own anxiety.
Can Stage Fright Be Prevented?
• The best way to treat a mental health condition is to prevent it from
emerging in the first place, but due to the nature of stage fright,
preventing it can be challenging.
• Still, knowing the material, lowering the fear of judgment, and building
confidence can all help prevent the condition from growing.
• People may do well to also decrease their preexisting anxiety.
• Someone with high stress, worry, and tension would be more likely to
develop a case of stage fright.
10 Tips for How to Get Over
Stage Fright
• It’s no secret that overcoming stage fright requires effort, intention,
and continuous practice.
• Relief doesn’t happen overnight.
• And while you may never truly love to speak in public, you can
become more comfortable and confident.
• Most people integrate several different coping skills to improve their
stress response.
• Consider these 10 tips for tackling stage fright:
1. See a Therapist
• A therapist can help you explore the root of your stage fright and address
other underlying concerns.
• For instance, sometimes, stage fright emerges in response to a traumatic
experience.
• Or the stage fright may be so debilitating that it’s affecting your overall
quality of life.
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) tends to be the gold standard of
treatment for anxiety disorders.
• This therapy will help you target your automatic thinking and shift your
negative associations about stage fright into more neutral or positive ones.
• In more severe cases, anxiety medication may be recommended.
• Your therapist can help facilitate an appropriate psychiatrist referral.
2. Practice Beforehand
• Spend some time familiarizing yourself with your
material.
• Practice as much as you reasonably can until things feel
more natural.
• If possible, practice in front of trusted loved ones and
ask for feedback.
• Ask them what you’re doing well and what they think
you need to improve.
3. Tell Yourself a Positive
Mantra
• Before you enter a challenging situation, it’s a good idea to give yourself a
small pep talk.
• To keep things simple, consider developing a mantra that helps ground
you.
• Some examples of positive mantras include:
• Even if I feel nervous, I come across as confident.
• People want to hear from me.
• I am going to do a great job!
• This situation is so temporary.
4. Practice Positive Visualization
• Positive visualization can help people perform better and feel more
confident during those performances.
• Spend some time imagining yourself succeeding at the scary, daunting
task.
• What do you envision? Close your eyes and meditate on this scene for a
while.
• Think about how it feels to completely succeed and be at ease with your
audience.
• Imagine the lightness in your body.
5. Engage in Deep Breathing
• When you breathe deeply, you send signals to the body to relax and
calm down.
• These signals can help counteract the adrenaline your brain sends when
it senses danger.
• In response, slow breathing can decrease your heart rate and blood
pressure.
• To practice breathing deeply, inhale your breath through your nose and
hold for five counts.
• Use your mouth to exhale fully and hold for five more counts.
• Repeat several times. You should feel your belly expand and contract
during this exercise.
6. Avoid or Limit Caffeine & Other Mood-
Altering Substances
• You may assume that a cup of coffee will perk you up. Or, an alcoholic
drink may tempt you to help take the edge off.
• Be careful with these habits—any mood-altering substance can
aggravate your nerves and actually worsen your anxiety.
• If you feel nervous, it’s best to avoid anything that could disrupt your
headspace.
• That said, in most cases, it’s important to try to eat something (even if
you feel a bit nauseous).
• A healthy snack or meal will provide you with the energy you need to
perform.
7. Focus on Your Material
• Most of the time, if an audience is watching you, they want to learn or feel
entertained.
• They aren’t necessarily there for you—they’re there for what you can offer
them.
• Remember this the next time you’re worried about your nervousness
showing through.
• Focus on your material. Focus on how you provide them with what they
need at the moment.
• Even if they notice some anxiety, they’ll be more focused on what they’re
learning/receiving than your performance.
• Subsequently, they will probably also root for your success!
8. Stick With What Works (And What
You Know)
• If you don’t normally wear high heels, don’t choose your presentation
as the day you wear them.
• If you don’t like making wisecracks, don’t force yourself to “be funny”
to fit in.
• Instead, try to stick with what you already know works.
• It’s okay to venture outside of the comfort zone, especially if you need
to take appropriate risks.
• But try to avoid making too many drastic changes at one time—doing
so will likely make you feel more nervous and uncomfortable.
9. Expose Yourself to Speaking Situations Often
• To get better at mastering stage fright, you must place yourself in
situations where you need to practice this skill.
• Commit to speaking more in group meetings. Offer to attend business
lunches or lead the presentations.
• Sit in the front of the room when taking a spin class.
• By exposing yourself regularly, you desensitize yourself to all the
excess nerves and uncertainty.
• You become better acquainted with your emotions, and they won’t
feel as debilitating.
10. Reassess After Your
Presentation
• After your presentation, take some time to reflect on what went well.
• Try and identify at least two or three accomplishments, no matter how
small they may seem.
• It’s reasonable to reflect on how you want to improve.
• In doing this, aim to be nonjudgmental with yourself.
• You are growing and learning, and beating on yourself will only
exacerbate shame.
Conclusion
• Most people experience performance anxiety and stage fright, and it
can feel uncomfortable and frustrating.
• However, therapy, reaching out to a support network, and practicing
positive coping skills can provide you with relief.
• It’s possible to overcome your anxiety and feel more confident when
you perform!
References
• https://www.choosingtherapy.com/stage-fright/
• Amy M. Bippus & John A. Daly (1999) What do people think causes
stage fright?: Naïve attributions about the reasons for public speaking
anxiety, Communication Education, 48:1, 63-72, DOI:
10.1080/03634529909379153
