Stage fright is a real problem for actors, public speakers and business presenters. It can stop them in their tracks on stage, it can make them forget their lines and it can reduce them to nauseous quivering wrecks. It is not nice. Some people argue that you should have some degree of stage fright and nervousness in order to have some "edge" on stage. Frankly, this is complete nonsense. Any amount of anxiety is performance limiting. Countless psychological studies confirm that nervousness limits your capabilities and reduces your cognitive abilities. In other words, if you believe the people who tell you things like "a little bit of nervousness does you good", you will actually be heading towards potential problems. You need to rid yourself completely of nerves and stage fright if you are to perform well in front of an audience.
So, what exactly is stage fright? It is a sense of impending disaster accompanied by physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, nausea and breathlessness. It is caused by hormonal changes in your body which are preparing you for a potentially negative situation - the "fight or flight" response.
The hormones get switched on when you face a threat, such as someone about to attack you, or when you think something negative is going to happen to you - such as when you are in a dark, cold room and you sense something eerie. What the hormones are doing is preparing your body to either fight that attacker or run away from the situation. In other words, it is getting your muscles, your heart and your lungs ready for action.
As a funny aside, I remember speaking at a conference a few years back - as normal, I was given the "graveyard shift" ie just after lunch! As is normal for me, I try to attend an earlier session to get some insights into the content and audience. Halfway through the first speaker, a guy in front of me fell fast asleep - to make matter worse he was snoring loudly. To make matters even worse, the speaker continued with his podium address!!
When writing your speech your internal reality goes through the motions of your introduction, the body of your speech and conclusion. When we work with clients to nail a performance, we visualize many scenarios, like pulling the body of the speech together from the conclusion and vice versa. It broadens the scope of what you can offer to your audience.
One other thing which is linked to the biological feedback mechanism is saliva production. When you are really frightened you will get a dry mouth. That's because your body says that you are in such a fearful situation that you will not be eating any time soon, so no saliva is needed.
Often,. public speakers are advised to drink water. This is really bad advice. Cold water on a hot dry mouth simply dries it out even more - it is basic physics...! What you need to do to get the saliva going again is to chew something. Chew some sweets, or some mints - and you must chew something, sucking a sweet will not do as it doesn't provide the physical action needed to help boost saliva production. By chewing a mint prior to going on stage you will produce saliva, which makes you feel more positive because you have got rid of your dry mouth, Plus the saliva production is a feedback mechanism which tells your body to switch off those negative hormones - after all if you have stopped to eat you can't be in a dangerous situation...!
So, what exactly is stage fright? It is a sense of impending disaster accompanied by physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, nausea and breathlessness. It is caused by hormonal changes in your body which are preparing you for a potentially negative situation - the "fight or flight" response.
The hormones get switched on when you face a threat, such as someone about to attack you, or when you think something negative is going to happen to you - such as when you are in a dark, cold room and you sense something eerie. What the hormones are doing is preparing your body to either fight that attacker or run away from the situation. In other words, it is getting your muscles, your heart and your lungs ready for action.
As a funny aside, I remember speaking at a conference a few years back - as normal, I was given the "graveyard shift" ie just after lunch! As is normal for me, I try to attend an earlier session to get some insights into the content and audience. Halfway through the first speaker, a guy in front of me fell fast asleep - to make matter worse he was snoring loudly. To make matters even worse, the speaker continued with his podium address!!
When writing your speech your internal reality goes through the motions of your introduction, the body of your speech and conclusion. When we work with clients to nail a performance, we visualize many scenarios, like pulling the body of the speech together from the conclusion and vice versa. It broadens the scope of what you can offer to your audience.
One other thing which is linked to the biological feedback mechanism is saliva production. When you are really frightened you will get a dry mouth. That's because your body says that you are in such a fearful situation that you will not be eating any time soon, so no saliva is needed.
Often,. public speakers are advised to drink water. This is really bad advice. Cold water on a hot dry mouth simply dries it out even more - it is basic physics...! What you need to do to get the saliva going again is to chew something. Chew some sweets, or some mints - and you must chew something, sucking a sweet will not do as it doesn't provide the physical action needed to help boost saliva production. By chewing a mint prior to going on stage you will produce saliva, which makes you feel more positive because you have got rid of your dry mouth, Plus the saliva production is a feedback mechanism which tells your body to switch off those negative hormones - after all if you have stopped to eat you can't be in a dangerous situation...!
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