I'm afraid to perform on stage what to do. How to overcome stage fright and public speaking? Stage Fright: What is it?

How to stop being afraid of public speaking? - a topical issue for people of all ages and professions. For the first time, we are faced with the need to speak to a serious audience already at the institute or at work. And if at school, speaking in front of classmates made you feel uncomfortable, and you caught yourself thinking - “I'm afraid to do this,” then work assignments where you need to convey certain information to professionals most likely terrify you.

But all this fear of public speaking is only in our head, so you can easily get rid of it by first explaining to yourself how it arises and what ways to overcome it exist.

The excitement before performing on stage is different, but we feel the same state, which is extremely difficult to overcome: hands and knees are shaking, the mouth dries up, the voice sounds as if from the outside, the audience turns into one frightening mass. To understand why fear controls us so much and how to deal with it, let's find out its causes.

Perhaps the very first and underestimated reason that provokes the fear of public speaking begins in childhood. When Small child speaks loudly in a public place for the first time, then the parent will silence him. In the future, this will be the explanation of why a person has a phobia to express thoughts loudly in front of an audience.

When the voice is clamped, it leads to excitement, and ultimately to fear. Add fuel to the fire, of course, will not be forgotten by school teachers who belittle abilities, and classmates who can hurt feelings without thinking about the consequences. These moments are the causes of social phobias, including provoking fear of public speaking.

The second reason why fearless public speaking bypasses us has to do with the psychological component of fear. In the past, fear was synonymous with danger. I felt cold - I tried to warm up faster, went to the edge of the abyss - I was afraid of heights and walked away. Under the influence of everyday stresses: work, study, economic and political changes in society, the instinct of self-preservation has undergone changes. As a result, we begin to worry in unjustified situations, including before performing on stage. The reasons that awaken this fear in us are the following:

Fear of people as such due to low social activity.
Fear of saying stupid things or making a reservation.
Constantly winding up the idea that the audience is negatively disposed towards you, and will closely evaluate the performance.

Another reason is not having the information necessary for the performance. And the last one is agoraphobia, or the fear of crowds. Unlike the fear of people, which is written above, this fear is deeper, and people do not even realize that they are afraid of large crowds of people and suffer from this type of phobia.

Why you shouldn't be afraid to perform on stage

Having understood the sources of the formation of a phobia for stage performances, you must first of all convince yourself that this fear does not exist, that we are starting to worry in vain.

The main point on the way to overcoming fear that you need to realize and feel is that public speaking is an opportunity to prove yourself from the best side and evaluate your skills in working with an audience. This is important because every day, at work or school, we communicate with people, and when this discomfort brings us, our productivity drops, our mood worsens, etc.

Fearless public speaking is the key to your self-confidence. By practicing skills by presenting information in front of other people, you bring actions to automatic execution, and over time, you will stop feeling uncomfortable when communicating with people. We summarize the useful aspects that can be obtained from performing on stage:

Experience in communicating with a large audience, which will help develop communication skills.
In the process of preparation, you will deepen your knowledge related to the topic of the speech.
At work conferences or student summits, your speech will be noticed by influential figures, which may do you a favor in the future.
At proper preparation to the reports, soon your speech will become more literate.

How to overcome stage fright

If you apply the above tips too late - the performance is already on the nose, and the phobia haunts you, and you cannot get rid of it, then use the following tricks:

Relax. When the body is tense, you involuntarily want to shrink and not be the center of attention. Relax your body so as not to reinforce psychological discomfort with physical tension.
Your posture on stage should be confident: both feet are on the ground, arms are not in a closed position, and your back is straight. Place your supporting leg forward for stability. This will allow blood circulation to circulate better, deliver more oxygen to the brain cells, and you will become less worried.
It is important to normalize breathing so that the body is not under stress. To do this, inhale, count to 4, then exhale sharply. Repeat 10 times.
If you feel that your voice breaks with excitement, do speech exercises in advance. Tell the speech without opening your mouth. Speak the letters as clearly and expressively as possible. This exercise will relax the muscles of the face and larynx and help to cope with anxiety. Take water with you, otherwise at the wrong moment you will lose your voice and have to interrupt the performance.
If a fearless public speech for no reason is accompanied by trembling in the knees, then try mentally directing attention to them. Or fool your brain and consciously make your knees tremble. After that, the trembling often stops.
Make eye contact with your listeners to keep in touch with them. This is how you show that the performance is aimed at their interest and return.
If you make a mistake, the right decision is not to focus on it, and continue speaking. In addition to the task of presenting information, it is important to be able to focus on the main thing. Therefore, if you succinctly omit the error, none of the listeners will even notice it.

The recommendations in this article will help overcome fear, and fearless public speaking will become a constant companion of stage performances. You will never say - "I'm afraid to perform on stage, I can't handle it." When you feel confident in front of an audience for the first time, you will realize that in life you have become much more liberated, and the phobia that haunts you has receded.

Sweaty palms. Rapid pulse. You know this feeling. Whether you have five or fifty people in front of you, public speaking is a painful ordeal for most people. Many of us suffer from an intense fear of being in public. Every time we have to give a speech in front of a more or less large audience, the stomach tightens, and the throat constricts so much that it is impossible to utter a word.

Life is such that if you plan to present any information (and you most likely will have to), then you need to be able to effectively communicate your ideas, speaking to groups of people of various sizes. In trying to overcome the fear of public speaking, it is first necessary to understand why stage fright plays such a role in our lives.

We hope you enjoy reading this research on how to overcome this common phobia.

Stage Fright: What is it?

Often a few weeks before a presentation or speech, people begin to think: “What will happen if the audience does not like my speech, or someone thinks that I myself do not understand what I am talking about?”. All people are programmed to worry about their reputation almost more than about everything else in the world. Responsible for this are the “ancient” parts of our brain that control the reaction to threats to reputation, and it is extremely difficult for us to control them.

It was these responses to threats that Charles Darwin explored when he visited the serpentarium at the London Zoo. Darwin tried to remain completely calm, bringing his face as close as possible to the glass, behind which was an African viper, ready to pounce on him. However, every time the snake made a throw, he jumped back in fear. Darwin recorded his findings in his diary:

"My mind and will were powerless against the idea of a danger that I had never experienced"

He concluded that his response to fear was an ancient mechanism, unaffected by the characteristics of modern civilization. This response, known as "fight or flight," is a natural process designed to protect our bodies from harm.

What happens in our nervous system?

When we think about negative consequences, a part of the brain called the hypothalamus activates and fires up the pituitary gland, which is responsible for producing adrenocorticotropic hormone. This hormone stimulates the adrenal glands, which leads to the release of adrenaline into the blood.

It is at this point that many of us feel a reaction to this process.

The muscles in your neck and back contract (forcing you to slouch and duck your head), distorting your posture, trying to force you into a "fetal position"

If you resist this by straightening your shoulders and lifting your head, your legs and arms will tremble as the muscles of your body already instinctively prepare for the impending attack.

Blood pressure rises and digestive system stops to maximize income nutrients and oxygen to vital organs. A consequence of the suspension of digestion is dry mouth and sensations of "butterflies" in the stomach.

Even the pupils dilate at this point, and so it becomes difficult for you to see up close (for example, to read the text of a speech), but it is easier to see far away (so you notice the expressions on the faces of the audience).

Your stage fright is also affected by three main aspects, which we will now look at.

1. Genes

Genetics play a huge role in how much you get nervous in social situations. For example, although John Lennon has performed on stage thousands of times, he has been known to throw up before each stage appearance.

Some of us are just genetically programmed to feel more excited about public speaking than others. In addition, it is believed that the excitement before going on stage, despite great experience, is a sign of a really good artist or speaker who cares about the quality of his performance and the impression of the public.

2. Level of training

We've all heard the expression, "Repetition is the mother of learning." The main benefit of rehearsals is that with them comes experience, and with experience, the nervousness that spoils the performance decreases. In other words, the more confident you are in your presentation, the more you feel less nervous about public speaking.

To prove this thesis, in 1982 a group of psychologists studied pool players: in one case, they played alone, and in the other - in front of the audience.

“Strong players potted more balls when playing in front of spectators, while weaker players potted less in this case. Interestingly, strong players improved their game in the presence of spectators, compared to the game in the absence of them.

What follows from this: if you are perfectly familiar with your presentation, you will most likely perform even better in front of an audience than when you rehearse alone or in front of a friend.

3. Risks

If you are giving a presentation where business is at stake, or the whole country is watching you, chances are high that if you fail, your reputation will suffer in the most serious way.

The higher the stakes, the more likely you are to ruin your reputation if the performance fails. Because of this, even more adrenaline is produced, which is manifested by paralyzing fear and nervousness.

The scientists also investigated the impact of reputational threats in online communities. For example, many eBay sellers worry about their reputation as it directly affects their earnings. One negative review can discredit a seller's profile and lead to a drop in sales.

Incidentally, one study found that a good seller reputation on eBay adds 7.6% to the price of their items.

A good reputation protects us, but it also provokes the fear that one careless move can destroy the weight gained in the eyes of the audience and deprive you of opportunities in the future.

How to Overcome Stage Fright - 4 Step Guide

Now that we know where our fear of public speaking comes from, these 4 steps can help you improve your presentation skills and overcome stage fright.

1. Preparation

Those who often visit conferences have probably seen speakers who spent several minutes reviewing their slides before speaking. This is not the best way to prepare for a quality presentation. Have you ever seen a musician cramming his songs before a concert? Never!

Nor is it fair to an audience that gives you 10, 20, or 60 minutes of their attention.

What is the best way to prepare for a presentation?

About a week before, draw up an outline for your story (about 15-20 slides) reflecting on the content and using short captions and sketchy drawings. Here is an example of one such plan.

This will give you confidence, as you will know the main points you want to cover, while at the same time leaving a lot of room for rehearsal and fine-tuning the slides.

Then write a plan for the speech itself, which will look something like this:

1. Introduction
2. main topic 1
3. thesis
4. example (something unique from my experience)
5. thesis
6. main theme 2
7. thesis
8. example (something unique from my experience)
9. thesis
10. main theme 3
11. thesis
12. example
13. thesis
14. conclusion

By formatting your presentation in the form of “thesis, example, thesis”, you can not only visualize the entire presentation as a whole, but also think deeply about what you are talking about in order to fully satisfy the needs of the audience.

First, write down the main themes and theses, then return to the introduction and end the story with a conclusion.

Start your introduction by talking about yourself and why your audience should listen to your presentation. Tell the audience directly how your performance will help them get in the mood.

Then rehearse each part of the speech (introduction, topic 1, topic 2, etc.) 5-10 times.

Then read your presentation aloud from beginning to end at least 10 times.

This may seem like overkill, but remember that Steve Jobs rehearsed for hundreds of hours before delivering his legendary Apple presentations.

2. How to rehearse like everything is “real”

During rehearsals, it is important to create the environment that you would expect during a real presentation. This eliminates the suspense and you'll spend less energy thinking about the details when you're on stage.

In 2009, a group of researchers found that when we have a lot of visual stimuli in front of our eyes, the brain only responds to one or two of them. This means that we can only focus on 1-2 subjects.

It follows that all you need to focus on is connecting with your audience and getting your story across to them, not trying to remember which slide should go next and which part of the stage you should be standing on.

During rehearsals, turn on the same slides on the computer that will go in the real performance, use the same remote control and present the information every time as if everything is happening for real.

3. Breathe deeply, stretch and start

The most exciting thing about public speaking is those last minutes before going on stage. To overcome nervousness, you can go to the toilet, stretch your arms up and take three deep breaths and exit. This is how it looks from the side:

This exercise activates the hypothalamus and stimulates the production of hormones responsible for relaxation.

By the way, scientists studied the effects of slow breathing on a group of 46 experienced musicians and found that one session of such breathing helps to cope with nervous excitement, especially for those musicians who are very worried.

The feelings associated with stage fright are usually strong not during the performance, but before it, so take a minute before going out to the audience, breathe and stretch.

4. After the presentation, schedule the following

If you want to excel in the art of public speaking, you need to do it more often. With each new performance, you will feel less nervous and more confident.

At first, perform at low-level events. For example, it could be a presentation to family members about the need to go on vacation. :)

Anything to practice speaking in front of other people.

Instead of a conclusion: how to get rid of "uh" and "mmm"

A couple of "uh" and "mmm" interjections won't ruin your presentation, but if they fill up every transition between slides or talking points, they can become distracting. In an attempt to abandon these interjections, you will have to suffer, especially if they have already become an integral part of your speech.

One way to get rid of these words is to use the splitting method, that is, to divide the presentation into short verbal bursts, between which there will be small pauses.

Public speaking can be intimidating, but it's an integral part of just about any career. I hope that understanding the causes of stage fright and using the suggested techniques will help you shine in your next presentation.

Many people are afraid to speak in public, whether it's a speech, a toast at a friend's wedding, or in class at the blackboard. Fortunately, you can make public speaking less stressful for yourself with some of the tips in this article. This skill may never be your forte, but you will be less likely to drop your performance right in the middle in front of a lot of people.

Steps

Part 1

Preparing for a performance

Know the topic of your presentation. Part of becoming a relaxed and dynamic speaker is making sure you know what you're talking about and know it well. Lack of knowledge can make you feel nervous and insecure during your performance, which your audience will quickly understand.

The key to success is advance preparation. Take the time to plan your speech so that it seems natural and logical. Also, you should make sure that you can play the speech in such a way as to emphasize your positive qualities of the speaker and muffle the existing shortcomings.
Even during public speaking, sometimes you have to answer questions like in a lesson, so you definitely need to know the topic of your speech well. This will help you feel more confident, which will also create good impression on your listeners.

Train your body. Even though public speaking is not a race, you need to make sure that your body listens to you well. This involves much more than just refraining from stomping from foot to foot during a performance (calm your toes and you will stop stomping). This also includes correct breathing so that you can plan and pronounce phrases correctly.
- Speak from the diaphragm. This will help you sound clear and loud so that the audience can hear you without too much effort and shouting from your side. To practice, stand up straight and place your hand on your stomach. Inhale and exhale. Count to five as you inhale, and then to ten as you exhale. You will feel your stomach begin to relax. You need to learn how to breathe and speak in such a relaxed state.
- Modulate your own tone of voice. Determine the pitch of your voice. Is she too tall? Too low? A relaxed state, a comfortable posture (standing) and proper breathing will help you find a more comfortable and pleasant tone of voice for your performance.
- Avoid choking your breath and breathing in with your upper chest, as both can make you anxious and tense your throat. As a result, your voice will become more tense and constrained.
Know the structure of your own speech. Knowing your own speech is just as important as knowing the topic you will be talking about. There are various methods of giving a speech, so you need to choose the one that is most convenient for you.
- To give a speech, you will need to prepare cards with abstracts or a speech plan. Or you can just memorize the abstracts if you have a good memory (do not try to do this from memory if you are not one hundred percent sure that you will not forget anything).
- You don't want to write down every detail on the abstract cards (leave some space for improvisation), but it's a good idea to write helpful notes on them, such as "pause after this message" or "remember to take a breath" so you don't actually forget about these things.
Learn your own speech. You don't necessarily have to memorize your speech or its main points, but it can be a huge help in appearing more confident and knowledgeable about the topic of the speech. However, make sure you have enough time for this.
- Rewrite your speech several times. This method helps to remember speech better. The more you write it, the easier it will be for you to remember it. After you have rewritten the speech many times, test yourself to see how well you remember it. If there are parts of your speech that you can't remember, rewrite them a few more times.
- Divide the speech into smaller parts and memorize each of them separately. It can be really hard to remember the whole speech. In this case, for memorization, it would be better to divide it into small parts (start learning speech by memorizing the most important semantic part, and then move on to memorizing the remaining main parts, and so on).
- For memorization, use the method of locations. Divide your speech into paragraphs and key points. Visualize in your mind a certain picture for each key moment (this is similar to imagining Harry Potter when saying the name of J.K. Rowling and discussing what a significant contribution she made to children's literature). Decide on a location for each key moment (e.g. Hogwarts for Rowling, Meadow for Stephenie Meyer, etc.). Now you just need to move between locations (for example, imagine that you are flying on a broomstick from Hogwarts to a meadow). If you have many things to talk about, then put them in special places around the main location (for example, take the main hall of Hogwarts to discuss the popularity of Harry Potter, or the Quidditch field to report on the writer's contribution to genre redefinition).
Get to know your audience. You need to know who you'll be speaking to, as certain speech techniques may suit one type of audience and be downright boring for other audiences, or even piss off certain groups of people. For example, you can't be informal during a business presentation, but you can use an informal style when communicating with college students.
- humor is great way to take the pressure off yourself and the audience. There are usually certain jokes that are appropriate for most public situations (but not always!). It's a good idea to start with a little joke to lighten the mood and impress the audience with confidence. To do this, you can tell some funny (and true) story.
- Understand what you are trying to convey to the audience. Do you want to give her new information? Rewording old information? Persuade people to do something? This will help you focus on what you are trying to achieve.
Practice speaking. This is extremely important if you want to perform well in public. It is not enough just to know the material that you are trying to convey to people. You need to practice giving a speech several times in order to start feeling comfortable during the speech. This is similar to breaking in shoes. When you put on a new pair of shoes for the first few times, you get blisters, but soon you start to feel comfortable in well-fitting shoes.
- Try to visit the place where you will perform and practice there. This will allow you to become significantly more confident, as you will be more familiar with the place.
- Record your rehearsal on video and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the performance. While watching a video of yourself speaking might seem like a daunting task, it's a great way to discover your strengths and weaknesses. You may notice your nervous tics (like shifting from foot to foot or stroking your hair with your hands) and you can work on eradicating or minimizing them.
Part 2
Working out the content of your speech
1. Choose the right speaking style. There are three speaking styles: informative, persuasive, and entertaining. Although they may overlap, each of them has its own specific functions that it performs.
  - The main purpose of the informative speaking style is to communicate facts, details and examples. Even if you are trying to convince an audience of something, it is based on facts and information.
  - A persuasive speaking style is all about persuading the audience. In it, you can use facts to help, but you will also use emotions, logic, your own experience, and so on.
  - The purpose of an entertaining speaking style is to fulfill people's need for social interaction, but it often uses some aspect of informative speech (for example, in a wedding toast or in a thank you speech).
2. Avoid a blurry intro. You must have heard speeches beginning with, "When I was asked to speak, I didn't know what to say..." Don't do it. This is one of the most boring ways to start your speech. He goes around and around the speaker's personal problems and is not at all attractive to listeners, as the speaker believes.
  - Start your talk by giving the main and overarching idea and three (or so) main facts that support it, so that you can talk about them in more detail later. Listeners will remember the introduction and conclusion of your speech better than you yourself will remember any of its parts.
  - From the very beginning, open up your presentation in a way that captures the audience's attention. This implies a message amazing facts or striking statistics, or asking a question and then answering it and dispelling any public doubt before it even arises.
3. Have a clear structure for your speech. So that your speech does not constantly stumble over every word, you need to come up with a clear format for it. Remember, you are not trying to overwhelm the audience with facts and ideas.
  - Your speech should have one clear, overarching idea. Ask yourself what are you trying to convey to the public? What do you want people to take away from your speech? Why should they agree with what you say? For example, if you are preparing a lecture on trends in national literature, consider why your audience should care. You shouldn't just throw facts around.
  - You will need a few basic arguments that support your main idea or position. It's usually best to have three arguments. For example, if your main idea is that children's literature is getting more diverse, have one argument that argues for new trends, a second argument that shows readers' perceptions of this diversity, and a third argument that talks about why this diversity in children's literature matters. .
4. Use the correct language. Language is extremely important in both writing and oral speech. You must refrain from using a large number words that are too cumbersome and long, because no matter how smart your audience is, they will quickly lose interest in you if you constantly hit them on the head with a thick dictionary.
  - Use flashy adverbs and adjectives. You need to bring your own speech and audience to life. For example, instead of saying "children's literature presents a range of different perspectives," say "children's literature presents a new range of exciting and diverse perspectives."
  - Use figurative juxtaposition to awaken your audience and make them remember your thoughts. Winston Churchill often used the phrase "Iron Curtain" to describe secrecy. Soviet Union. Figurative juxtaposition tends to linger better in the minds of listeners (as can be seen from the fact that the "Iron Curtain" has become a catchphrase).
  - Replays also serve as a great way to remind your audience of the importance of your speech (think of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream..." speech). This emphasizes more of the main arguments and allows you to remember the main idea of the speech.
5. Keep it simple. It is necessary that the audience easily follow the course of your speech and continue to remember it after the end of your speech. Therefore, it should not only contain figurative comparisons and striking facts, but also be quite simple and close to the essence. If you wander through the swamp of little facts related to your performance, you will lose the interest of the audience.
  - Use short sentences and phrases. This can be done to create a special dramatic effect. For example, the phrase "never again" may be used. It is short, charged with meaning and has considerable power.
  - You can use short and meaningful quotes. very many famous people said something funny or meaningful in fairly short sentences. You can try to use a pre-prepared statement of one of them. For example, Franklin D. Roosevelt said: "Be sincere and brief, and immediately sit down after the speech."
Part 3
Public speaking
1. Deal with anxiety. Almost every person gets a little nervous before they have to appear in front of people for a speech. The main thing is that at this stage your speech is already ready, and you know how to present it. And fortunately, there are some special methods for managing anxiety.
  - Before you stand in front of an audience and start talking, clench and unclench your fists a few times to deal with the adrenaline rush. Take three deep and slow breaths. This will clear your respiratory system and you will be ready to breathe properly while giving a speech.
  - Stand straight in a confident but relaxed posture with your feet shoulder-width apart. This will reassure your brain of your confidence, and it will be easier for you to give a speech.
2. Smile at your audience. Smile at people when they enter the room (if you are there), or smile when you yourself appear in front of the public. This will give people the impression of your confidence and will lighten the mood for both you and them.
  - Smile even if you are confused (especially if you are confused). This will continue to trick your brain into making your body feel more confident and relaxed.
3. Give a presentation. A performance of any kind in public is always a performance. You can make your speech interesting or boring depending on the presentation you give. During the speech, you, in your own way, must pull on a theatrical mask.
4. Engage your audience. You have to make sure that she is under your control, which means she is immersed in the material of your speech, regardless of its content. In this matter, an interesting speaker plays a greater role than interesting topic discussion.
  - Look at the public. Divide the room in your mind into sections and alternately make eye contact with one person from each section.
  - During the speech, ask the audience questions. You can open each individual part of your presentation with questions that people should try to answer before you share your information with them. This will make them feel like they are part of your performance.
5. Speak slowly. One of the most common mistakes people make in public is trying to speak too fast. Your normal speaking speed is significantly faster than required for speaking in public. If you feel like you're talking too slowly, you're probably doing it right.
  - Take a sip of water if you start to choke on your own speech. This will give the audience some time to reflect on what has already been said and give you a chance to slow down.
  - If your friend or relative is in the audience, arrange for them to give you a signal if you start talking too fast. Keep an eye on the person during your speech periodically to make sure everything is going according to plan.

Each person at least once had to speak in public - some have a professional duty associated with this, for example, teachers, politicians, artists, managers, lawyers. Now there is even a separate specialty - the speaker.

According to psychologists, stage fright is so developed that it is felt by about 95% of the total population. Fear of public speaking is one of the most common fears that causes a lot of inconvenience and also worsens a person's condition. Consider how to overcome the fear of speaking, and what treatment modern medicine offers.

Description of the phobia

The fear of public speaking is called the medical term glossophobia, and in some cases it really should be treated. This fear of public speaking was familiar to many outstanding people. Faina Ranevskaya, musician Glenn Gould, singer Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau were afraid of the stage among celebrities.

For many, the fear of speaking in front of an audience becomes a serious stress blow, in which the absence of any treatment and proper therapy leads to the development of a full-fledged mental disorder and social phobia.

Under the influence of fear, a person develops the so-called protective behavior. Such behavior helps to get rid of stress only at first, and if the problem is not solved in the future, a person cannot cope with fear and protective behavior becomes his normal daily pattern.

Such behavior begins to interfere with personal and career growth, forms mental problems and a distorted perception of reality.

That is why the fear of speaking should be recognized at the initial stages, you should not be afraid to resort to the help of a specialist who will determine in each individual case how not to be afraid to speak.

Typical and atypical fear

Consider how a phobia manifests itself, since it is impossible to overcome the fear of public speaking without an accurate identification of the pathology. In addition to glossophobia, there is another name - peyraphobia. It is worth distinguishing from it the ordinary excitement that a person experiences before speaking to an audience, and a pathological fear of public speaking.

The reaction is quite adequate when a person is worried before an oral entrance exam, a performance with a musical number. In the circle of acquaintances, such people easily cope with fear and calmly demonstrate their talents.

Psychologists say that a little anxiety in front of the public has its advantages. Before the upcoming performance, a person concentrates attention, becomes more collected and energetic, as a result, the course of any public performances is kept under control and goes well.

A person who suffers from stage fright experiences true fear both before and after the performance, in addition, he is afraid even after the end of the performance, he cannot cope with fear, even if he performed well.

Such a fear remains both in front of an unfamiliar and in front of a familiar audience; it cannot be overcome, regardless of the number of listeners and the degree of acquaintance with them.

Symptoms

A phobia can have a variety of causes, but almost always causes the same symptoms. Before the performance, only after seeing future listeners, a person instantly feels a strong emotional tension.

The cerebral cortex, endocrine glands, sympathetic system are activated, resulting in work internal organs changes in this way - muscles tighten, facial expressions and gestures change, speech changes are also observed that are difficult to cope with - a change in the timbre of the voice, the speed of speech.
The autonomic system is responsible excessive sweating, rapid heartbeat, irregular blood pressure headache and tightness in the chest.
When people are terribly afraid of a performance, there is a dry mouth, trembling and confusion of the voice, a complete loss of the ability to speak articulately, in addition, even involuntary urination.
Sometimes, with high nervous excitability, a person can even faint, and before that, feel nausea, weakness, dizziness, his skin becomes pale, covered with perspiration.

The strength of the symptoms and the complex of symptoms is individual, depending on the characteristics of the person and his character, state of the body and mood.

Reasons for the development of a phobia

The main reasons for the development of this phobia are both genetic predisposition and social factors.

There is a genetic tendency to certain varieties of fear, for example, to social phobia, or congenital increased anxiety. A person is constantly trying to meet certain standards, afraid of being misunderstood and rejected, unfairly assessed, isolated from society. Among the characteristics that are inherited, note the temperament, the level of anxiety and emotional perception. Parents and children can be very similar in this, having the same fears.

The most serious, underlying causes of phobias are social conditions. The development of phobias is facilitated by excessively strict upbringing, intimidation and threats in childhood by parents, excessive susceptibility to the opinions of others.
A negative assessment of one's abilities and capabilities, a negative experience in childhood, which was subjected to vivid criticism, a distortion of a stressful situation and its exaggeration, can also contribute to the development of a phobia.
Pathology can develop due to low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence in front of listeners, poor presentation preparation and lack of knowledge. For many, a phobia develops precisely for the reason that there was very little experience in performing.
On the other hand, glossophobia often occurs against the backdrop of a constant striving for perfection, and often accompanies perfectionists and people who value social evaluation.

Coping Methods

How to get rid of stage fright, and what treatment is indicated for such a pathology? Specialized help is needed only when the fear becomes panicky and neurotic, passing all the lines. In other cases, overcoming the fear of public speaking is possible with the help of auto-training.

The main ways to overcome stage fright are, first of all, in the awareness of this problem, and then in the analysis of the reasons that led to the development of pathology. Then solutions are developed and tested in practice.

Removing the uncertainty factor

To overcome the fear of public speaking, you should get rid of the uncertainty factor of the audience sitting in front of you. Analyze the purpose of their meeting, what they expect from what they heard, and what kind of reaction you would like to get from the audience. Analysis of the situation allows you to avoid the unknown and stop being afraid of the unknown reaction of people.

disillusionment

Nervous excitement increases when a person concentrates on negative traits public. Among such traits, skeptical smiles, disapproving gestures, inattention, and whispering during a speech are usually noted.

You can change your own state by mentally endowing people with positive qualities, paying attention not to negative, but to positive features - approving gestures, interested and attentive looks.

Another good way to eliminate the illusion that everyone in the room is against you is to focus on a positive result work done.

Speech planning

One of top tips about how to overcome stage fright and how to cope with nervousness, is a thorough preparation for the performance. Confidence in your own preparation and the sufficiency of information allows you to relax a little and tune in to a quality performance.

For example, when preparing a report, one should first of all analyze and study the source data obtained from various authoritative sources. Then create a unique text and write down the main theses of your report, make a speech plan- what to say and when. Choose strong arguments in your favor and do not lose sight of them throughout the report, anticipate possible questions and prepare answers to them.

Ways to overcome fear lie in a thorough rehearsal - to stop stuttering and stammering during a speech, rehearse the report in front of a mirror, or read it to your loved ones. Since it is impossible to stop being afraid without a certain experience, a rehearsal in front of your closest ones will be a good workout.

Recognition of imperfection

Before you fight your fears, accept the fact that the importance of other people can be greatly exaggerated. Do not give too much importance to criticism, skepticism and sarcasm, realize that everyone has the right to make a mistake. Also remember that even well-wishers can wishful thinking, because not a single opinion around can be the ultimate truth.

Learn Techniques to Increase Self-Esteem and Feeling dignity, feel your own value and the uniqueness of your personality. You will also have to accept the fact that other individuals are just as unique and have the right to make mistakes in exactly the same way as you.

Get ready for a positive outcome

You can effectively overcome fear if you focus on the process of achieving the goal, and not on the result. Fix your actions in the present, as if looking at yourself from the side without exaggeration and understatement. Imagine the positive aspects of your being on stage - this will allow you to defeat fear and get rid of it faster each time in the future.

Pathology treatment may include physical activity, learning the technique of proper breathing, training the work of the left hemisphere of the brain, for example, working with mathematical calculations or other exact science. One of the pleasant ways to fight is to hum a favorite tune, meditate, practice body posture to achieve more open and restrained positions.

I stand on the stage, looking over the heads of hundreds of people who are staring at me - they are waiting for me to start talking, to say at least something - and an inner voice reminds me: "You are not the right person for this."

With my talk, I opened the TEDx conference, and therefore, I had to set the tone for the whole event. This is a huge responsibility and in addition one of the most important performances in my life. In any other circumstance, I would answer my inner voice: “Yes, you are right. I shouldn't be here. I am an introvert. I am an editor. I can’t even finish a sentence in a conversation with my own wife without thinking about what could be said differently.”

But, fortunately, I prepared in advance. He prepared not only a speech, but also knew how to cope with such destructive impulses. I knew what to say, I believed in what I was going to say, I had a plan in place in case the ideal circumstances I was preparing for weren't the same in reality.

Today I can stand on stage in front of thousands of people and confidently speak my mind. If I'm lucky, a few gimmicks and a couple of jokes won't be a complete failure. But it was not always so.

1. Do not talk about what you do not understand

Sounds like useless, obvious advice. This is wrong. If you follow it perfectly, you will not really need the rest of the points from this article - you will do everything well anyway.

One day, after a few speeches, when you have established yourself as a good speaker, opportunities will open up for you to speak somewhere in faraway places with pleasant titles. There is one catch - the content. You may have established yourself as an expert on canary mating games, and then you receive an email inviting you to attend a conference and talk about global trends in paper clip sales.

You should thank for the invitation and politely decline.

The reason is simple: you don't know what to say about it. Even if you try to collect information in a short time, you still won't get a good presentation - you are not interested in the topic itself. In fact, you do not want to talk about it and the inviting party is not interested in you to come up with a good story. They just want you to be at the event because they saw your video and thought you were a famous person.

Therefore, such simple advice is difficult to follow. You are a beginner, you want to stand out, it seems that this is a great opportunity for you.

If you've ever bought something with the hope that it will work like this, but in fact it does not work like this (think of the commercial that prompted you to make a rash purchase), then you understand the disappointment that awaits both parties from the very beginning. .

2. Specify transitions in the script and nothing else

If you're like me, you've got a stern editor on the inside, sitting on your shoulder with a red marker in hand and a pair of glasses on your nose, ready to casually throw out, “Deuce! And stay after school,” for every sentence you said. No matter what you say, the feeling that you could have said better never leaves you.

When people like us usually write a script or plan. When writing a script, there is every chance of finding the right wording.

As the ancient Chinese strategist and warrior Sun Tzu wrote: "No plan survives the first meeting with the enemy." This is the main problem with the detailed plan. In our case, of course, there is no enemy, but there is a world full of uncertainty. One has only to step on the stage, everything becomes real and there is no second take. The more detailed your script, the more likely it is to mess things up. When you're new to the world of public speaking, standing on stage and trying to remember what's next is the last thing you need.

So what should be done instead? Just improvise? Not really.

While the detailed scenario will bring you more problems than help, you'll need a different sort of plan. You need to start from the starting points in your story (you know, there are things that you can’t forget, even if you try hard) and write down the moments of transition from one thought to another.

Personal stories work well because:

The audience loves them, they help to establish communication.
You don't need to write them down because you already remember them.

We've been telling each other stories for as long as we've been human. This is how we communicated information long before the invention of paper. We are genetically programmed to remember them (so they are easier to present), and more importantly, the audience is genetically programmed to listen to them (and become happier listening to stories).

Because the same story can be freely told differently each time, you don't have to write everything down to the last word exactly. Enough of the basic points, your human inclinations will take care of the rest. Writing down the main points will help connect the stories together.

3. Practice a little more than you need to.

My friend Chris Guillebeau, founder and host of The World Domination Summit, makes at least 10 talks every weekend throughout the year. Sometimes he tells a story. Another time reminds the audience of 15 important things that were discussed before the lunch break.

As a WDS member and aspiring speaker, I once asked him, “How do you remember everything you need to say, in full, every time you step on stage?” I was hoping for a secret life hack, but his answer - and it's true - was the most common: "I practice a lot."

Now I do this too. And it works. Whenever I have to give a speech, I rehearse at least 2-3 times. It takes time, it's often boring, you have to practice for days or weeks, and you don't feel like practicing again. But you are not doing this for yourself. You are doing this for your audience. If you want to be remembered by her, you have to immerse yourself in unattractive, boring, monotonous work.

4. Break your report into parts

Chris Gillibo advised not only to practice a lot. He also mentioned that he is working on separate parts. He tries to break his presentation into pieces and then put them back together.

Now I do the same, and it reduces the preparation time. By working on parts, I can develop and decide on different parts of the presentation in parallel. If I stumble on some piece of text in the middle (or worse, at the very beginning), I don't have to wait for the perfect working state without doing anything - I can work on other parts until I fix the issue with the problematic one.

Finish your report faster, practice more time, until it becomes a habit. Nothing builds confidence more than success, and nothing builds success like constant practice.

Some people exercise only as much as they need to. When I say "practice more", I mean that you have to rehearse more than you need.

5. Reduce speed. Get down slowly

A common problem for all introverts like me: if we start talking, we start chasing the thoughts we were trying to get rid of. My head is an idea generator that is constantly moving forward. My mouth, on the contrary, speaks slowly, trying not to make a mistake.

But at one fine moment it breaks through you, and you release all the accumulated thoughts outside. Trying to keep up with your brain is like an ant trying to keep a bull running down a mountainside. But trying to speed up your speech in order to say everything that was born in your head leads to exactly the opposite effect: you start to stutter, get lost, repeat yourself. Therefore, you are even more nervous and move away from the planned speech.

If your idea is important, then it deserves all the time it takes to express it. A more useful approach is to think slower. Not quite slowly, of course, rather, with more caution.

This problem is due to carelessness: you do not connect thoughts with each other, but instead start jumping from one to another. A few jumps off the road - and you can hardly remember where you are.

It's easy to stick to one thought. When you notice that your thoughts have taken you far ahead, just go back and repeat the desired idea.

6. Don't get lost!

When I was preparing for my TEDx talk, I called in my friend Mike Pacchione, a public speaking expert, to point out my shortcomings. He caught me on the fact that I often deviated from the topic.

It happens when the idea you're talking about disappears and you decide to follow it. The problem is that mind wandering rarely ends with one idea. Once you get lost once, you keep falling deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole.

The problem is not that you can't tell interesting stories while wandering, but that as soon as you start wandering, you get completely lost. How does a tourist get lost in the forest? He takes one step off the path to look at the plants. And then: “Oh, mushrooms,” and a few more steps to the side. "Hey, that tree up ahead looks great," and it's only when he decides to go back that he realizes he has no idea how to do it.

The temptation to wander in thoughts can be high, but then it is very difficult to return to the right path.

There are two practical ways to solve this problem. The first is to follow tip #3 and practice a lot. The more you practice, the more you remember your own stories and know where they can lead. Another solution is that the only thing that can help when you're standing on stage and you feel like you're getting off topic is to get the extra thoughts out of your head.

Your brain doesn't want to follow abstract thoughts, it wants to process them. The best way to stay on track is to remind yourself that you can think about them... but not right now. Get them out of your head. Perhaps they can be used during the presentation of the same report in the future. But, for heaven's sake, don't try to use them now.

7. Create a soothing ritual

My heart was about to break chest. I felt that all the muscles were tense, and the field of vision was beginning to narrow. Breathing began to quicken. "What's happening?" I asked myself. I was on the edge panic attack. I needed to take a step onto the stage to give the most important speech of my life, but the only thing I could think about was that I was going to send everything to hell. This gave an outlet for the stress reaction, and everything went downhill.

Fortunately, I was instructed what to do if this happened. Vanessa Van Edwards, one of the greatest speakers I have had the pleasure of knowing, helped me prepare. She shared that she, too, gets nervous before big presentations. If she hadn't told me this herself, I never would have thought.

The secret she is using? Calming technique. Every good speaker has one, and every good speaker knows that sticking to it is necessary to show their best side.

What Vanessa does: She finds a quiet place where, a few minutes before her scheduled appearance on stage, she straightens her back, breathes deeply and imagines success.

This may sound a little silly, but it actually works. I myself use this method.

Before an important event, it is absolutely normal for the body to start releasing a lot of the stress hormone cortisol. We become especially sensitive to stressful situations. Just thousands of years ago, feeling stress and not responding to it could have cost you your life.

It doesn't happen often today - I can't remember reports of "death by indecision" - but our biology hasn't kept up with us. The terrible irony is that the more you allow stress to take over, the more likely you are to make a mistake and perform poorly.

Therefore, before you go on stage, check yourself and your stress level. Excitement is normal. And anxiety is bad. Always save yourself a few minutes before going out to calm down.

8. When you're wrong, keep talking.

I was a big fan of the TV show The Colbert Report. I rarely even missed an episode. It was one of the most popular live "news" on television. If you've watched the show, you may have noticed that Steven got his words mixed up in almost every episode. He could construct a phrase in such a way that it lost its meaning, he could skip a word or pronounce it incorrectly.

But you might not have noticed this, because outwardly Colbert did not react in any way. When he made a mistake, he didn't stutter or try to fix it. He just kept talking because he knew what all public speaking introverts should remember:

context is more important than details.

He could make a mistake and not even pay any attention to it. And no one noticed this, because no one listened to every spoken word. Everyone listened to the context.

Far worse than a small mistake is drawing attention to it. If you stumble, use your sense of humor to smooth things over. Shut up and move on.

9. Remember that the audience wants everything to be successful.

Probably the simplest advice that everyone gives helped me learn how to use all the previous tips in action:

Always remember that the audience doesn't want you to fail.

When you're worried about the big event ahead, this simple truth can easily be forgotten. Your audience is not going to kick you off the stage. She wants to know what you want to teach them. The congregation spends their time and perhaps money to listen to you. People don't give their time and money for a bad experience. But just the opposite.

When you're nervous before a speech, it's easy to think, "What if someone doesn't like what I have to say?" This thought starts to spread, and soon you will start asking yourself, “What if everyone hates me?”

This way of thinking leads to bad performances. Don't think so. Don't let yourself swerve down that road, because the audience is really on your side. She wants you to succeed. And, if you follow these nine tips, you will have all the advantages to be on top.