Tips on Overcoming Stage Fright

Stage fright, it's a thing many people have but not many people discuss. 40% to 80% of people suffer from it and that ranges from celebrities such as Adele and Rihanna to ordinary people such as me and you.

I have been a musician for the past 13 years and at the age of 18 I can confidently say that yes, I still suffer from stage fright now and again, however I am much, much better at being on stage. It is not an easy thing to conquer but there are many way to make it more manageable and so by using advice from previous teachers and myself, here are 5 ways to help overcome stage fright.

1. Be Afraid of the Day When You Go on Stage and Have No Stage Fright

This is a big one and when you think deeper into its meaning it starts to make sense. Stage fright can be beneficial for you because it means you double and even triple check that everything is in order and you care about your presentation; how the audience perceives you. Whereas, if you have no slight fear of being on stage and performing or speaking then more things are at risk of going unchecked and you probably should have just stayed at home. So don't worry about being nervous before going on stage.

2. Toilet Time?

Yes, I know what you're thinking, why am I going on about toilets? One of the extra things I do is I teach music, voluntarily to children aged 5 to 11 and I love their reaction when I tell them about this method. It's simple but effective and all you have to do is imagine the person/people you are on stage in front of, sat on the toilet. It could also be the scariest person you know, either dead or alive. Try it now. Did it make you smile or even laugh? If it did then it worked for you. Now use that for your next performance and imagine the audience on the toilet or in another equally funny situation because laughter is more powerful than fear and if you can cope to laugh then the situation isn't that scary.

3. Prepare

It sounds almost obvious when I mention to prepare your presentations and what you're going to say. If you are properly prepared then you should have nothing to worry about because the main thing that makes your presentations go wrong is your head imagining things to be worse than they actually are. Being prepared also means to have a plan B if anything does go wrong, for example, if you fall over, then make it part of the act and improvise. At the end of the day, you are the only one who can make sure you're prepared enough so use the time beforehand wisely.

4. Don't Be Alone

If it's the thought of being alone on stage rather than doing the actual talking then make sure someone comes with you to do the performance or speech. Maybe if you're playing a piece of music or singing then start as a trio and slowly change it to a duet and then finally to a solo because it will help you get used to standing up in front of the audience but without the full pressure of being on your own. Likewise, if it is for a presentation then practice with someone and go up together to share the talking which will provide small breaks where hardly any attention is being given to you.

5. Don't Try to Impress the Audience

Don't try to be someone you're not because it's very likely it won't work. If you stick to what you know, it'll make you feel more relaxed and that will help you give a better performance. Trying to impress the audience also makes you focus on yourself and you end up picking up on all the little things that went wrong or could have gone better. Trust me when I say this; the audience won't notice the little mistakes but they will notice you panicking about them. At the end of the day, everybody makes mistakes because nobody is perfect and you should be proud of yourself for even getting up on stage, in front of everyone and performing.

Conclusion

If you're still worried about getting up there in front of an audience then relax. Most people don't like it so you're not on your own and before you know it, it will be over and the feeling of relief will wash over you. And if all of this doesn't work then my advice is to throw yourself in at the deep end and do it anyway because it might just help you overcome your fears.