Tips To Overcome Performance Anxiety
Sometimes, people are called upon to speak to a room full of people, sing a solo in church, show a group of people how a workout is done, teach a class based on our given talent or perform at a competition in front of spectators. Because it isn’t something we do every day, we are understandably nervous about our reception by the people before whom we are going to speak, sing or perform. We are worried about our personal appearance and we wonder if what we say or sing is going to make sense to our audience. We worry they have high expectations and we might not live up to them. Many professional speakers have shared tips to help overcome performance anxiety, but it’s easier said than done. However, for the beginner or for those who appear before a group once, the following tips can be adjusted to your particular situation.
Visualize
Professionals use visualizing a peaceful situation during your performance, where you work from a place of comfort and can project that into the audience, to help with performance anxiety. The beginner or the once-speaker, however, is too fraught with nerves to visualize anything but failure. Visualize the nerves and see yourself putting them out to the curb, and the fear of failure with it.
Breathe
Just before you appear on stage, you have checked your appearance, you have your notes clutched in sweating hands and you’re shaking. Breathe deeply, to the bottom of your lungs and slowly exhale. Keep breathing until you are called upon to appear. The oxygen intake will clear your head. Keep breathing deeply and the oxygen will chase away the performance anxiety.
Focus
When you are concentrating on something, you don’t see what’s around you. Professional speakers and athletes will tell you to focus on the task at hand and nothing else will matter. You don’t have to be a robot, mechanically spitting out what you’re performing, but while breathing deeply your mind is clearer and that focus will come naturally.
Humor
Being a stand up comic isn’t as easy as it looks on TV, but if you can laugh at your own nerve problems, you can share it with your audience. The breathing and focus should go a lot better, enabling you to perform to the best of your ability. For the beginner or the once-in-a-while performer, these tips can be done easily and will help you get through your next engagement.
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