I'm standing on stage, looking at the dozens if not hundreds of people in front of me. They're looking back at me. I'm trying to come across as confident to both my audience and myself, but my body doesn't seem to be co-operating with me – my mouth gets dry, my hands are shaking and my voice is trembling, making it harder to concentrate on giving my best. I stumble through my performance in which seems like 2 minutes, when in reality it has been half an hour. When I get off the stage, I'm back to normal in a few minutes. Whether you imagined this to be you giving a speech, a presentation, or an acting performance, I'm sure most of you know exactly what I'm talking about – performance anxiety, or stage fright. Studies claim that the majority of people experience performance anxiety in some form or another. Allegedly, huge stars like Robbie Williams also suffer from it: Williams had to cancel a part of his 2006 tour because of extreme performance fear.
Personally, I struggle with performance anxiety a lot, whether I'm presenting an essay to under a dozen of my coursemates or singing and playing music in front of a larger audience. Stage fright may be difficult to overcome completely but, like most successful performers, I believe that we all can learn to cope with it. I wanted to share a couple of tips which have helped me overcome (at least some of) the annoying, distracting nerves and give better performances.
Because I usually get nervous before and while performing, it would make sense for me to say no to every chance to play music in front of an audience. Sometimes, after a gig that has has gone badly, the idea of locking myself into my bedroom and making sure no one can ever hear me play again is extremely appealing. But instead, I keep grabbing onto opportunities to play for people. Why?
Well, because I actually like performing, as crazy as that sounds. I realise that especially to a modest Finn, this may sound like I'm selfish and I just want attention, but that's not the case. I like performing because I like to make people happy and I want people to experience something that stirs feelings in them, which I hope to achieve with my performances.
So, have you ever watched a performance and thought, ”Wow, that's so inspiring and cool”? If you put your heart to it, I assure your audience will think that too, and the best thing is that you will love doing your performance. I realise sometimes you have to give a performance on something you find boring, but if you can, choose a topic that you're passionate about. I love playing music, but for you, it could be anything between the garden snail population of England to how to travel on a budget.
I've learnt it the hard way that the basic thing to cope with stage fright is your attitude. It really does make such a difference if you have a positive outlook on what you're about to perform and your capability to do it. Also, I can tell from experience that here, ”fake it until you make it” really works. Whenever those thoughts of ”I can't do it, I hate performing, I'm so bad at this” pop into your head, replace them with ”I'll do my best and that's enough.” Do it until you no longer have that negative image about yourself. Believe me, this will help you in other areas of life, too.
If you're worried about embarrassing yourself or wondering what people will think about you, turn that around. The website of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire had a brilliant tip for this: you should try seeing your audience as your ”allies who are generally supportive and want you to do well”. See, positive thinking really works.
If practice doesn't make you perfect, it certainly will make you better. When you drive a car or knit a sock the first time, you're probably not going to do very well. It's the same with performing. Although each performance is different and requíres being able to be spontaneous, I think performing is just like any other skill that you need to practise to get better at.
I've come a long way from my first gigs, but I know I also have a long road ahead of me. Like with music, that's the thing that intrigues me the most about performing: you're never going to be perfect at what you do, but there is always something you can practise, be it your general knowledge (on the topic of garden snails or perhaps something else) or the way you use your voice while performing, for example. It's about the journey, not the destination.
To sum up, there are lots of factors that will affect your performance, but I think the most important one of them is that you shouldn't take yourself so seriously. Performing is a part of life. Think about it: you're always kind of performing just by being in interaction with other people in a group of acquaintances. Performing doesn't mean you need to pretend to be something you're not – take it as a way of presenting who you are as a person, and that's enough. Have fun!
