It is always a state of chaos to many when they even think about speaking something in public or presenting a piece of their official work, artform, project, research outcome etc. It has always been spoon-fed to us from childhood that performing or presenting yourself in front of an audience is something to be scared of or anxious about. Making someone over-conscious about this process along with the unseen fear of something horrible going to happen, has resulted in many withdrawing themselves from speaking confidently in front of a group of people.
Causes and Symptoms of Stage Fright :-
Researchers claim that this fear of facing an audience generally termed as 'stage fright' can be correlated to its ancestral constitute - 'the fear of darkness'. Tracing back to ancient times of stone age, cavemen who hunted ferocious animals in the daylight had to fear the atrociousness of those creatures who could attack and kill them out of nowhere in the dark. This fear of darkness has been programmed and wired in the brain of humans even after years of evolution. The stress hormones that used to trigger fright, flight or freeze (FFF) response, now identifies and misinterprets the stress of facing an audience as well as other stressful situations in life as those unknown attacking creatures and starts triggering adrenaline rush and prepares our body for the FFF response!! This response initiates symptoms such as,
- sweating of hands or overall body
- dry throat
- indigestion
- nausea
- dizziness
- headache
- increased heart rate
- heaviness in the throat
- heaviness in chest
- ice cold hands
- a blank mind
- shivering hands or legs or both
- fear of passing out etc., while facing a group of people !!
Some of the thoughts that accelerates these symptoms are
- I being the focal/central point of attention for a larger group of people (feeling of all of them looking at me only !!)
- How my physique will be judged by the audience ?
- What will they think about me if I can't answer the query ?
- What if I give a wrong answer? Will they judge me as a fool ?
- What if they see me shivering and my voice breaking ?
- Will my intellectual image get damaged in other's minds ?
- What will be the aftermath of a totally absurd presentation?
- Will my image be destroyed with the flaws in my language?
10 Steps to Overcome Stage Fear:-
For some people, the FFF response get triggered even at the thought of presenting in public. It is to be understood that there is no need to run away or escape from this anxiety but to tame it. Zero anxiety gives zero performance. To tame and to live with it as well as to use it is the key to success.
Moderate anxiety will help us improve our performance for an optimal outcome. In a stage presentation also, the optimum arousal will result in optimum performance.
There are no shortcuts to success. A Successful Presentation is Always the Result of Hard Work.
The 10 steps to overcome stage fright are
1. Prepare the Content :- Preparing the presentation as per time constraint is the first step towards stress free presentation. If it is a professional presentation like a project review, try to prepare it by yourself. Not too elaborate, not too precise. Try to include pictures, graphs, tables etc., along with key points in order to avoid a boring presentation. Pay attention to your fonts, background themes etc.
You can prepare a separate handout to memorize the keywords or to note down equations, formula, graphs etc., if you fear being forgetful.
Remember :- We are humans and not supercomputers to memorize everything. It is alright to refer to a handout if in need. Do not feel of it to be shameful or inferior.
2. Practice the Content :- Once you have the preparation, start practicing. Do not present without practice. There is no upper limit to the number of times you can practice. The more you practice, the more confident you will present. Use your imagination to visualize the attentive audience which is a very effective tool in confidence building.
If you had any mistakes made in the past presentation content quality or deliverance style, Prepare and Practice are the right steps to correct it. The same errors should not be repeated in upcoming presentations. If any help regarding language skills is needed, you can take the assistance of well-wishers, colleagues or an expert at this stage.
You can try presenting in front of colleagues to get expected questions or in front of the mirror while practicing.
3. Know your Audience :- Before presenting, one should have an overall idea about the category of audience/listeners to expect and also their knowhow on the subject you are delivering. A rough idea about the background of audience will prepare your mind to expect the type and level of query to be answered. You can prepare the presentation as per the expected audience tier too.
4. Speak from your Heart :- There is no greater motivator than your own heart. If you have practiced well with sincerity, rather than byhearting meaninglessly, you can trust your intuitions. While presenting, you will be speaking from the heart rather than speaking by memory. This tool is helpful in relaxing as well as imbibing positive thoughts for a flawless outcome. Even if your mind goes blank, this best friend of yours will help you revive instantly.
Remember :- This step helps in delivering a superb & natural body language as your mind and body sinks with each other.
5. Gestures :- Gestures involve body movements especially the hand and head movements. Most presenters are confused on where to place their hands or how to place it or move it while presenting. There is only one answer to this. Let your hands be free. Let it move according to the rhythm of your speech. This helps in releasing all the unwanted energy your body has accumulated for the FFF.
Similarly, turn your head towards the board or presentation as well as towards the audience with appropriate eye movements addressing the entire listeners and not just the front row.
Some presenters try to do hand movements purposefully for every single word spoken, which looks artificial and uninteresting. Be natural.
Hand movements does not mean flapping your upper arms like birds flapping wings.
6. Shift your Position :- While presenting, do not force your body to stand still. Shifting the position of your body will help alleviate your tension and get relief from FFF hormones. You can choose to move back and forth slightly or to use the entire space of stage available according to your convenience. You can try addressing the left and right half audience separately.
Remember :- Standing still will be a bad idea.
7. Stop Worrying about Your Communication Skills:-
Presentation time as well as the spot of presentation are not the right time or right place to worry about your language fluency, slang flaws, grammatical errors or accent manners. Presentation time is the time to deliver what you have already prepared and practiced confidently. If you have quality of content, then language will pave as a means of conveyance.
Remember :- Language fluency without quality of content will not serve its purpose.
8. Stop comparing yourself with others :-
It is not a good norm to compare your performance with that of others such as your colleagues, friends etc. No two people can be alike. Each one has their own positives and negatives. It will only make you feel inferior if you start comparing yourself with others. What you have prepared has to be presented according to your best and full potential. It is not to be at par with another presenter.
Remember :- Compete with yourself.
9. Stop Living in the Past :- In the past you might have made errors in your public speaking or presentations. As humans we learn from past mistakes and use our intellect to correct it next time so that it is not repeated. There is no meaning in keep on worrying about what has happened in the past. In the practice sessions you have tried your best to correct it reoccurring.
Remember :- Presentation stage is your present. Stop worrying, start acting.
10. Be expressive :- Look at the audience rather than look down. As you use gestures and body language, try to bring a smile on your face and express an excitement in your presentation. This will help improve your charisma and draw the attention of listeners to not only your speech but also to your face, your gestures, your body language and how you utilize the stage. This will help change the concentrated focal point of audience to just you, but to entire space around you.
Remember :- When anxiety is within optimum limits, performance will be exciting.
Bottom Line :-
It is natural to have some anxiety at the beginning of a presentation. Do not focus on your anxiety. This will only increase your stress. Instead, try to divert the focus of your brain to other things before presentation such as short term breathing exercise, muscle relaxation technique etc.
Once you start, there is no looking back. Just go for it. !!!
You will rock :)
Happy Presenting !!
Dr. Sheena Latif
Comments