Overcoming Stage Fright When Speaking, Auditioning or Performing

Attention Actors! Here are a few ways to overcome Stage Fright when speaking, auditioning, or performing; As told by ActingCareerStartup.com, Michael Bresciani and guess who else? Meeeee...Claudia Jean:

Practice: Unless you're completely prepared, you would feel nervous and maybe even flip out on stage. So practice until you know it by heart. Make notes and read the words over and over. Practice in front of your family and your friends. Practice in front of the mirror. Watch your tone and your manners. Try different styles and patterns of speaking. It'll give you confidence so you hopefully won't flip out on stage.

Public Solitude: If you really want to get over Stage Fright, try a concept called, Public Solitude. Public Solitude is feeling comfortable in any situation, being able to block out everything around you, and focusing solely on being the character you are interpreting or on your scene partner. This exercise and acting classes in general will help you to feel more comfortable in front of people while performing.

Prayer or Meditation: If you're a believer, you can pray! If you're not...at least take time to clear your mind and meditate. A short prayer to guide you and give you the right words can't hurt. Obviously you have to do this before you speak or you might find yourself praying in the middle of your presentation for a higher being to get you out of it as quickly as possible! Do not overlook this little gem because although it seems unimportant, it can actually be what makes or breaks your performance or presentation.

Relax: Ease tension by doing exercises and stretches. Simple push-ups on the wall can work wonders but you can also do other things like practicing your smile and stretching your face muscles. Don't forget to stretch those neck muscles too. Oops did I mention deep breathing? Breathe deeply before you go in and visualize yourself being brilliant. How confident will you be while you are performing? You know your lines. You know what you have to do. You are in the character. You feel it! You can see that you feel what you are acting! You are confident and you will be brilliant. So reeeeeeeeeeeeelax!

Concentrate Only On what Your Doing or Saying: Find something to focus on in the room. If you're concentrating on some external matter, your attention is divided and everyone will see that.100% of your attention on your subject, your music or anything else leaves 0% wasted on fear, faces in the room, and nerves. It also goes without saying that you should never give too much attention to time. If you're in a hurry, it shows a lack of confidence...if you go over your time, you must be approaching expert levels in your field. Take that as an unspoken compliment.

Ask Yourself One Single Question: Before you begin speaking ask yourself one important question: Who in this entire audience could do or say what I am doing or saying? If you consider the answer very carefully you'll always arrive at the same answer which is, "few to none." The bottom line is that you have to believe that no one can say or do what you are saying or doing...so just get on with it. Waste no time on what anyone thinks. If they could do what you are doing they would be on the stage and you'd be in the audience.

Get Emotional: If your monologue doesn't move you, it won't move anyone else either. This is an inarguable rule of presentation. If you're singing your interpretation of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, pour yourself into it and saaaaaaang! If you're speaking about the habits of a wild animal in the jungle, be animated...do it with gestures and body movements! Ridiculous you say? Think again! Try it! You'll like it.

Use Humor: Not everyone is good at telling jokes and humorous stories but almost everyone knows at least one or two good ones. Nothing breaks the ice quicker than humor. If you get them laughing early, you've already invoked at least one basic human emotional response...and provoking others will be a great deal easier from then on. Think of the jokes you've heard others say recently. Pick a joke or story that's somewhat related to what you're presenting. And do NOT pick jokes that you alone think are funny. Use jokes that you've seen bringing others to a belly laugh. Use humor that has worked in the public domain. But don't overdue the humor angle because people can recognize filler material very easily.

Get Personal: You must get a rapport going with any audience on the personal level. How can you do that? Take a cue from the stand up comedian or the storyteller. They ask mundane questions and they wait for someone to answer or acknowledge it with a gesture or murmur. Where are you from, any one here from New York? Hey, does it ever stop raining here in Washington. Let me see how many of you are here tonight; if you're here raise your hand. For those of you that didn't raise your hand I have a question, where the heck are you? Sounds silly? It is! But it works.

See The Crowd As Only One Person: No science is available to prove how or why this little tool works, but be assured it will never fail. Always speak to the audience as if you were talking to only one single person. It makes them feel that you are being very personal with each individual, they can feel the difference. It shrinks the crowd on a perceptional level for you. Remember that perception is often the better part of reality. It moves the entire matter to a one-on-one. Who wouldn't admit that they are more comfortable talking to their neighbor or some stranger but not a whole crowd? Approach your performance or address as if you were doing just that and you will succeed.

Don't apologize: If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problems you think you have with your presentation, you may be calling the audience's attention to something they may not have noticed. Keep silent. Remember...if you point to the sweat, they will see it!

Stay Positive: If you're serious about wanting to know how to get over Stage Fright and at the same time you tell yourself before you go into the audition or during any performance things like; "I hope I don't mess up, I hope I don't get nervous. I hope I don't forget anything. I hope I don't freeze in front of the group.", you are putting yourself in a position to think about what you don't want. Your imagination will go there and recreate that image of all those negative things you keep telling yourself. Your focus is on the wrong things! You wanted to know how to get over Stage Fright, so now you know what you have to do! What kinds of things will you tell yourself the next time you go into a performance or an audition? Positive things! Good things! You will give a great performance! You will be very comfortable in front of your audience! See yourself doing that. When you talk like that to yourself, you'll feel your posture change. You will stand tall with your shoulders back and chin up if you really feel it and believe it. So BE confident and FEEL confident and you will BE the best that you can be. 

Good luck and get booked!