How To Overcome Stage Fright

Have you ever gone on stage? Are you planning to? What do you feel at the thought if it? Scared, nervous, or no feelings at all??


Hmm,, to be honest I don't think anyone with his right mind will NOT be nervous of going on stage. Even, someone who speaks so well like Obama admits he used to have the jitters of going on stage. 


I used to be nervous too. I really wanted to but I was nervous. The thought of:

• every eye on you,
• your voice being the only thing that everyone hears at that moment, 
• standing one level higher than everybody else 
• people observing you top-to-toe.

I'll share with you the story of how i started loving the stage.....


I was Form 4 at that time. Care-free and happy since my PMR was over and the year was starting off very pleasant. There were visitors at my school as usual and then there was this special group from Indonesia. Students, our age. My English teacher called me up and said " Yasameen, see me after your break. I need a favour."
I was like " Sure thing, teacher." So I went there with my friend, Saemah. To my astonishment, for the first time in history, a teacher asked me to become the host of the Cultural Show between Malaysian and Indonesian students. That was my very first time hosting an event and I did it with my friend. At first, I got the shock of my ears hearing such a statement and favour but she was so confident that I could do it. I will never ever forget that.  Her confidence in me. She told me " Yasameen, I know you can do it. You can really speak. I can see it in you." I had 2 hours to prepare for that event and we did it. My friend and I hosted the entire event to the end. That was February 2009. Since that day, I have been hosting never-ending events in my school including Talentime, Teacher's Day, Farewell events, Prefect formal events, benchmarking, Speaker's Corner and many more. The thing is the more I did it, the more I realised I loved it. My main point here is that sometimes you don't realise that you are capable of doing something but if you're given a chance, just do it. Besides, fortune does not knock on your door twice. 


Nevertheless, i was still super-very nervous everytime I hosted any big event. My heart wll beat really fast and I will get sweaty. If I wear make-up, it will have to be the waterproof one because of all the sweat. But when the time comes for me to go on stage, I just pray and go up. I say what I'm suppose to say. Do what I'm suppose to do and enjoy the time being up there. 


Tips Being on Stage:

1. Don't look at the audience directly in the eye even if you know them.
2. Don't focus on one area of the crowd. Look around. It makes you seem less nervous.
3. Sometimes you are still nervous when you are up there but the key is: Never let the audience see that. Do anything to cover your mistakes and turn it into a joke.
4. If you say something wrong, don't pretend like you didn't. Just admit it. If its an informal event, you can even say Oops my bad. It can even seem like a joke.
5. Prepare well. Know what you're suppose to say and ALL the events going on that day.
6. Try not to look at the paper but hold it just to make you feel less nervous.
7. If you're really sweating or shaking, turn the audiences' attention to something else in the hall while you fix yourself. For example: Oh look that bird wants to join our concert or I see someone special in the hall today (and everyone will look at him/her)
8. Sound joyful
9. Smile. The audience are far so they wont see you sweat if you are smiling.
10. Begin your talk with some drama. It loosens the tension in the room. For example: Umesh and I were hosting for Talentime. The next show was "My Heart Will Go On" so we pretended to be the lovers and promised to jump off the stage...hehe I remember him saying " You jump I jump"
11. Look beautiful it makes you more confident.
12. Wear something you're comfortable in.
13. Don't walk to fast on the stairs.
14. Interact with the audience and ask them questions like " How are you guys or Who's gonna win tonight"
15. Be natural. Don't fake or try to be funny if you're not.
16. Be spontaneous. If something unexpected happens, don't panic.
17. Microphone problem. We had sooo many cases of this. Chill. Just always prepare a spare one.
18. Practice your speech in front of a mirror and let someone listen.
19. Have manners. Greetings, Thank you, wish them a lovely day
20. Last but not least, take a deep breath and believe in yourself. If somebody else can do, why can't you :)

PS: My English teacher in Form 4 = Puan Wan Rosna ;)