Is it Stage Fright or is it Pre-Stage Fright?

Overcoming Stage Fright > Public Speaking Tips > Is It Stage Fright or Is It Pre-Stage Fright?

Is It Stage Fright or Is It Pre-Stage Fright?

The term stage fright is generally used for two different things. Some people experience stage fright or they become extremely frightened whenever they are in front of a group of people. For the most part, however, what people are actually experiencing is a case of pre-stage fright. For people that experienced this problem the extreme fear that they have will dissipate as they are giving their presentation. This is not to say that the fear will completely go away from them, and it really shouldn't. The reason that this is the case is because a healthy amount of fear will help to keep you focused on the presentation. If you become overly comfortable speaking in front of a group of people, it will generally come across in an uncomfortable way to your audience. If you are suffering from one or the other then here are some tips to help you to get over the hump, so to speak.

Most people that are experiencing some form of stage fright have the more common pre-stage fright. This is because the anticipation is often worse than actually going through with getting up in front of the group of people to speak. Fortunately, for you, if you are dealing with this kind of a problem it is much easier to overcome than the fear that grips you when you're actually on a platform. There are many different relaxation techniques that you can use in order to calm your nerves before you have to get up in front of a group of people. These would include such things as deep breathing, meditation and stretching. My personal favorite for overcoming any nervousness that I feel before getting up in front of an audience is to breathe deeply, yoga style. There are plenty of books on the market that will teach you how to use your breath in order to gain strength. Do not overlook the possibility of using meditation or even stretching if your circumstances permit. Putting your mind on something that is calm and peaceful will help you to get it off of the more nervous situation at hand.

If you suffer from stage fright where you are actually gripped with fear when you are in front of an audience then you might need to use a variation of the same method. It is not possible for you to do yoga style breathing to its full extent while you are in front of a group of people. What you can do, however, is to make sure that you both breathe and speak from your diaphragm at all times. This will help your breathing to keep from becoming shallow and short which will show up as nervousness whenever you are giving your presentation.

It doesn't matter which type of stage fright you have, or even if you have a combination of both, it is necessary for you to overcome it at least to the extent where it does not display itself to the audience. What you will find will happen at that point is that your audience will begin to react positively to your presentation and you will find that your anxiety begins to fade.