OVERCOMING STAGE FRIGHT

STARRING YOU!

                                              By Tracy Bryan

"In my opinion,the only way toconquer stagefright is to get upon stage andplay. Every timeyou play anothershow, it getsbetter andbetter."

Taylor Swift

Adapted frombrainyquote.com

Author/Publisher DisclaimerThe medical information contained in this book is provided as an information resourceonly and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. Pleaseconsult a certified Child Health Care Professional before making any health caredecisions that are discussed in this book. The author and publishers expressly disclaimresponsibility and shall have no liability for any loss, damages or injury whatsoeversuffered as a result of a person's reliance on the information contained in this book.The information in this book is opinion of the author and has also been researched andcited as necessary.

(c) 2015 Tracy Bryan tracybryan.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocpyingor otherwise without the prior written permission of the author.

Image Rights Purchased From Shutterstock.com

      

OVERCOMING STAGE FRIGHT

STARRING YOU!

                By Tracy Bryan

STAGE FRIGHT...it sounds like such a scary word, but it'sreally just a common and natural human reaction to fear. It'salso called performance anxiety.

Stage fright is defined as nervousness before or during anappearance in front of an audience.(1) It's when we feelnervous and even a little afraid to speak or perform in frontof other people.

We may get stage fright when we have to speak in front ofother people at school or when we have to do sports in frontof other people during organized games. We can also getstage fright when we need to perform in front of otherpeople on a stage.

With the right tools and coping skills, mostly anyone canovercome stage fright. All it takes is some courage tounderstand it, some awareness to see it in ourselves and thena little self-compassion and strength to face it!

Understanding Stage Fright

This is how stage fright works. There are three main parts: 1 ANTICIPATION: we have negative thoughts and imagesin the minutes, hours, or days before we have to speak orperform in front of other people. We get nervous wheneverwe think about it. 2 AVOIDANCE: our fear will only become worse if we try toavoid it. Most people with stage fright try to avoid thinkingabout what they have to face. Overcoming our fear is abetter action when this happens-this will help us learn tocope with our fear and anxiety, instead of pretending it's notthere. 3 PANIC and ANXIETY: these symptoms we experience justbefore we have to go in front of other people. We may havethese common symptoms of stage fright and more fearful,negative thoughts about our performance.(2)

What are the SYMPTOMS of Stage Fright?

Depending on how old we are, stage fright shows itself indifferent ways.

Young kids usually have tears, tantrums and tummy aches(3) when they are feeling afraid to speak or perform in front ofothers. They don't have the vocabulary or the ability it takesto explain to someone else how they are feeling.

Older kids who are more in tune with their feelings, may beable to speak these feelings, but they are afraid to say themout loud, in case they get teased or criticized. Even mostadults have a difficult time expressing their feelings, when itcomes to telling others about what they fear.

The most common ways that most people show their stagefright is by having ANXIETY.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a DISORDER that some people (kids and adults)have when they experience a lot of worry and stress.

A disorder sounds really awful, but actually there are manypeople that have disorders- these are very common inhumans. The word disorder also means to have a medicalcondition. Everybody's mind and body works and functions ina certain way. But, a disorder is a condition that disrupts theway these work. If the mind and body don't functionproperly, this causes a problem. In this case, the problem isanxiety. Anxiety Disorders cause problems for people whenthey are unable to function like everybody else because,their worry and stress gets in the way of their everyday life.

Sometimes, people may have a lot of anxiety, but they don'thave an actual anxiety disorder-they just worry, stress andfeel anxious more than most people. Either way, most peoplewho have stage fright also suffer from anxiety of some kind.

Why do people with Stage Fright worry? What is WORRY?

Worry is a thought that we get about something that upsetsus. When we worry, our head gets dizzy and we can getheadaches because we think awful thoughts over and over.

We worry about our family, friends, other people in the world,animals and nature. It's hard not to worry about things thatare important to us. Sometimes, it's okay to worry about theimportant things in our life, because it helps us to realize howmuch we care about these people and things.

Most of the time, most people can stop feeling worriedeventually and feel calm again. However, people who have alot of anxiety, have difficulty staying clear minded becausethey worry just a little bit more than most people.

People who have anxiety because of stage fright worry aboutthemselves too- they worry about making a mistake, doing agood job and about getting laughed at by other people.

Why Do People With Stage Fright stress? What Is STRESS?

Stress is a feeling that we get in our body when we react tosomething that really upsets us. With stress, our body may getshaky or we may have a fast heartbeat, dry mouth, cold orsweaty hands, a tight throat and even diarrhea.

We stress about our family, friends, other people in the world,animals and nature. Just like worry, it's hard for us not tostress about things that are important to us.

Sometimes stress can be good in our life too, because it helpsus to react to situations and keep out of danger. Most peopleare able to stop feeling stressed eventually. However, peoplewho have a lot of stress, have difficulty staying calm andrelaxed in their bodies because they stress just a little bitmore than most people.

People who have stress because of stage fright may feel alittle nauseous and get "butterflies" in their stomach.

Why do we get Stage Fright?

The reason that we feel ANY fear is because instinctively,every human protects themselves from danger, by having thefeeling of fear. This is called the FIGHT OR FLIGHTRESPONSE. Here's how it works-

Imagine you're a caveman or cavewoman living 100,000 years ago -and you come face to face with a hungry saber-toothed tiger. Youhave two choices: 1) Run for it (that's flight), or 2) pick up your cluband battle the tiger (that's fight). A final choice (be eaten) doesn'tseem like such a good one!

To prepare for fight or flight, your body does a number of thingsautomatically so it's ready for quick action or a quick escape. Yourheart rate increases to pump more blood to your muscles and brain.Your lungs take in air faster to supply your body with oxygen. Thepupils in your eyes get larger to see better. And your digestive andurinary systems slow down for the moment so you can concentrate onmore important things.(4)

We feel the need to instinctively protect ourselves frommany things and situations that we face in our life that areuncomfortable, painful or just don't feel right to us. One ofthese situations is when we have to speak or perform in frontof other people.

There are three main reasons why we may be anxious aboutspeaking and performing in front of other people- ourpersonality, genetics and learned behaviors.

PERSONALITY-Studies have shown that people who have stage fright mayhave been born with certain personality TRAITS thatinfluence and help grow this fear- including perfectionismand the need to be perfect, an ongoing desire for personalcontrol, fear of failure and success, and an intense anxietyabout not being able to perform properly when the timecomes. Psychologists have also observed that people withstage fright tend to place a high value on being liked andregarded with high esteem.(5)

The second reason why we may have stage fright is becauseof GENETICS-30 to 40 percent of any kind of anxiety isunderstood to be genetic, and children born to anxiousparents are more likely to have anxiety too.(6) Some peopleare predisposed to stage fright. (This means they are morelikely to be a certain way because of the genes that theyinherited from their parents.) For some people, stage fright isjust part of their genetic make-up- they can't control itbecause they were born with it. Other people, rarely everexperience stage fright because it's not in their genes.

The third reason is LEARNED BEHAVIORS- some people(especially when they are younger) may have had a negativeexperience in the past, or have heard other people (like anolder sibling) say, "public speaking is so scary." (7) There aremany times in our life that we will fail or make mistakes. Thisis good because we learn from our mistakes and hopefully tryto do better next time. With stage fright, it's really difficultto try to perform again if we have messed up the first time.Trying again is the only way at getting it right though!

Is there a TREATMENT for Stage Fright?

YES!!!!There are may different options for treating stagefright, it all depends on how severe the person's anxiety is.Some people overcome it quickly, while others take moretime and go through therapy for their treatment.

A simple and helpful way to get rid of some of the symptomsof stage fright is to prevent it before it happens. Whenpreparing yourself to speak or perform, ask yourself fourquestions:

1 WHO AM I?

Does the other person or audience know you? How do youwant your audience to see you? Calm, clear-headed andstress-free? Focus on having body language that says this.Remember that you are an awesome person who deservesrespect and understanding. You have a lot of importantthings to say that are worth listening to!

2 WHERE AM I ?

The physical space that you are in when speaking orperforming will determine how you should use your voice andgestures, and whether you will need a microphone. Find outwhat audiovisual equipment is available (if needed) and whowill be running it.

Think about what you will do if the equipment fails tofunction as expected. (It so often does.) It helps to go to theplace ahead of time that you will be performing in- walkaround and get comfortable with it if you can.

Sit in the seats where the audience will sit- what does thestage look like from here? Imagine yourself on stage.

3 WHOM?

To whom am I speaking and what do they expect from me?Why are they here, and what are their expectations? Doaudience members share any characteristics? Do they havea specific point of view concerning you or your topic?

Remember that they are people just like you!

4 WHAT DO I WANT TO ACCOMPLISH?

To entertain, to instruct, to inspire, to persuade? What isyour purpose for performing? Will you be explainingsomething and giving information? Know your material-practice and memorize what you want to say so you won'thave any difficulty saying what you need to say- this way youwill be heard clearly. (8)

HAVE FUN!!!!!!

The most important tools anyone can have in overcomingany form of anxiety or stage fright is SELF-COMPASSIONand BREATHING TECHNIQUES.

Having self-compassion also means being NON-JUDGMENTAL with ourselves. Being non-judgmental to ourown thoughts and actions is really difficult! When we thinkor do something, there is an automatic voice in our headthat tells us how we should feel about this thought oraction-this is when the worry starts. This voice is also calledour MIND CHATTER.

We tend to self-judge every thought and action we havebecause of this mind chatter. Sometimes, we need to quietthe mind chatter so we can listen to what our body is tellingus. We need to become aware to what our body is feeling. Ifwe start to feel stressed and anxious in our body about a newsituation, we are better able to deal with it if we ignore themind chatter and focus on calming our body instead.

Having self-compassion and reminding ourselves that it'sokay to make mistakes feels good. Telling ourselves howawesome we are also helps our body to feel more relaxed sowe can overcome whatever we need to.

Simple BREATHING TECHNIQUES are also one of the bestways to treat stage fright. When we are feeling stressed andanxious, we can breathe through these uncomfortablefeelings.STOP what you are doing and thinking-sit down if you needto, even close your eyes if you like.BREATHE in slowly, as deeply as you can and hold it in for afew minutes. Now let the breath out and repeat this for aslong as you need to.BECOME AWARE to how your body feels (imagine turningyour mind off with a switch-no thinking)Keep breathing!How does your body feel? Is it restless or agitated? What doyou feel in your legs, arms and belly? Does your body feelhungry or thirsty? Can you feel any vibrations runningthrough your body. NOTICE the way your body feels...

When we realize that our body doesn't need to face dangerin situations where we have to speak or perform in front ofothers, it's a lot easier to stay calm and ready to face thesenew experiences and places- we don't have to be afraid ofthem!

Worry, stress and stage fright are all common humanreactions. It's totally natural and okay to experience them.So many awesome and even famous people feel these fearstoo. That's why it's helpful to use the most effective humantool to overcome them- BREATHING!

If you have to speak in front of other people or perform foran audience soon, good luck and remember YOU CAN DOIT!

It's actually going to be a very awesome performance-Dou you know why?

Because, it's...

STARRING YOU!

                                                Glossary

Anticipation-expectation or hopeAvoidance-the act of keeping away fromAnxiety- a condition that people have when they experience a lot of worryand stressDisorder-to have a medical conditionFight or Flight Response-a feeling of fear we have to protect ourselvesagainst dangerGene-the basic physical unit of heredityGenetics-the science of heredityGlossophobia (fear of public speaking)- is a very regular phenomenonwhere a person is comfortable of performing and even speaking only if he isunder the impression that nobody is watching him.Non-judgmental-without judgmentPanic-a sudden overwhelming fearPersonality Trait- a characteristic of one's personal natureSelf-compassion-a feeling of deep sympathy for yourselfStage Fright- nervousness before or during an appearance before anaudience.Stress- a feeling that we get in our body when we react to something thatreally upsets usSymptoms-a sign or indication of somethingWorry-a thought that we get about something that upsets usAdapted from dictionary.reference.com

             Essential Stage Fright Websites

adaa.organxietycoach.comkidshealth.orglife.familyeducation.comperformanceanxiety.comspeechclub.comtodaysparent.com

********************************************Resources

1- merriam-webster.com2- speechclub.com3- todaysparent.com4- kidshealth.org5- io9.com (the neuroscience of stage fright)6 & 7 todaysparent.com8- life.familyeducation.com

                           Stage Fright Tips

Psych yourself up. Confidence helps combat stress! Watch a football team before theyrun on to the field. They get in a group and pray or sing a team song to pump themselvesup with confidence and team spirit. You can do this whether you're performing alone oras part of a group. Have parents, family members, and friends give you a pep talk. Keep ajournal as you practice; then if you think "I can't do this," you can check the notebook tosee how well prepared you are.

Be prepared. You're less likely to freeze up if you're well prepared. Rehearse as much asyou can and practice in front of others at every opportunity. Most of all, think positively:Tell yourself "I'll be OK" or "I can do this" even if you are not 100% sure of it.

Learn ways to chill. Young performers, such as Olympic gymnasts and music soloists, talkabout how important it is to prepare for the pre-performance jitters as well as theperformance itself. Some take along a photo album of favorite pictures, compile aplaylist on their music players to help them relax, or learn yoga and breathing techniquesto help them feel calm. Some people need to be active to relax, others need to be stilland calm. Find out what works for you, and practice, practice, practice.

Look after yourself. Before big performances it's easy to let taking care of yourself slipas you spend too much time on rehearsals and practice. You'll look and feel your best ifyou get enough sleep and eat healthy meals before your performance. Exercise can alsohelp you feel good, and along with sleep and nutrition, is an excellent way of keepingthose stress hormones from getting out of control.

Adapted from kidshealth.org

"I Can Do This" Journal

What I need to do: ______________________(speaking/performing)

Why I am afraid to do it: __________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Reasons why I don't have to be afraid: _______________________

_______________________________________________________

Qualities I like about myself: _______________________________

________________________________________________________

Reasons why I know I can do this well: ________________________________________________________________________________

Remind myself to breathe! 

A Message From The Author...

I have to confess that I am currently being treated for stagefright! I'm actually trying to work on treating my stage frightby myself- that's why I wrote this book! So, if you have thisfear too, we can work on treating it together, okay? I don'tknow why I have stage fright, I just do! Along time ago, I hada dream to become a movie star... (I'm really glad I'm not,because if I was, then maybe I wouldn't be writing this bookfor us:) Anyways, I stopped wanting to become a starBECAUSE of my stage fright! I hope that you will NEVERhave to give up on any of your dreams because of a fear!Every fear and anxiety can be treated if you want to...If youdo have stage fright, I hope this book helps you to overcomeit. I'm going to keep reading it until I gain enough confidenceto actually perform again. Maybe I won't be a movie star, Ilike being a writer- because I get to write for awesomepeople like you! One more thing, if you do become a famousperformer one day, don't forget to give a "shout out" to yourfavorite author- just kidding! Good Luck... Trace:)

A Special Dedication To...Anyone who has ever messed up whilespeaking or performing!

So you messed up? I know it feels awful...you might even feel like afailure? YOUR NOT! ABSOLUTELY NOT!

We need to make mistakes- as awful as they feel, everybody needs tomake them! This is the only way that we can learn...learn what thecorrect way is and learn how to WANT to be the best we can be.Imagine if all humans just walked around and didn't really care ifthey made mistakes or did something wrong? The world would bechaos!(Unfortunately, there are some people in the world who arelike this- that's why we have jails!) For the rest of us, we need tomake mistakes so we can keep practicing throughout our life to bebetter and grow. Just have patience...I know, it's hard- but, just keeppracticing at being the best you can be because you care to be thisway- that is all that matters. When you care about yourself and otherpeople, you can achieve anything! Just wait, you'll see:) If anyonecriticizes you or makes fun of you when you make mistakes and messup, remember this quote from Dr. Suess..."Be who you are and saywhat you feel, because those who mind don't matter andthose who matter don't mind." Your awesome! Trace:)

Famous Performers Who Have Suffered From Stage Fright

HARRY STYLES- may have a lot of practice being on stage after performing withOne Direction for four years, but he suffered from major stage fright! The singerpoked fun at his phobia while filming the band's holiday special, joking that hehad to leave the stage because he was too scared to continue.

ARIANA GRANDE- The pop star revealed she was nervous about performing atthe 2014 MTV VMAs! "I'm super anxious before these kinds of things because it'sso nerve wracking," she revealed.

KATY PERRY- The "Firework" singer gets nervous before performances - but it'sonly because she's worried her fans will freak her out on stage. "I still feel nervousperforming to crowds. It's not that I don't feel ready but I worry that they'll rushthe stage as they're all screaming my name or I feel like a wanna yack!" she saidin 2010.

LORDE-"Before I go onstage I lock into this period of the most crippling fear,"she said. "It's something I wouldn't wish on someone that I hated...It's the worsthalf-hour of my life, every night! But then, y'know, it gets replaced by somethingmagic."

Adapted from j-14.com

               Tracy's Reading Recommendations...

If you like this book, check out similar books in my Awesome Values!Series:

Agree To Disagree! Opinions & Arguments

Have you ever been in an argument and the other person feels totallydifferently than you do? Have you ever argued with someone else becauseyou think your right and they are wrong? Have you ever gotten so mad atsomeone else because they just don't understand your feelings? Learn waysto work through all these common situations. Why argue with someonewhen you can... AGREE TO DISAGREE?********************************************Thank You Soooo Much! Gratitude, Appreciation, Empathy & Compassion

We say 'thank you' everyday, each time someone does something nice forus or says something that brings us happiness. The best part of the thankyou, is the emotions we feel when we say it-gratitude, appreciation,empathy and compassion. Discover what these words mean and why theyare so important to us each time we say... 'THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!'

Look forward to reading with you:)