Answering: How Can I Overcome Stage Fright?

The best advice I can give you is to face it.

The first time I was going to speak for a group of people, I tried to deal with the nervousness by covering it up. I would try to not let the audience know that I was nervous by not drawing it out and not minding any shaking, trembling, or other nervous twitches. Inside, my heart still pounded furiously with each and every second in anticipation before my performance.

Over a short period of time I would get better and better at covering it up, but months later when I was to give another speech for a group of people, all my prior experience seemed to vanish and not back me up. I was still choking on air. In high school, when I had to give a speech in my early years, I stood in front of the classroom and in the middle of a sentence; my mind just went totally blank. I must have stood there for an eternal minute without saying a word. Luckily, I managed to start speaking again and finished my presentation wonderfully; except for that big silence of course. During that moment of silence, I went to several psychological states in my mind. The primary was anxiety and fear, but slowly I must have unconsciously realized that there was nothing harmful in my environment and I was able to proceed as if I had never choked in the first place.

Now, I have learned that the nervousness goes away naturally when I don't try to look away or avoid looking at people, those things implicate that there is something to be afraid of. Instead I just completely let go of any conflict in my mind and just begin speaking what I need to say. After the first few moments, the ice is broken, and I proceed with the speech or presentation or performance very well. But I realized that I just have to let go, automatically relaxing, and just knowing everything is fine, then the feeling of being fine naturally comes.

In other words, when you go up there, don't try to hide something, just speak and present your stuff. It also helps if you focus in on an object, any object, because that centers your mind, which is probably all over the place, and it brings you back to earth (Not lost in nervous-land). If you work out or exercise Do It before you perform or even the night before. This ensures that your body is more supple and more likely to relax while you present. This has helped ME alot.

If appropriate, take an outline of the points that you will speak of; this psychologically reassures you even though you may not actually need the outline. It also helps you occupy your HANDS, which you may be so nervous that you'll be self-conscious of where to put your hands. If you get red or are shaking, it's fine. Go ahead and be red and shake a lot, just keep going with what you're doing, and after a few moments, the red will leave. I have never seen a person whose face stayed plump tomato red forever.... So don't let the symptoms bother you even if they DO happen.

Soon in the performance you realize that the audience is harmless, and that you are the one whom they are listening to, the one with the authority, therefore you are the one with the power.

Have Fun. Check out this challenge: http://www.theohanasecret.com/x.php?a=r&id=22057_1470