₦airaland Forum

Have ever felt like you would fail a task assigned to you? Was there ever a time when you feared performing well even after hours of practice? Feel like you would mess it up and humiliate yourself? If these thoughts have occurred to you then you might have performance anxiety also known as stage fright. Having performance anxiety doesn't necessarily mean that you lack skills but rather it's the lack of confidence and your fear of facing the public.

Here are my recommended top 4 strategies for preventing your anxiety or nerves from ruining your experience on stage:

1. Prepare Your Material
Firstly, relax your mind and focus on the task at hand. Don't let anything else distract you. Do your research thoroughly on the topic and prepare for the presentation accordingly. Don't make it too complicated, keep a clear understanding of the things in the speech. Keep short notes for yourself to read from so even if you forget the speech you can always peek at it and it will give you a little relief.

2. Practice, Practice & Practice
Practice makes a man perfect. It's not a myth but a fact. Take time out to rehearse your speech. You can practice in front of the mirror and once you are thorough with it, ask a trusted friend to come over to listen to it so he can give his honest feedback. This will help boost your confidence and you'll know where you stand.

3. Know Your Audience
Facing the audience can be quite overwhelming even after tons of practice. You feel out of your comfort zone and that's where your anxiety starts to kick in. So, analyze the crowd, and search for a familiar face that you can look at when presenting, and it will calm down your nerves.

4. Learn To Improvise
Everybody makes mistakes. It's okay if you forget the content of your speech but if you followed our first strategy then you certainly have a good understanding of your speech and you can use it here smartly. The best part of knowing the content is that you will know what to say and can make additions to it by yourself and the audience will love it.

In conclusion
Don't let your fear take charge of you, do whatever is necessary to overcome the fear, remember to be patient with yourself and your star will shine!