DEALING WITH STAGE FEAR

What is stage fear? You may have dry mouth, tight throat, sweaty or cold Hands, a fast pulse, nausea, and you may start trembling. You probably feel nervous and uncomfortable.

Stage fear affects everyone, some people have little to no anxiety while others find it the opposite way.

Here are some TIPS TO DEAL WITH STAGE FEAR –which is a very common and very manageable problem

KNOW YOUR MATERIAL

By far, the best thing that has helped me control my stage fright is to know my material forward and backward. Many instances of nervousness is the result of someone who knows that they will speaking on something they don’t really understand. Putting in the prep time to know your subject can make a huge difference in the stage fright you experience.

Memorize your intro/Conclusion:

How you start off your speech can set the tone for the rest of it. If you have trouble at the beginning, you may find that you never really get back on track and that’s all you’ll be thinking about throughout the speech. But if you take the time to memorize your intro, then you put yourself on automatic pilot during the most crucial time of the speech. When you execute the intro without a hitch, you will see your confidence soar for the rest.  

I also mention to memorize your conclusion. Though your opportunity for nervousness will be over when your speech ends, a smooth conclusion will help you end on a strong confident note that will help see you through the post-speech activities.

PRACTICE

Chances are that your speech has several points you want to make. You may know your points well, but have you thought about how you are going to transition from one to the next? Make sure you allow time to go through your speech from beginning to end. Do this a few times to help you work out the kinks. Only by practicing the whole speech, out loud, can you find these kinks. You will also find that many words look better written than they sound coming from you. Better to find out in practice than during the final stage performance. 

BREATHE

Pay attention to this long before you get up to start your speech. Take slow, deep breaths as you arrive at the venue. Then, when you find yourself behind the podium, make sure you take that one deep breath before you say the first word of your speech. 

STAYING PRESENT & YOUR SELF TALK

When we are scared of the stage we’re usually scared of 

1)      Not being perfect

2)      Others judging us

3)      Screwing up a hard passage

When I slip up and make a mistake – I simply tell myself “come back” and I also forgive       myself, gently. Know that “beating yourself up”  is TOTALLY unproductive – and it’s a habit formed offstage!

On stage and off -  practice saying:

“I like myself!”
“I am the best!”
“I am freakin’ awesome!
“They love me!”

If saying this makes you uncomfortable, thats good!  That means you a driving new information into the subconscious.  Keep saying these.  It’s not inflating ego – it’s building self esteem!

Good self-esteem helps you perform better, and helps you realize your audience it there to appreciate you, not judge you.

The result?  Less nerves and fear, more joy and confidence. 

SMILE

Smiling can help you feel more confident, even if deep down, you are not feeling that way during your speech. Frowning during your speech, and even pre-speech can have the opposite effect on you. So force the corners of your mouth up and let the confidence start to sweep over you. 

REMEMBER, THE AUDIENCE WANTS YOU TO SUCCEED

People are generally good natured and most want to see others do well. Audiences understand that nervousness is a part of public speaking and they won’t be ready to attack as soon as you show a sign or two of stage fright. In fact, they will be more focused on what you are saying than how you are saying it. If you see your audience as your friend and not your foe, it will do wonders for your ability to face them as a speaker.  

DON’T APOLOGIZE FOR BEING NERVOUS

You will be surprised to know that your quivering, shaking body is more apparent to you than to most people. What seems like a 7.9 on the Richter scale is actually unnoticed by most people. Apologizing for being nervous only does two things: a) it reinforces to you the fact that you are nervous; b) it draws attention to your audience to something that they would probably never have thought about had you not mentioned it. 

VISUALIZE YOURSELF SPEAKING

Whether you get a chance to visit the venue or not, you can visualize yourself speaking. If you go through this mental exercise as well as physically practicing your speech, you will be making it something that is not new, but an event that you have done many times before. Then, if you get flustered during your speech, you can fall back on this “experience” to help you through it. You will be surprised at how easy it is to recall your visualization and practice sessions during your speech when you need a little help.

Perhaps the best way to deal with stage fright is experience itself. When you realize that speaking is not as bad as you thought it would be, it makes each speaking engagement after that a little easier to get through.

All of these tips will not work for everyone. The most important thing you can do to eliminate stage fear is to be prepared so practice well.people react to stressfull situations in different ways so just experiment with these to see what works best for you to reduce the public speaking anxieties

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BRAIN TO MEMORISE

MEMORISE 

1)      Visualization

The idea here is that you want to put abstract information into a picture. If you are struggling to understand a concept, visualization is a good technique to start with.

 

2)     Rote Memorization

I’m not a huge fan of this method, but sometimes brute force is required. Rote memorization involves pounding information into your brain by repeating it continually. Works best when the information is arbitrary and fact-based, so applications won’t go beyond simple memory.

3)  Diagram

Draw it out. I love using diagrams for sorting large pieces of information. When I used to write my thesis, my desktop would have pieces of paper with hastily scratched diagrams. I consider creating a flow chart of activities to reach my version of visualization.

 

4)    Fluid Notes

Most people take notes in a linear fashion, writing one statement after the next. Fluid notes may look less organized, but involves you drawing connections between ideas and writing in all directions across the page. Remember the point of note taking is to encourage learning, not just record what was said. 

5)      Relationship Diagrams

Diagrams that focus on the relationship between information are a great tool. Instead of just displaying information, show how it links together. Combined with fluid note taking, this is a great way to piece all the information together

6)       Link Method

This is an advanced memory technique. I’ve found it works surprisingly well, but it takes longer to set up and requires practice if you want to do it quickly. The basic idea is that you link two ideas together by forming a bizarre picture that involves both of them. If I wanted to memorize a grocery list that had apples, milk, bread loaf my goal would be to create two images that linked apples to milk and milk to bread loaf. The first could be a picture of a giant apple milking a cow. The second could be milk dropping on a bread loaf.

7)      Imaginary Room Method

A reader sent me this one and it builds on the link technique. Imagine a room you are familiar with. Now visualize all the major objects in this room. The next step is to individually link specific information or details to each object in your room. Another variation on this technique uses your body instead of a room. I suppose it depends on whether you are more visual or visceral in your learning style.

8)      Retracing

Technique that works well with holistic learning is retracing. Basically this involves you starting with one concept in your class. From that you find a relationship between that idea and another idea. You continue doing this path until you get back where you started or reach a dead end.

9)       Zoom and Check

Skim through any material you have to learn. Your goal isn’t to learn the information but to notice what you don’t already know. If more than one or two ideas pop out in a chapter, you should probably stop and go back.

10)   Self-Test

Give yourself a test. Testing is a good way to see if you know what you are doing, so try it out.

11)  Mind storming

Consider this individual brainstorming. Write down all the ideas, thoughts and information you can think of. A brain dump to get it all out on paper
 

12)  Brainstorming

Get a couple people in a room and think it out. I find one or two other people to be ideal, although some experts recommend up to six.
 

13)   Give it a Hand

Use your fingers and thumbs as a memory tool. Link different words or names to specific fingers and memorize which go where. There are limits to this application, but it can be useful if a good acronym doesn’t come immediately.

14)  The Kindergarten Rule

Similar to teaching, the kindergarten rule proclaims that you should be able to explain your subject to a six year old. While this isn’t going to work for your advanced level calculus or biochemical courses, the idea is that you should dumb down the information so it becomes obvious.

15)  Make it Interesting

Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? You’ll remember information you find more satisfying to know. Find ways you can use the information beyond just getting a grade and it will become more real to you.

16)   Teach It

Find someone and explain it to them. Nothing forces you to learn better than teaching.

17)  Song or Story

Another memorizing technique, this one links information together by placing it in a sequence of a song or a story. You could list all the bones in your hand by creating a story in which you meet each of them in sequence.

18)  Chunking

Learn for fifteen minutes at a time. Take frequent breaks and let your mind absorb what was learned. I never do creative or learning work for more than an hour or two without a change in pace.

19)   Pop Quiz

My grandfather used this to teach my multiplication table when I was little. At random points during the day he would say something like, “Quick! What’s 8×12?”. This method might require an understanding friend or a complex computer program, but it can force you to remember information in any situation.

20)   Give it Form

Don’t let an idea sit as an abstraction in your head. Give it a shape, form, color and meaning. Use your hands to describe it as a potter would sculpt a bowl on a potter’s wheel.

21)  Complete Focus

Occasionally I’ll see people “studying” while listening to music or watching television. Although they may have a gift in multitasking I wasn’t born with, I think it is more likely that they are fooling themselves. Turn off all the distractions and focus completely or don’t focus at all.

22)  Ask Why

Ever sat next to one of those annoying kids that asked “Why?” to everything you said? Maybe it’s time you became that annoying kid and started asking why to more of the information you are supposed to learn. When information forms a logical pattern it becomes far easier to remember.

23)  Find Your Peak Mental Hours

Everyone has different creative peaks. Mine tend to be late evenings to early mornings. When I try to work late in the afternoon I’m restless. When I try to work early in the morning my mind is usually too fuzzy to think. Find your peak mental hours so studying works for you.

24)   Exercise

Healthy body, healthy mind. I’ve found the stereotype of the dumb jock to be fairly inaccurate. Usually the people who keep fit are able to stay sharper mentally.

25)   Burn Off Stress

Party, mediate, socialize, whatever you need to do to relax. Being in a depressed state won’t help your studies, so have fun and find a balance. Then again, hangovers aren’t the best way to write an exam so know where to draw the line.

26)   Create

Learning and creating are, in essence, the same activity. Don’t let learning become a passive activity where you try to absorb information. Instead create information. Form your own relationships, descriptions and examples.

 27)  Get a Tutor

Get personalized instructions that match up with your learning style. Don’t force a square peg into a circular hole if you don’t have to.

28)  Know Thy Weaknesses

Did you get a bad mark on that last test. Why? Was it just a lack of preparation? Did you not remember the information, or did you have trouble applying it? Figure out your weaknesses so you can develop tools (or use these) to work around them.

29)   Organize

I must admit that organization has always been a struggle for me. I’m far more inclined towards total environmental chaos and lost files than robotic storage. But I have found that working on my organizational skills allows me more mental room to learn. Ordered environment, ordered mind.

30)  Create a Learning Ritual

I can’t think of article ideas if I’m not sitting in my chair. If I try going for a walk or sitting somewhere else, my mind doesn’t focus. I’ve developed a ritual for writing posts that makes it difficult to do anything else. The advantage is that when I go through this ritual, I can think of ideas fairly quickly. Creating a learning ritual where you study or read in the same place can create a similar advantage.

 31)   Performance Flow

I’m incredibly relaxed when I’m about to write tests. I’m rarely nervous, but I have a degree of tension that keeps me focused. If you get too nervous during performance situations, try breathing and meditation exercises to slow yourself down.

32)  Eat Light

Digestion uses a large amount of energy in your body. By eating light before studying or a test you can ensure you don’t feel groggy.

33)  Sleep

Sleep has been shown to impact memory. Take time to rest yourself and get enough sleep so that you can remember what you have learned.

34)  Write it down

 Writing is one of the best ways to learn. I use it for problem solving, brainstorming and working out ideas. Thinking is a rather inefficient process where distractions easily push you onto a tangent. By writing things down you can record your position and think more clearly.

35)  Grades are Just Letters

My final suggestion is to stop thinking about classes in terms of grades and degrees. Think of school as just one facet of the larger self-education in your life. Find reasons to learn information for its own sake, instead of just to pass the class. While this may sound obvious, I believe it is the most important tip on this list and the one few people actually use. Study to learn, not just to pass.