Not everyone can comfortably speak or perform in front of a lot of people. Some will even go out of their way to avoid speaking in public as they are fearful of mistakes. Performance anxiety, also known as a stage fright, is characterized by an intense anxiety and paranoia that occurs before, during, and after a performance.
Performance anxiety affects even the most seasoned professional speaker or performer like business speakers and motivational speakers. While some people have the ability and presence of mind to remain cool and composed in stressful situations, most of us are geniuses as far as coming up with all the negative thoughts that may happen before and/or during a performance.
This debilitating fear may depend on the context of the performance. The size of the audience, being alone on stage, the importance of the evaluation; all these factors can change the level of anxiety experienced by the speaker. Many people find that the larger the audience, the more nervous they are. The demographic also influences like you would be more nervous speaking to the manager of the company rather than the receptionist.
Types Of Anxiety.
1. Most common among sufferers of performance anxiety is a fluttery, unsettled sensation which slowly dies down once the speech has begun. When the speaker begins to feel calmer, this shows that they are able and willing to perform and the adrenaline may even make them better.
2. “Reactive anxiety” occurs as a result of insufficient preparation, lack of performance skills or experience on the part of the presenter. This will go away with practise and experience and of course, more public speaking. This is how business speakers get better.
3. The hallmark of performance anxiety is usually associated with signs of physical and emotional discomfort such as sweating, shaking, voice quivering, rapid heart beating, feelings of fear, and panic. What causes the speaker’s anxiety is the belief that he or she is being negatively evaluated.
Positive thinking is a way that the anxiety can be alleviated as they no longer think their performance will be bad. Typically this is done by asking the performer to accept the fear and come up with ways to get round it such as breathing exercises, audience relation and practise. You may discover that fear still remains, but you notice that you can handle it, as you are beginning to get the sense of enjoyment from your performance and from connecting with others.
