How To Handle Stage Fright

“All the world’s a stage.”

William Shakespeare’s words have never been more true. With social media and technology, all the world really IS a stage.

But how do you share your message and let your voice be heard when you’re paralyzed with stage fright?

A few weeks ago I had a conversation with a business owner that was stuck in stage fright. Face to face in a personal conversation she had powerful words and was filled with passion. But once the camera turned on for a LIVE video, or a microphone was in her hand in a small room of people, she froze with a deer-in-headlights look on her face.

In the world of social media, the fear of public speaking and stage fright is real. And the only way to get over it, is to confront it.

I used to be terrified to speak in front of people. TERRIFIED! I had no problem singing in front of large audiences but the idea of speaking had be tongue tied beyond belief. I was scared of sounding stupid. So here’s what I did to get over it, because in 2020 if you can’t show your face on a video or share confidently in front of a small group of people, your chances of influencing others as a leader or growing your business will be diminished.

1. Find someone who you admire watching and do what they do.

For real. When I see someone else rising up to do something, it often makes me think, “gosh I can totally do that too!”
It’s how I’ve gotten comfortable showing up in a video in my bathrobe to chat over coffee. It’s how I’ve stayed inspired to show you how to food prep and put together a yummy salad. (And thankfully I haven’t chopped off any fingers while multitasking!)

2. Share something you are learning and how you are using it.

This simple tip gets overlooked because we think we can’t show up until we are the expert. Guess what? My coach, Jasmine Star, says that an expert is “someone who knows 10% more than someone else.”

You FOR SURE know 10% more of something than someone else. That makes you the perfect person to speak up! And, when you share it from the point of view of how you’re applying something new, it takes the pressure off of yourself to be perfect. You set the stage right away with humility!

3. Pretend you are having coffee with just 1 person.

Public speaking is a mindset game more than it is anything else. So if you’re freaking yourself out because there will be 10 people on a Zoom Call that you have to speak on, or there’s 25 people in the in-person meeting you’ll be sharing an announcement at, calm your mind by finding just one person in the audience to lock eyes with and talk to. Just one. And then pretend like you are old friends catching up. If you get tongue-tied, no worries. It humanizes you.

I used all three of these tips to get over my stage fright online and in person, and I still use them today if I get in my own head sometimes. But hey, if you need more help on this, Raychel and I put together an online course to help you! Are you in? Click here to buy it!

Helping you live and lead well,

~Mandy