How to overcome stage fear

Dry mouth, cold hands, a heart beating in the ears: almost everyone who has ever held a microphone knows the feeling. Stage fear is not a sign that you are a poor speaker. It is the body getting ready for something that matters. The aim is not to remove the nervousness. The aim is to make it work for you.

This page is about ordinary nervousness before speaking. If fear or anxiety troubles you badly in daily life, please speak to a doctor or a counsellor. That is their job, and it helps.

Why it happens

When many eyes turn to us, the body reacts as it would to any challenge: breathing quickens and muscles tighten. The same energy, pointed in the right direction, makes a voice lively and a face bright. Experienced speakers feel it too. They have simply learnt what to do with it.

Before the day

1. Know your material. Most fear is really the fear of going blank. Practise aloud until the order of your points is fixed in your mind. Do not memorise every word; memorise the path.
2. Learn the first three sentences by heart. The opening is where fear is highest. If the start is automatic, the rest follows.
3. Practise in conditions close to the real thing. Stand up. Speak loudly. Use a hairbrush as a microphone if you must. Ask two family members to sit and listen.
4. Record yourself once. You will discover that you look and sound far calmer than you feel.
5. Visit the place. If you can, stand on the stage when the hall is empty. A known place is less frightening.

In the last ten minutes

• Breathe slowly. In through the nose for a count of four, out through the mouth for a count of six. Five rounds. Slow breathing out tells the body that it is safe.
• Sip water. Keep a bottle near. Avoid very cold drinks just before you speak.
• Loosen up. Roll your shoulders, unclench your jaw, shake out your hands where nobody is looking.
• Change the thought. Instead of "Everyone will judge me", think "I have something useful to tell them." The audience wants you to do well; nobody enjoys watching a speaker suffer.

On the stage

• Pause before you start. Walk up, stand still, look at the audience, breathe once, and then begin. Those two seconds look like confidence.
• Find three friendly faces in different parts of the hall and speak to them in turn. It feels like a conversation, and to the audience it looks like eye contact with everyone.
• Slow down. Nervous speakers race. If it feels too slow to you, it is probably right for the listeners.
• Hold something small. A card with key words gives the hands a job and the mind a safety net.
• Plant your feet. Stand with your weight on both feet. Swaying shows nervousness more than a shaking voice does.

If you forget a line

It happens to everyone. Do not say "sorry" and do not start again from the top. Pause, look at your card, and continue from the next point. The audience does not have your script; they will not know that anything was skipped. A calm pause of three seconds feels like an hour to you and like a thoughtful moment to them.

If your voice shakes or your hands tremble

Carry on. A shaking voice usually steadies within half a minute once you are into your material. Rest your hands lightly on the lectern, or hold your card with both hands. And remember that listeners notice far less than you imagine.

Build the muscle

Confidence comes from repetition. Take every small chance: read the news in assembly, answer a question in class, propose a toast at a family dinner, speak for one minute at a team meeting. Each time is easier than the last. Start with our short assembly talk or a self-introduction, and work up from there.