Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom How to Get Over Stage Fright

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom How to Get Over Stage Fright According to WebMD, millions of people suffer from performance anxiety, commonly called stage fright. In fact, most people would rather get the flu than perform. Performance anxiety can prevent you from doing what you enjoy and can affect your career because people who cannot speak in public are not considered promotion material. The Symptoms of Presentation Stage Fright Being the center of attention and having all eyes on you can be stressful, especially if you are anintrovert. Your body reacts to this situation in much the same way as it would if you were being attacked. Your body’s “fight-or-flight” mechanism kicks in, which is why symptoms of stage fright are similar to symptoms that occur when you are in real danger. They include: Racing pulse and rapid breathing Dry mouth and tight throat Trembling hands, knees, lips, and voice Sweaty and cold hands Nausea and an uneasy feeling in your stomach Vision changes Although it may be impossible to totally overcome performance anxiety, there are things you can do to control your emotions and reduce anxiety. Some are more obvious, like breathing deeply and knowing your material cold. Here are a few you might not have thought about. The Cure for Presentation Stage Fright Give the Stage Fright a Deadline A mentor once suggested to me that I acknowledge my fear of giving presentations â€" to a point. I was allowed to be nervous in the hours leading up to each event, but at the moment I was being introduced, I was to say: “time’s up.” It was then that I allowed my confident side to take over. It took a few events of practice, but my mind eventually got the hang of it. Pack your Schedule When you’re very busy, you don’t have time to worry about how miserable you might feel. So on the day you’re due to give your remarks, schedule as many meetings as possible so you are running from one thing to another right up to the time you’re up to speak. Being frazzled can actually work in stage fright’s favor. For more tips, please see the full post at Intuits Fast Track blog.