Performance Anxiety
Performance anxiety occur if you think do not have the confidence on
showing what you got!
Anxiety is a
very common word, or shall I say mood. Who has not experienced
felling worried taking an exam because you have had previous failing
scores? Who has tried going to a date with someone you really like
without feeling anxious because of anticipation? Anxiety is a simply
a normal part of life. It also helps us cope in every stressful
situation or events.
There are always
reasons why we feel anxious. For example, a groom may feel anxious
on their wedding day probably after seeing together the “Runaway
Bride”. Or, the bride feared that her groom might not show up on
their wedding day and becomes a “Runaway Groom”. Or, you are having
a pool party with your officemates and you knew that water in the
swimming pools have plenty of bacteria, and you are worried what
people might think of you if you won’t swim with them. They are just
some situations wherein anxiety steps in.
See, anxiety can
happen to anyone at some point of their lives. As for those people
who fears the stage, or performing on the stage, it is called
performance anxiety. Performance anxiety is caused by the ways you
think and feel. Performance anxiety can be a deeply personal subject
for musicians and many are reluctant to discuss all the possible
remedies. Stage fright, fear of public speaking and performance
anxiety is determined if you:
 | Have an
immediate surge of fear and anxiety if you learn you need to
deliver any public speaking or performing |
| Attempt to
avoid giving presentations or performances if you can’t get out
of doing them |
| Suffer from
a lot of anticipatory anxiety thinking about your presentation
or performance ahead of time |
| Experience
stage fright and feel very uncomfortable being “in the
spotlight” when speaking or performing |
| Worry about
making yourself a laughing stock in front of other people,
fearful that people may see how nervous you are? |
| Feel a lot
of inner turmoil or you have missed opportunities because of
your fear of performing. |
One of the ways
to lessen the performance anxiety is to discover and change your
thinking patterns, which puts too much pressure on you. There are
four steps for managing performance anxiety, and these are:
Self-Assessment - is getting to know
yourself better of as a person and performer.
| Identify
problematic thinking, personal motives for thinking, and
capabilities and limitations as a performer |
| Ask
yourself what is it that frightened you |
| Do not
confuse self-assessment with self-criticism |
General
Exposure and Preparation
| Look for
opportunities for exposure from mild to moderate levels of
stress but do not overwhelm your coping skills |
| Practice
performances, dress rehearsals, taping yourself and playing back
to be able to prepare yourself for any performances |
| Be
thoroughly prepared always |
| Do
relaxation techniques for this help calm you. |
During the performance
o
try seeing the audience as allies
supporting you to do well
o
use anxiety to your advantage
o
maintain normal routine during
performance
o
stay calm
o
think performing as an opportunity for
experience
o
get out of yourself and into the
audience
o
enjoy the performance, rather than
waste your time worrying
After the
performance
|
congratulate and reward yourself for making the big step in
overcoming your anxiety performance |
It is indeed
true that anxiety is caused by the way we think and feel. By
changing the patterns of the way we think and feel from negative to
positive, definitely POSITIVE will be the result.
Back to Anxiety |
