Why Do We Get Stage Fright?

Stage fright: clammy hands, a racing heart, and anxiety about presenting before an audience. Most of us have experienced it at one point or another. But what are we feeling, exactly? Laci takes a look at the science behind stage fright and proffers some of her own tips to conquer that nervousness!

Read More:

What Happens to Our Brains When We Have Stage Fright: The Science of Public Speaking
"Palms sweaty. Heart racing. You know the feeling. Whether it's five people or fifty, public speaking is a gut-wrenching experience for most of us."

The Science of Stage Fright: How Stress Causes "Brain Freeze"
"Now new research helps explain why at moments of peak pressure, virtually all of us are vulnerable to similar failures, finding it harder to recall key words at the right time and almost impossible to focus on the task at hand."

How Fear Works
"To produce the fight-or-flight response, the hypothalamus activates two systems: the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal-cortical system."

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[bri]

How I come over stage fright:
1. If there are many people just focus on the people in the frount 2 rows
2. Just breath it may sound dumb but it helps so much
3. If you mess up and fumble over words just pause go back to where you started befor you messed up and re state it
4. If you stumble of the words and you just make a raindom sound, laugh it off if the audience laugh it may make you feel much better

[CaptSumTingWong]

Had to do a presentation in front of my class 2 days ago and this makes perfect sense...

[Jcanrhyme]

I believe there are people that don't get stage fright. Its a strength that some have. I know this because I've never experienced it.

[analisagarcia]

I had to sing in front of my choir class. My face was burning up to the point where my face was bright red. I stopped at 1/3 of the song and everyone was saying I was doing fine but then my voice cracks and I freak out and start crying for no reason at all! What is wrong with me?

[swaybellycat]

I CAN'T EVEN SING INFRONT OF MY I GET ALL SHAKY AND SAY, " IM SORRY I CANT DO

[Canvas-nb]

I got stage fright a couple of times when i had to sing with someone else being there, but i grew used to it, so i'm not afraid anymore :)

[abc]

I get stage fright, when I waas younger I used to shake just recieving a cirtificate in school.

[Lynn-Davis]

My whole body shakes uncontrollably when I'm stressed, so it's pretty obvious to others (and they have confirmed it).

[ajhc]

I like that she has a lip ring and Discovery still aired it. People are slowly opening up to free expression and image, it's good to see.

[funniestglike]

I sweat really badly, and start shaking

[nimim.markomikkila]

Elaboration: Fight-or-flight is the initial alertness in a possibly threatening situation; when you find out what is; it separates into fight OR flight - they require different actions. Sometimes it might happen, that you WANT TO FLIGHT, BUT... you can´t... then you either manage to turn it into a FIGHT-mode - or you stagnate. And the stagnation is what´s often going on in stage fright. So, it might help, if you think of turning it into Fight-mode; "I´ll show 'em!" This is just one trick...

[MACisallthat]

I'm seriously obsessed with these videos.

[LieutenantSheep]

Yeah, I'm an actor, and I get stage fright. I'm afraid of forgetting my lines and stuff. I also just get like I wanna jump up and down which isn't always good depending on the role. Also, this may be TMI, but I get a really upset stomach. Like, really upset if you get what I mean. Which leads to me feeling sick before going on stage. Lovely. I've learned that it helps me to just joke around and hang with friends back stage. I'm an extrovert so chatting makes me feel good and keeps me calm.

[markman]

That is true.. If you get a solid beginning you're golden.

[lalelulallo]

I don't get stage fright.... because I never go on stage :P

[TheStrangelyLiteral]

I do theatre, and stage fright is actually one of the best things about on-stage acting to me. I'm a nervous person by nature, and I guess recognizing that I'm going to have stage fright and knowing that any amount of fear isn't going to stop me from going on stage and doing my thing is what has helped me the most. I'm an adrenaline junkie, stage fright keeps me hooked!

[behemothokun]

Stage fright is awesome. It gets me pumped up always, before I enter the stage. A great feeling.

[MyMPPM]

I have CLEAR WIRE service so I'm glad this video has a 140p option

[MyMPPM]

the very best way to get rid of stage fright is to let the audience know you are nervous then ask the audience to do something very simple (anything), in that way you get immediate positive encouragement that you can lean on, even if your act is bad they will go easy on you. If it is good, they will go crazy over you.

[viabrus]

When I was in 8th grade, I had to sing a solo at a competition. I was in choir and was used to singing as a group. I didn't know the song very well because my teacher had randomly selected it for me abut 2 weeks before the competition, so it was hard to remember the words. I was shaking like a leaf and about a third into it, I forgot the whole ending of the song, panicked and ran out of the room. I quit choir the next year, it was mortifying. I still blame my teacher for not preparing me well.