Performance anxiety is a common fear amongst actors but the good news is overcoming stage fright is definitely something you can learn to conquer.

You should watch the movie The King’s Speech because it really examines the fear of speaking before an audience.  The film is encouraging and insightful when looking into public speaking and offers inspiration when coping with stage fright.

If you have a deep desire to perform yet suffer from nerves, this article will give you some tips that may help you see things through.

9 Tips To Combat Stage Fright

Dive In 

This may be the craziest tip because it tends to push you out of the plane without a parachute.  However, sometimes if you close your eyes and let go of yourself, completely let go of any thinking at all, you may find yourself suddenly free and doing.

Don’t think, just do.

Easier said than done but if in some ways simply jumping into the river will serve you as the best medicine to break your inhibition.

This is also a strong way to allow yourself to trust yourself.  If you jump in and suddenly see you can float, things won’t be as bad as you imagined and this will increase your confidence.

Improvisation classes are a really terrific way for you to get the ball rolling and if you can fly by the seat of your pants, you will realize that you are having way too much fun to truly give a damn about being afraid to perform.

Do Your Worst 

We all know the phrase, “Do Your Best.”

Do your worst instead.  In rehearsal, by yourself in your room, completely screw the whole scene up that you are working on.

As an exercise for yourself, work on your monologue or scene as terribly as you can and don’t give a damn while doing it.  Say your lines backwards, forget your lines, make up lines…your objective is to give the worst acting you possibly can.

Now that you’ve done your worst, you can only go one way…up.

Knowing you’ve done your absolute worst will give you comfort and strength to do better.

Rebrand Your Mind

Rebranding is when you make a substitution.

For example, rather than nervousness, replace those feelings with the thoughts of pleasure and happiness.

Begin to train your mind to experience happiness and excitement, rather than nervousness and nausea.

Don’t Give In 

Refuse negative thoughts of self-doubt.  Nobody is perfect.

Don’t permit yourself to down yourself in your work.  This leads to discouragement.

Instead, put it to the side and simply tune it out.

Meditate  

Take the necessary time you need to breathe and rest your thoughts.  There are thousands of self-help guides online for you to find info on breathing exercises and meditation tactics you can use.

Find what works for you.  Keep it simple.

Relax your mind, body and spirit to find your own private inner calm.

Visualize A Good Day of Work

Always do your best to think positive and not psyche yourself out.

Keeping a positive outlook while working is a healthy way to prevent self-doubt from creeping in.

Good Luck Charm 

Some believe that a good luck charm (like an emblem or stone) can help give good energy and protect you while you work.

Find your good luck charm and keep it with you.

Focus On What Your Character Is Doing  

By focusing on what your character is doing and then giving yourself completely over to it, you will be too busy living in the moment as your character, rather than thinking about making mistakes in front of an audience or film crew.

If you are grounded and focused specifically on the task of your character in the scene, you will suddenly find yourself worrying less about your nerves and more about the doing of the scene.

When we don’t know the first action or first steps leading us into the scene, you make room for self-doubt and mind wandering which can create nerves.

A first word, a first action a first ‘anything’ regarding the nature of the scene will position your thoughts away from yourself.

Exercise

Sometimes a good run or push ups and sit ups can do the trick to shake out those nervous cobwebs.

Find your workout of choice and push those nerves out from your system.

You may even want to do a five minute warm up just prior to working and this will be exactly what you need to focus.

Conclusion

Those are a few helpful tips to give your stage fright a friendly boost in the right direction.

Remember, there is always a way to cope with your fear so long as you put in the time to overcome what’s stopping you.

Nothing is impossible.  You can do anything you put your heart and mind to in your life.