COMBATING STAGE ANXIETY

During my high school days, the teacher that takes us in English language once asked us to advertise a product in front of the class. The job was straightforward; everyone has to go home, practice any advert of his or her choice,  and present it in front of the class the next day.
Two remarkable things happened the next day. Firstly, the English language class was scanty for the obvious reason, and secondly, a classmate of mine was so nervous of presenting anything that he stood numb on stage during his presentation time. He was sweating profusely and looking at the scanty end of the class while on stage. Not even a single word until he returned to his seat looking like someone that just left the shower.
I came across a similar stage fright case recently so I decided to give a helping hand to remarkably reduce that experience. This article may not totally terminate the fright from your mind since fright case is relative, and different persons have different reasons they get nervous on stage, but it will definitely go a long way in helping one contain such frights.
Believe me! Most vibrant and eloquent speakers were not born bold. I recall my experiences when I was much younger. I wouldn't stop staring at the roof whenever I was presenting anything in public, that was the only way I could avoid stuttering and making mistakes at that time. Now I look at the eyeballs of my audience to pour out my mind. I came across some things that gave me my strength and that includes some questions that a good answer to them would put you at the other side of the fright bridge. I grouped them into three phases,in no particular order. They are;

THE SELF QUIZ PHASE
When you get nervous you ask yourself these questions: WHO/WHAT ARE YOU SCARED OF? and WHY ARE YOU SCARED OF HIM/HER/THAT?
Now, there are individual differences in giving the answers to these questions, but irrespective of what your answer(s) is/are,there is something I want you to put in mind: the reason you're on stage at that time is because your audience wants to hear you talk. You're there to say your opinion, your side of the track, your own story, your whatever. It is mainly about you. No one knows your mindset better than you. So tell them what you have in mind, and tell it to the fullest because they just want to hear you at that time. You may not have another chance to do so.
Apart from question and answer presentations, most stage presentations are one-sided. You're like the boss at that moment so you just do your thing and leave. No one will pull you back.

THE PREPARATION PHASE
Another thing to put into consideration when trying to combat stage fright is your ability to abide by the facts. If you do not have a good knowledge of what you're talking about, you're very likely to lose your stage confidence. This point is very important for those presentations you make and expect questions from your audience. You have to make a quality research on what you'll be talking about,  and prepare for as many questions as possible.
There is this extra confidence that comes with knowledge. If you've ever tried to read a past question paper, and answered every question in it, you'll understand the pre-knowledge confidence I'm talking about here. So before you climb that stage, make sure you've done your homework.

THE SIZE AWARENESS PHASE
One more thing! You cannot do well at what you're never used to. How often do you engage in conversations with strangers? How well can you speak amongst your friends, colleagues, classmates, small groups, etc. If you're not used to speaking in little gatherings of two's and three's, you may never be able to speak well facing a crowd.
A friend wouldn't stop stuttering during a presentation few years back. When he returned to his seat beside me, he turned to me and say "this is my first presentation with a population outside my family". Yeah,  that's pathetic. From that day henceforth, he tried to contribute to every gathering he found himself, and now he is a front man in speaking. He can virtually speak to anyone, anytime and anywhere.
Think of it this way; your crowd starts with a head, then two heads and so on. So if you can get conversant with the two around you, you will do well with several two's sitting in that big hall. Try to talk to that new person. Initiate a conversation among friends from time to time and try to make those conversations meaningful and educating to bring out brainstorming questions.

So let's conclude. We have learnt that we own the stage, and the audience wants to hear us present our opinions at that time. We've also learnt that a good preparation and research breeds a good stage confidence irrespective of the audience. Finally, try to get acquainted with speaking to the little audience of two's and three's around you because your big audience is simply made up of several two's and three's, so they aren't big after all. That's it!