There is no question that the single biggest barrier to

professional rapport is plain old stage fright. People will consistently name
public speaking as their number one fear—right up there ahead of spiders
and death (Wallechinsky, 1977 ), but communication apprehension is just as
strong—stronger for some people—in the impromptu elevator chat or during
the first line of a phone call.
Because they fear the experience, they procrastinate about preparation, and
then they become more fearful because they know they are not well
prepared! Giving eloquent presentations, then, requires a bit of attention to
the dynamics and management of stage fright.

Although most people describe their fears in terms of “fear of public

speaking” or “fear of getting up in front of an audience,” it is quite possible
to experience fear about any kind of performance, including athletic events,
artistic endeavors. Some psychologists will thus be careful to talk about
“performance anxiety,” which emphasizes the fear that arises any time we
worry about doing well in a high-stakes situation. Certainly, when your job is
on the line and you have a hostile audience to impress, you have every
reason to be anxious about your performance!

Other individuals will realize that it doesn’t take a large audience to cause
them concern. These people might be equally concerned about talking to a
stranger on an airplane, about speaking up in a meeting, or even about
leaving a voice mail message. Sometimes people just consider themselves
“shy” about talking to others. When the fear is a generalized reaction to
interaction with others, it is usually called “communication apprehension.”

If you were to name the cause of stage fright, the rather obvious answer—
being on stage—is obviously a bit simplistic. The real question is, why are so
many people afraid of public speaking? It certainly isn’t as dangerous as
sky-diving, but more people are afraid of it. The symptoms aren’t as severe
as having the flu, but most people would opt for the flu.

Causes

One suggestion is that most people simply haven’t had much practice at it.
Any unfamiliar activity creates some stress; add the normal “first time”
jitters to the unfamiliar territory of a management performance review or a
client’s office, and you’re guaranteed to feel some symptoms.

Another theory is that people respond “automatically” to the threat signals

implicit in having everyone stare at them. We simply find being the center of
attention an inherently stressful situation. Many people will admit that the
real cause of their fear is a sense that they are inadequately prepared.
Sometimes that fear is perfectly justified—you’re trying to “wing” a
performance that you know required more time and attention on your part.
Another reasonable source of fear is a history of hostility, lack of respect, or
misunderstanding on the part of your audience.

Symptoms

Symptoms of Stage fright

Dry mouth.

Tight throat.

Sweaty hands.

Cold hands.
 Shaky hands.

Nausea.

Fast pulse.

Shaky knees.
Trembling lips.

Recognizing the Symptoms

Regardless of its cause, your stage fright symptoms are part of the body’s
Primary Threat Response, which you might know as the “fight or flight
syndrome.” This is a set of healthy physiological responses that allow a
human being to take effective action—running away or fighting—when
attacked. Most speaking engagements don’t require you to do anything
physical, but your body doesn’t know that. It perceives the adrenaline
signals, assumes that some sort of attack is possible, and simply prepares
you for the worst. So, thank your body for doing a few very sensible things:
• Muscles contract throughout your body. Your body is now
prepared to spring into action with a burst of energy. In
particular, the neck muscles contract, pulling the head
down and the shoulders up, while the back muscles draw
the spine into a concave curve. This, in turn, pushes the
pelvis forward and pulls the genitalia up, slumping the
body into a classic fetal position. Your body has done all
the right things to protect your vital organs from saber-
toothed tigers, but there’s not a wild animal in sight.
Instead, you stand still and straight in front of the
audience. Your muscles, still contracted, begin to tremble.
And the harder you try to hold contracted muscles still, the
more they tremble! Your neck, shoulder and back
muscles, in particular, begin to fatigue, while your lungs
and diaphragm are constricted in the body’s attempt to
maintain a fetal position. As you continue to hold your
head up in an effort to make eye contact, your vocal cords
are stretched and your voice tightens, and a moderate to
severe headache can set in.

• Blood vessels in the extremities constrict. Your body

knows it has only so much oxygen and blood, so it chooses
carefully. The tiny blood vessels serving your toes, fingers,
ears and nose constrict, forcing additional oxygen to your
major organs and reducing the risk of blood loss. Of
 course, this leaves you with a sensation of cold hands and
feet (and perhaps a cold nose and ears as well), along with
numbness and tingling.

• Breaths become rapid. The body’s need for a steady

supply of oxygen requires rapid, shallow breathing, which
cycles the largest volume of air in and out of the lungs.

• The digestive system shuts down. Food processing is

deemed a low priority by the body under stress, and the
digestive system shuts down for the duration of the
emergency. Any foods already in the system just sit there,
waiting for stomach acid and saliva secretions to resume.
The resulting sensations are the familiar “lump” or
“butterflies” in the stomach, along with a dry mouth and
nausea.

• The pupils dilate. In a dangerous situation the body needs

accurate, complete information about the environment,
which it obtains through a heightened sense of hearing
along with broad, long distance visual acuity. In other
words, your eyes automatically shift to “long distance”
view, sacrificing short distance focus for a clear view of the
horizon. Many people also notice an increased sensitivity
to motion and better peripheral vision. Of course, none of
this helps a speaker read his or her notes. The speaker is
painfully aware of every little frown from every member of
the audience, and easily spooked by things happening off
to the side. Meanwhile, your ability to focus—or even see
—at a short distance can be lost completely.

• Brain wave frequency increases. Finally (thank

goodness!), the human brain itself changes in response to
stress and potential attack. The frequency of brain activity
literally speeds up, allowing you to think more quickly,
process more information, and make accurate decisions.
This is not a “natural” state, however, and it can feel as
though time is distorted. Your natural pace of thinking and
reacting is disrupted, making you react “too quickly” to
stimuli. You think of new things to say in the middle of
your speech, causing you to ramble about ideas you hadn’t
prepared. You speak quickly, not even realizing that your
pace is considerably faster than normal.
Controlling the Symptoms

By and large, the symptoms of stage fright are normal, expected

physiological reactions to stress, excitement or fear, but they prepare you for
a physical response, rather than a speaking engagement. The symptoms
won’t keep you from giving an excellent presentation, but the stress
response also isn’t doing much to help you until you learn to channel those
physical reactions into a dynamic, energized, vigorous delivery.
• Recognize the stress as excitement. The physiological
symptoms associated with public speaking are virtually the
same as those you’d experience if you rode a roller
coaster, went on your first rafting trip, or got married. The
real difference is that you have learned to associate
“fright” with being on stage and “fun” with being on a
roller coaster. The goal of stage fright control is not to
make the symptoms go away; the goal is to learn ways to
make the adrenaline rush work for you, rather than against
you.

• Use your large muscles. Those contracted muscles are

waiting for you to throw a spear at a mastodon, and until
you do, they can’t relax. Walk briskly around the building
a couple of times (watching out for wild animals, of
course.) Throw your arms around, or punch at a nearby
wall. Clench your fists, scowl, make ugly faces, and then
relax those smaller muscles too. Focus on your back and
neck muscles, stretching and rolling your head until they
relax.

• Take deep breaths, from the diaphragm. Regulating the

breath cycle is the most accessible technique for changing
the body’s kinesthetic state. (Other techniques include
meditation, trance inducement, alternate nostril breathing
and other yoga exercises, and biofeedback.) As you force
yourself to take a deep breath, the oxygen/carbon dioxide
balance is restored, and the body interprets the big sigh as
an “all clear” signal. As the stress levels begin to decline,
so will the rest of the symptoms.

• Exaggerate your symptoms. The body will not

automatically produce a symptom that you are doing
consciously. Start breathing rapidly on purpose, for
example. You can then stop on purpose, but your body
won’t start up the automatic system again. This doesn’t
work for everything, of course. Most people can’t sweat on
purpose, or increase their pulse rates. But you can shake
your legs, blink rapidly, scowl, or do whatever other little
quirky things your body seems to want to do by itself.

• Watch what you eat. For many people the most

 debilitating symptoms of stage fright are the consequences
of the digestive system shutting down. Figure out what
your own digestive system does (or doesn’t do) under
stress, and see that you time your food intake to
accommodate it. Advice varies from person to person, but
here’s a list of the most common solutions to various
problems:
Avoid milk. It creates phlegm, which is unpleasant and can be annoying
while you speak.

Maintain sugar levels. Because you are under stress, the body is using up
its high-energy sugar reserves, but you will not feel the normal hunger
pangs. You have no desire to eat—the thought of food might even make you
“feel sick”—but you nevertheless can begin to feel the effects of low blood
sugar: depression, anxiety, irritability, lack of concentration, forgetfulness,
confusion, headache, body tremors, cold hands and feet. My, don’t those all
sound like “stage fright” symptoms!

Eat sensibly. Protein increases energy and alertness, but takes a very long
time to digest (about twelve hours). Fats will slow digestion even further.
Eating a big T-bone before you speak is not going to help the situation a bit.
You’ll just wind up with that lump of meat in your stomach, creating cramps
or nausea. Carbohydrates, on the other hand, are "comfort" foods because
they trigger the release of serotonin and are best without protein, which
lowers the levels of tryptophan, its amino acid building-block (Wurtman).
Your best bet is to eat a low-fat meal of complex carbohydrates a couple of
hours before the presentation. Pasta, pizza, bean burritos, or rice dishes are
all good choices. Sugary cereal for breakfast is not.

Avoid a sugar high. Often when you are rushing around before a
presentation, sitting down for a decent meal is the last thing on your mind.
Be careful, though, that you don’t substitute a quick candy bar. That sugar
fix will make you feel better for a few moments, but the body uses that form
of energy almost immediately, leaving nothing for the presentation. What’s
more, overall blood sugar levels drop even farther after the candy’s artificial
peak. If you do need to snack, grab popcorn, pretzels, a banana or apple, or
sugar-free yogurt.

Avoid alcohol, nicotine and caffeine. All stimulate the adrenal glands
and increase stress symptoms. On the other hand, if you are a smoker this
is probably not a good day to quit.
• Exercise. Most stage fright victims swear this is the best
solution of all. Not only does exercise reduce stress and
help aleviate those large muscle contractions, it also
produces endorphins. Regular excercise is best, of course,
 but even a workout the night before or morning of a big
speech will help you stay relaxed.

• Take your vitamins. If stage fright is a long term thing,

consider the impact of some key vitamins:
Vitamin C: Reduces the effects of over-exertion, increases energy, stamina
and general resistance to stress. If you catch colds frequently are feel run-
down, you night not have the energy left for giving a speech.

Vitamin B: Used in large amounts when the body is under stress.

Deficiencies can show up as tremors, loss of dexterity, lack of coordination,
depression, insomnia, forgetfulness, confusion, a quick temper and
nervousness. If you are already under stress, the demands of a speech
might push you over the edge.

Calcium and Magnesium In balance, these minerals act as a tranquilizer to

the system. A calcium deficiency can create cramps and "nerves."
• Check your prescriptions. Stress reactions can increase
the potency of certain drugs (including a few that are
illegal) with respect to their neurological effects (Vergano).

• Get your rest. For many business people, the presentation

is just the most stressful event in an already stressed life.
If you are already functioning at the borderline, you might
lack the energy reserves you need to face a presentation.
Speeches are not something you only need to give once in
a while. Your life in business will probably require you to
make presentations of one kind or another on a regular
basis. If you are going to be successful, you simply must
make sure that your body is ready for the challenge.
Trick Yourself

You won't have much luck telling yourself not to be afraid when the source of
the problem is low blood sugar. On the other hand, you can do a few things
to help your brain help itself.
• Some people swear by imagining the audience naked--or
any other trick that allows you to relax about all those eyes
staring at you.

• Making yourself laugh--whether you meant to or not--will

nearly always help you relax. The more enjoyment you are
feeling, the easier it is to think with your cortex instead of
reacting with your adrenal glands.

• Associate speaking with fun. Practice your speeches in

 pleasant surroundings. At least during the rehearsal, get
relaxed and have fun. Teach your brain to associate
"talking with people" to having a party with friends.

• Eat happy foods. For the same reason, you can trigger a
dose of pleasure with the endorphins that are triggered by
certain foods. Women respond well to fat/sugar
combinations (chocolate, ice cream, cake), while men tend
toward fat/protein or fat/salt snacks (chips, french fries,
pizza). Be careful with the timing to avoid a sugar high or
a protein lump in the digestive system.

• Make it a point to dress in something you know you look

good in. Get a haircut or treat yourself to a manicure. Act
like you're getting ready for a hot date or a big party when
you want to be the center of attention.
Listen to Your Body

A final word of advice is in order, especially if stage fright has suddenly

appeared in someone who doesn't typically get stressed by public speaking.
If you find yourself nervous about making a certain point, or about showing
the evidence you are using to support it, your body might be giving you
signals to which you should be paying close attention. Especially when there
is a great deal of social pressure to conform, our brains sometimes manage
to ignore information that would lead us to act in another way. A person
who is pressured by colleagues to do something unethical, for instance,
might "forget" to make a count or "miss" the meaning of an email. At the
same time, though, the information has been processed unconsciously, and
the body reacts. So a headache appears, or the person breaks out in hives.
Stagefright can be a similar signal, warning you that these words are not the
right thing to say, that the time is not right to say them, or that this is the
wrong audience to hear them.