How can you transform stage fright into a powerful speaking asset?

One of the ways I beat fear is by staying honest. I am talking to human after all, it won't hurt to tell them how I felt coming up to the stage. Above all, I see it as another hurdle to overcome. And imagining my success helps me win always. ??

Fear is caused by the unknown. Asking yourself WHY you’re afraid is a great place to start. Most of the time, the fear is generated by your perception that you’re not prepared or (at a deeper level) qualified to be on stage. Only about 15% of the population has what we’d consider to be debilitating stage fright. Being fully prepared is the key to reducing the feelings of anxiety right before addressing a crowd. Know your message and focus on its content, rather than the circumstances in which you’re sharing it.

Externalize why you are on stage to begin with. If you remember that you are not on stage for yourself but to share ideas with, teach, and motivate your audience, basically you're there to help them and it's not about you, then your focus shifts to helping others and your own fears dissolve.

"Performance anxiety" is a term that includes stage fright. Elite athletes have learned how to manage anxiety for better performance. Science tells us how to embrace performance anxiety and use it to our advantage. 1. Develop a routine — Your routine helps focus your mind and should be something that makes you feel good. 2. Reframe anxiety as excitement — Physiologically, the two are indistinguishable. Tell yourself, "I am excited!" 3. Change your physical posture to change your mind — Make yourself big and open your posture. Practice "power poses." This affects the brain's testosterone and cortisol levels to your advantage. These 3 steps are supported by extensive performance psychology science and will help you overcome your fears.

Embrace the fear, and prepare. I've experienced how preparation can transform stress into confidence. I recently graduated from Speakers University thru the NSA (National Speakers Association) in NYC. We learned how to prepare, from entering the stage, to what to say, to how to say it. This experience is something I'll take with me wherever I go, whether I'm giving keynote speeches, or not. I learned that giving a great speech is more than just what you say, it's how you deliver it, and connect with your audience.

People spend a disproportionate amount of time focusing on the beginning, which makes sense. It’s the biggest hurdle to overcome. I think of any public speaking event in three acts—Opening, The Big Middle, and Closing. Making sure I can navigate the heart of it by being deeply familiar with both content and cadence has been helpful. It’s where you spend most of your time, so make sure to break up your speaking engagement into manageable parts and become deeply familiar with them, including where you want to pause and which words you want to emphasize. Nerves will inevitably be along for the ride, so preparing deeply gives them less power in the moment.

Success is creating a difference for your audience. If you deliver the perfect keynote but it doesn't resonate with the audience, you have not succeeded. So visualizing success is not about perfect delivering it;s about amazing connection.

It helps to also make your audience 'relax' by engaging them in some form of icebreaker, which could come in the form of a quick survey (related to your topic) or perhaps start by showing an interesting video (if applicable). Anything that would help you connect or be on common ground with the audience will help. Or start by telling a short personal but very relatable story as this would help you connect with their values or pain points (if any).

Before going out on that stage and in private, it might help to move, jump up and down, shake your arms and hands just to release those energies (associated with stress) that are beginning to build up. This could help you feel more balanced within and clear out those extra energies.