5 Tips To Help Overcome Performance Anxiety
Jul 11, 2022
Worrying and feeling anxious are natural human reactions to certain circumstances and situations but there's no need to worry unnecessarily! Be anxious for nothing! Feeling anxious occasionally can be beneficial in helping us detect when we're in a stressful situation. However, when anxiety spirals out of control it can interfere with our daily lives.
Anxiety does not discriminate based on age and can come from valid stressful circumstances or events, or from situations we create in our minds. Babies feel it when they're separated from their parents. Children feel it on their first day of school or before taking a test. Adults feel it when they're going through a major life change or when they're facing a difficult situation. As adults, we often face anxiety in different areas of our lives, whether it's related to our jobs, finances, relationships, or even just the thoughts in our heads.
For many people, anxiety stems from the fear of doing something. A very common anxiety-producing experience is public speaking. The fear of public speaking often comes from the realization that you are the center of attention. This can happen when you're delivering a speech, giving a presentation, or offering your product to an audience.
Performance anxiety is the feeling of extreme nervousness or stress that you get when you realize you have to perform in front of a crowd or audience. It shows up in different ways for different people. For example, someone might feel performance anxiety when presenting to an audience of 200 or 2000 people, while someone else might feel extreme performance anxiety when presenting to an audience of 2 people.
For some people, fear is not a factor when it comes to performing on stages or platforms. How do they manage this? People usually feel fear as a result of an immediate sense of danger or ridicule. For example, you may feel you're not good enough or knowledgeable enough to be the center of attention. While performance anxiety and Imposter Syndrome are closely related, many of the dangers we anticipate are products of our imagination.
Here are 5 steps to help you overcome performance anxiety so you can give your best performance every time.
Step one: Identify the Source
If you're feeling anxious, take a step back and try to identify the thoughts or problems that are holding you back. What triggers performance anxiety for you? What situations or contexts contribute to it? What stages, platforms, or environments cause this type of anxiety? Assessing and determining the source of your anxiety can help you better manage it.
Step 2 Become Familiar with You
It's important to get to know yourself, both as a person and as a performer. Knowing yourself will help you become better. We all have certain demeanors we display when during our day-to-day routine but when it's time for the lights we add a few things to polish our presentation.
When it's time to present ourselves to the world, we all put on a bit of a persona. Whether it's for a job interview or a first date, we want to make sure we make the best first impression possible. Whether it's our makeup, our outfit, or our posture, it's OK to polish our presentation. The key thing is to make sure you're your authentic self both on and off stage.
It's important to get to know both your personal and stage persona and try to find a way to align them seamlessly. This way, there won't be such a disconnect between the person behind the stage and the performer on stage. Remember, they're both still YOU!
Step 3: Exposure and Preparation
This step is essential for anyone looking to improve their performance. Find opportunities to expose yourself to limited or sprinkles of performance to improve your skills. If you have a fear of presenting in front of people, work your way up to it by practicing in front of smaller groups of people first. A smaller audience will help you refine your message and get feedback to help you improve. Every opportunity will help you build your skills and confidence for the next stage.
If you want to improve plan, prepare and practice. Read your message out loud. Practice in front of a mirror. Record yourself on video and then go back and watch it.
Being prepared will help you feel more confident. To calm your nerves before the performance, find something to relax you. Read something inspirational, say a prayer, and call a friend to give you that motivational boost you need. Whatever it is find your space of peace!
Step 4: The Performance
Keep your audience in mind when thinking of your BIG WHY. What benefits will they get from hearing your message? What benefits will you get as a result of them hearing your message? Try to have fun and enjoy the moment!
Step 5: After the Performance
Congratulations! You did it. Don't be too hard on yourself if you missed something or forgot something. If you need to, follow up with your audience or include it in your next presentation. You did your best and made progress- Good job! REWARD YOURSELF! After all, YOU SHOWED UP!
Instead of worrying about what other people think, train your thoughts to focus on positive thinking. Just imagine that they are thinking good things about you and they’ve been waiting on you. Visualize yourself as confident and capable until you gain complete confidence. As you change your thinking, your performance anxiety will slowly fade away. Remember, you got this!
This particular day, I was in D.C. It was a good day! I had a few moments to look back in retrospect on how far I have come. I just completed a video campaign with one of the nonprofit organizations I partner with. I was able to join some of my mentors and peers in the field. It is always an enjoyable time when I get to see them. I never would have believed I would end up where I am now.
About two weeks earlier, my uncle came to me and said, "Shawnte’ every time I turn around, you are constantly beating odds. I've never seen somebody go through this and go through that and still come out.” Surprisingly at the time when he was saying all of this, I was going through hell. I was getting hit on the left and on the right!
As I was looking back over the past few weeks and rehearsing the events, I said to myself, "Hold up, Girl! You have a history of BEATING ODDS."
So many people see who I am now, and they think, "Okay, I want you to be my mentor. I want you to be my coach.". Few truly know and understand my past struggles. It is more than a HIV diagnosis; HIV has become a light affliction. Like most resilient people, I have gone through so many challenges. Building resilience is necessary!
As the corporate woman, author, advocate, coach, mom and more, I want to start being more transparent about who Shawnte’ is behind the scenes. Our transparency can truly transform lives.
I recalled by 11th grade year in high school. I was going through a season where I was experiencing some issues at home which resulted in me living from home to home. After several weeks in this predicament, my boyfriend ended up sneaking me in his home when his mom was sleep. Most days were spent in school, then working, sitting at the pool house or in my boyfriend’s brother’s abandoned car. Some nights I even slept in the car.
I would wake up and shower in the house or go to the pool house to shower. I rode my 10-speed bike to high school every day. No one knew, except my close friends that I was homeless. I was just trying to get through the year, just trying to keep my head up. My principal at the time walked around daily with this arrogance. She was brutal but later I recognized she was simply doing her job as a leader. Grant it, I had an attitude most days as well. I was not as composed back then as I am now.
I was unable to ride the school bus because I did not have a permanent address to be placed on the route. As a result, I would arrive to school late most days. One particular day she said, "Shawnte,’ if you're late one more time, I'm going to expel you." It was just one of those days I just was not feeling it. She pushed all my buttons!
“Look, ma'am my legs are sore. I'm tired from riding this bike every day,” I was saying to myself. Before I knew it, the frustration that had built up for several months came out and I blurted out, "Well, just go ahead and do it." She replied, “Fine.” She expelled me! It was the final months of the school year. Therefore, since she expelled me instead of suspending me, my 11th grade would not count. Now it was her abrupt approach mixed with my negative demeanor that resulted in my outcome. I always say, your attitude can take you through doors or it can keep you out of doors you would have otherwise had access to. As a result, I had to sign up for summer school for the entire summer, to earn enough credits to enter 12th grade on schedule.
So here it is, I am homeless and now I have to find the money to pay for summer school. I eventually saved up enough money from my job at Pizza Hut to register for summer school. I did what I had to do! I finished summer school. I ended up coming back to D.C. for my 12th grade year and graduating from Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School on time!
Looking back at the situation, was it her fault I was in the predicament I was in? Sadly, she didn’t even know about my circumstance until after I was expelled from school. She wished I had come to her sooner before things spiraled out of control. How often are we guilty of blaming others for not helping us when they're unaware?
I had so many people tell me; I was not going to graduate on time or even at all. To see not only did I complete high school, but I earned one degree and then I went back and earned another degree. I am currently wrapping up my final semester of my third degree.
I was determined to prove something not to anyone else but to the little girl inside of me.
You have what it takes Shawnte’
You will get through this Shawnte’
You are smart enough Shawnte’
Heck, Shawnte’ YOU ARE ENOUGH
Every now and then I must remind myself of those moments. I am beating odds daily, but it is no goodness of my own. God placed a tenacity and determination within me that keeps me going even when I want to give up. Some days, I did not want to fight for myself. Somehow, someway I found strength to fight for others. I had people depending on me to SHOW UP! You never know who you are destined to help assist into their NEXT SEASON!
Whatever you go through remember, you were built for this! Rise up and bounce back! There is more in you and there is more to come.
Things to ponder on…
- Are you holding people hostage for not helping or supporting you and they were unaware you needed them?
- How many times have you continuously beat the odds? Make a list of the circumstances you have overcome. Include dates. Review your list (record) on days you do not feel worthy or courageous.
- Give yourself permission to get back up and try again. This time do it with support!
Don’t let the ODDS beat you, instead continue to beat the HECK out of the ODDS!
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