We all want to have good performances. Performances that make you feel good about yourself. Performances that make you feel powerful and in control. Performances that make you feel confident and meaningful. In this article, you’re going to learn 5 steps that help you overcome your performance anxiety and allow you to have amazing performances that make you feel really, really good. Step 1: Be Prepared. One of the main causes of performance anxiety is not feeling confident about what you’re going to do in front of the people. “How does that lick go?” “Where’s that direction change?” Practice effectively and make sure you’re ultra-prepared so that when you’re in front of people you know exactly what to do. Step 2: Avoid or Limit Caffeine and Sugar on Show Days. Caffeine and sugar can make you jittery. When you’re jittery, you feel weird. Feeling weird and jittery is no way to feel confident going into a performance so avoid consuming caffeinated and/or sugary beverages or food before your performance. Step 3: Don’t Focus on What Could go Wrong. Focus on What Will go Well. You’ve heard about people psyching themselves out, right? Well that’s exactly what you do if you focus on what could go wrong. Shift your focus to what will go well and how great it will feel to do that well. If your mindset is positive and optimistic, you’ll be much less likely to psych yourself out which leads to fewer mistakes and a better performance. Step 4: Breath and Relax. If you feel yourself getting worked up before a performance, slow down for a second, take a few deep breaths, and then focus again on what will go well. Step 5: Connect with Your Audience and Have Fun. We perform to share the experience of the activity. The audience isn’t there to critique you and judge you - they’re there to be entertained and be part of the experience. They don’t want you to mess up, they want you to do well! Connect with them, make eye contact, show them that you’re in to your performance and as a result they’ll be in to your performance. If you work through these 5 steps before a performance, you will be well on your way to having an amazing show that makes you feel really, really good. Now, go put this process in action and play like a boss!

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by

Pat McLaughlin

15 November 2012 in Education