JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Performance Anxiety/Stage Fright

Hi Wendy:

The experts have already weighed in. I just wanted to share something I find interesting. When I was in high school, I couldn't even stand in front of a group of 10 people and talk coherently. Now, I'm comfortable giving a lecture to 200 people.

As Mike indicated, it was simply doing it over and over again, with the number of people increasing along the way. Same thing happened to me with climbing. I had a horrible fear of heights that has since become simply a healthy respect. The only way that happened was to keep climbing - a little higher each time.

In both instances, the process was painful - but I knew what I wanted to do and that I would have to keep at it until the anxiety passed.

"Passed" isn't even the right word - maybe "fades".

The interesting thing is that I have the same performance anxiety you do. I can talk in front of people just fine, but stick a guitar in my hand and ask me to sing and I'm a wreck. I've done it just enough though to know that the same pattern holds - it gets just a little easier each time.

I'll never get there though because I just don't have the same jones for performing as I do for teaching and climbing. But I know what it would take if I wanted to - and it's what Mike said.

Scott