Why The Stage Fright? --- contributed by @Sussan

Sweaty palms. Racing heart. You know the feeling. Whether it’s five people or fifty, public speaking is a gut-wrenching experience for most people regardless of their practice and experience

A popular public speaker (male) says that he has a huge fear of speaking in public. Any time he has to present something in front of more than a handful of people, his stomach would turn to knots and his throat would get so tight he wouldn’t be able to speak.

Another renowned speaker (female) who has performed right from when she was eight years old first as a magician and now as a professional speaker, says that even though she has been so successful that she can conveniently travel the world, every time she has a new show she still frets. She says that what sticks to her mind is not the successes but scenarios where things went wrong, like when she caught someone looking at his watch 10minutes into her 1hour presentation.

Some people whose career require them to speak publicly often, keep waiting for their anxiety to go away and be replaced by the security and hope that comes from practice and experience. But, often, anxiety refuses to move out of the way.

The truth is, if you’re planning on presenting anything in your life, you’ll need to be able to effectively communicate your ideas in front of at least a few people.
To get over the nervousness of public speaking, a good place to start would be to understand why stage fright happens in the first place.

What Happens in our Brain

Sometimes, long before a presentation day, you might be thinking, “What happens if people think I suck or someone thinks I don’t know what I’m talking about?”
We’re humans, we’re hardwired to worry about our reputation above almost all things. There are primitive parts of our brain that control our reaction to threats on our reputation, making these reactions extremely difficult to control.

When you’re thinking about negative consequences, a part of your brain, the hypothalamus, activates and triggers the pituitary gland to secrete the hormone ACTH. This hormone stimulates the Adrenal Glands in the kidneys and results in the release of adrenaline into the blood.
Your blood pressure increases and your digestive system shuts down to maximize efficient delivery of even more nutrients and oxygen to your vital organs. When your digestive system shuts down, this causes the feeling of dry mouth or butterflies.

Your eyes are not left out. Your pupils dilate, which makes it hard sometimes to read anything close but improves long range visibility, making you more aware of your audience’s facial expressions.

Three Main Reasons Why Stage Fright Happens:

• Genes

Genetics play a huge role in how strong your feelings of anxiety are in social situations. For example, John Lennon performed on stage thousands of times, but he was known for throwing up just before going on stage for his live performances.
Some people are simply genetically wired to feel more scared when performing or speaking in public.

• How much mastery You have

The main benefit of practice is to be familiar with the subject at hand. Feelings of anxiety reduces with an increase in mastery, this in turn leads to a positive impact on performance.
That is, the more comfortable you are with your material, the less anxious you’re going to be.
Researchers have also found that, if you know your presentation inside out like the back of your hands, you’re more likely to give a great presentation in front of a large audience than when you rehearse alone or in front of a friend.

• Stakes involved

If you’re giving a presentation where your business is at stake or the whole nation is watching you speak, there are more chances that your reputation could be massively damaged if you do not perform well.
The higher the stakes, the higher the chances that your reputation could be completely ruined if you perform poorly. This knowledge triggers the release of more adrenaline in the blood, and results in paralyzing fear and anxiety.
Having a good reputation is important to protect but, this also leads to having a fear that one slip-up could ruin your reputation and cause the loss of future opportunities.

Having an insight to what causes stage fright can help us deal with it better.

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