How To Overcome Stage Fright

Drink citrus juice before you go on stage. One study found people who downed OJ before giving a speech had lower blood pressure, fewer stress hormones, and less anxiety within just 15 minutes – and the effect lasted over 40 minutes!

Place your hands on top of your head or over your eyes or heart, and breathe deeply for a count of ten while visualizing a healing light coming through your hands. This Japanese exercise lowers blood pressure and decreases stress hormones.

Imagine everyone in the audience is a clone of one person: your best friend, your wife—whoever is your biggest supporter. This is a favorite technique of stage-fright sufferer Shirley MacLaine.

There’s a good reason meditators sit around saying, “Om.” Research shows that focusing your thoughts on one word – any word – actually switches the brain from busy beta waves to slower, calmer alpha waves.

Forget your low-carb diet for one day and enjoy bagels, pasta, and popcorn. Carbs trigger the release of the calming chemical serotonin in the brain.

Many actors and athletes wear a lucky charm to help them cope with performance anxiety. Richard Burton always wore something red when performing.

Read a rhythmic poem out loud 15 minutes before showtime. Reciting poetic rhymes calms the nervous system by making you focus on something else, and the rhythmic patterns of speech help slow your breathing.