I woke up this morning, dreading the performances today.
“Why do you do it?” A. asked me “It’s supposed to be fun.”
“I know, I just don’t feel like going this morning. I’m tired and I wish I could spend today hiding under the duvet.”
Not a particularly good start but I got up, got dressed, practiced and went off to the festival anyway. Thank goodness, as it turns out.
I sang two pieces this morning. For the first one, I took first place, with a Cup and a Gold medal and for the second, another Gold medal! I was stunned! And thankful. I get stage fright and have to work really hard to suppress it. The songs are never the way they are during practice.
So why DO I do it?
I think it’s because at heart I’m a fairly lazy indolent person and if I didn’t continually put myself in situations where my comfort zone was challenged, I’d never get around to doing anything. As it is, I squirm on the hook of my own challenges but once committed, I can’t back out. Luckily…..
Now it’s time to eat and rest before the next one. Wish me luck, it’s opera……… 🙂
Learningwoman's Weblog 
Having stage fright is normal but we must not let this to control us or it may destroy our performance. We must know how to handle this kind of fear so I would like to share some tip to overcome this stage fright especially to those singers like you:
# Create a practice tape of you performing your song and listen to it over and over again. Just make sure that you perform it correctly on your tape.
# Try to repeat the lyrics out loud, either singing them or saying them, while doing other tasks. Practice the lyrics while doing the dishes, washing the car, walking to work, or any other similar task.
By: Ella Pelayo on March 24, 2008
at 10:37 am
Thanks Ella, I’ll keep it in mind for next time.
By: learningwoman on March 24, 2008
at 6:09 pm
Some years ago, I was asked to be master of ceremonies at a dinner in which legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry was to give the keynote address. It was a fairly small gathering of about 300 people at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.
Landry is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he played and coached in some of the biggest games in the history of the NFL. Not only that, but as a 20-year-old bomber pilot during World War II, but he flew missions over Germany. He had been shot at. Now that can scare you!
As he delivered his speech, I was privileged to sit directly next to the podium.
What I saw really surprised me.
Tom Landry was speaking to an audience that admired and probably even idolized him. There was no reason to be nervous in the least. In their eyes, he could do no wrong.
Yet, from my seat less than three feet away, I could see Tom Landry palms sweating and his hands trembling as he read from a stack of index cards containing his notes. He was literally shaking.
Like millions of other people, it seems Tom Landry was not immune to stage fright, or halophobia.
After the dinner ended, I got up some courage and approached him. “Coach,” I said, “would you mind if I asked you a question about your speech?”
“That’s fine,” he replied.
“Do you get nervous when you have to make a speech.”
Landry smiled. “Almost every time,” he replied
“How do you overcome it” I asked.
His response was memorable.
“I remind myself of what I often told my players,” he said. “Walk through your fear with faith. And you never let the fear of failure become the cause of failure.”
That’s certainly great advice from a great man for anyone who has to deal with a fear of public speaking.
And by the way, next time you get a little nervous because you have to make a speech, remind yourself that if someone like Tom Landry can get stage fright, or halophobia, the rest of us certainly shouldn’t be ashamed if we do too.
By: George (Who me? Stage fright?) McKenzie on April 8, 2008
at 10:56 am
Thanks for the story and the encouragement George. I appreciate that you took the time to give them. 🙂
By: learningwoman on April 30, 2008
at 10:24 pm