For some people, anxiety or a slight fear of public speaking can turn into a full-blown phobia, clinically known as glossophobia. People with glossophobia can feel overwhelmed by the mental and physical effort of speaking publicly and it can cause different problems in the affected person’s life. Fortunately, different strategies can help you overcome glossophobia and improve your public speaking skills.

This article looks at the reasons and causes of glossophobia, and offers some effective public speaking tips to help anyone master the courage to speak in front of a crowd. We also look at the use of beta blockers & other anxiety medications and their effectiveness in overcoming glossophobia.

What Is Glossophobia?

Glossophobia is a medical term that refers to an intense phobia or fear of public speaking. This fear of public speaking is verycommon, affecting as many as 40% of Americans ^[1]. Glossophobia is not a chronic condition or a dangerous disease, however.

For those affected by Glossophobia, speaking in public (or just the thought of doing so) typically triggers intense anxiety and feelings of discomfort. With that, you may start to uncontrollably tremble, sweat, and experience a racing heartbeat. You might also get the overwhelming urge to walk away (or run) completely from the stress-inducing situation.

As a social anxiety disorder, the effects of glossophobia might extend beyond the occasional nervousness or worry. It might cause an intense fear that’s out of proportion to the thought or physical effort required to speak in public. Glossophobia can also get worse over time and may interfere with your normal functions and/or career tasks.

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Is Glossophobia (Fear of Public Speaking) The Number One Fear In The World?

You’ve probably heard that most people fear public speaking more than death. While that may sound crazy, the vast majority of people in the world rank glossophobia as their number one fear. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, glossophobia affects about 75% of people worldwide ^[3].

For some people, that simply means feeling uncomfortable when speaking to a group of people. For others, it’s the fear of speaking to even one person if they have the power to evaluate your performance; like a supervisor, professor, or interviewer.

The comedian Jerry Seinfeld tells his classic joke about public speaking being more scary then death!

Public Speaking Anxiety Symptoms

When faced with a situation where you have to give a presentation or speak in public, most people experience a fight-or-flight response. This is your body’s way of preparing to defend itself against perceived threats. This threat response is biologically programmed into us, and was a natural response to threats in nature that our ancestors likely faced constantly. Although we may live in a more civilized and (broadly speaking) safer world today, our biological responses and bodily processes still remain as if a tiger attack was just as likely as anything else.

If we can understand the triggers of this ‘threat response’ underlying our public speaking fears, then we can perhaps develop a glossophobia prevention and treatment strategy.

When our bodies feel threatened, the brain becomes hyper-alert and prompts the release of hormones like adrenaline. This increases the energy and blood sugar levels in the body, causing our heart rate and blood pressure to rise. It’s at this point that we see common flight-or-flight/anxiety symptoms such as ^[1]:

• Trembling
• Sweating
• Rapid heartbeat
• Muscle tension
• Vomiting or nausea
• Hyperventilating or shortness of breath
• Dizziness
• Urge to escape & get away

Beta Blockers For Public Speaking: Do They Work?

If you’re suffering from severe glossophobia and it’s interfering with your daily schedule, it’s best to consult a medical professional. A doctor, therapist or psychologist can help you develop an effective treatment plan tailored to your needs. Fortunately, most people can overcome their glossophobia using cognitive behavioral therapy, which would consist of working with a therapist/CBT practitioner to identify the root causes of their phobia.

When therapy fails to relieve any glossophobia symptoms, your doctor might prescribe pharmaceutical solutions such as beta-blockers to help treat your anxiety issues. Beta-blockers are normally used in treating cardiovascular conditions like high blood pressure, chest pains, and some heart conditions ^[5]. These medications limit the release of adrenaline and stress hormones in your body.

Because of how beta-blockers influence your body, many health professionals recommend them for treating performance anxiety and glossophobia symptoms. Some recent research into public speaking shows that performers actually experience physical glossophobia symptoms because of the adrenaline that their brain pumps into their bloodstream when on stage ^[4].

By using beta-blockers to limit the release of the stress hormones in your body, you are preventing your heart rate from spiking, maintaining low blood pressure and helping to hold off performance anxiety symptoms. However, using beta-blockers come with a risk of developing dependency and withdrawal symptoms that cause issues like high blood pressure ^[5].

So, while beta-blockers are safe for public speakers & performers looking for a quick solution to glossophobia, it’s wise to incorporate natural beta blocker alternatives for anxiety in order to be able to consistently perform for the long run. I constantly recommend the PerformZen supplement as a natural performance anxiety solution that can alleviate your physical glossophobia symptoms without developing dependency issues in the long run ^[6].

10 Public Speaking Tips To Help With Glossophobia

Many famous people have long struggled with glossophobia, ranging from politicians to actors and presidents. Warren Buffet, for instance, admitted in an interview that he was scared of speaking in public early in his career ^[7]. The successful investor and chairperson of Berkshire Hathaway had to overcome his glossophobia to achieve his full potential.

Another extreme case of glossophobia was Mahatma Gandhi. According to an article published in The Atlantic, Gandhi had such a severe case of glossophobia that he froze and ran out of the courtroom during his first case as a young lawyer ^[8]. Fortunately, Gandhi managed to overcome his fears over time and turn them to his advantage.

But how did Gandhi, Warren Buffet, and others overcome their fear of public speaking?

If you’re faced with similar public speaking problems, there are several public speaking tips you can use to overcome your glossophobia and master the courage to address a crowd. These public performance anxiety tips might not make you have the exact same results as Gandhi or Buffet (with your speeches or bank account), but having solid public speaking skills will serve you continuously throughout your life and career. Here are our 10 tips:

1. Practice, Practice, Practice

You don’t expect an athlete to win the Olympic gold without putting in hours of practice or rehearsal. And while your public speaking goals might be a little more modest than those of Olympic athletes, you will still have to put in the time if you want to get better at it. From creating a decent structure, storytelling, or ending compellingly, you’ll need to take note of your strengths and weaknesses at the end of every presentation.

A little practice or rehearsal can go a long way in helping you reduce that shaky feeling of performing in front of an audience. Preparing and rehearsing your speech will also help you get the timing right when delivering your speech. Of course, practice might be a pain in some cases, but nothing beats practice when preparing for a public speaking event.

Instead of letting fear build up in your body when you’re worried about giving a speech, take up the challenge early enough by starting your rehearsal with plenty of time to spare. Proper practice will help you time the message well and ensure you cover all the key elements without making things appear rushed.

Famed keynote speaker and best-selling author Brian Tracy says the best way to combat glossophobia is to “prepare your speech so well that you can answer any possible question the audience may throw at you” ^[9]. You’ll want to be prepared well for your presentation or speech so that you have ready answers for whatever surprise question that might be thrown your way. This isn’t always possible, but it’s a good mindset & approach to keep in mind while practicing.

2. Perform A Full Trial Run-Through/Rehearsal of your talk

This is a direct follow-up to the first tip on practice. I know it’s time-consuming, but practicing for your speech is the best way to reduce your anxiety and nervousness level ahead of your presentation. Of course, speech planning can be a nightmare with a busy schedule, but your presentation will not be as impactful without proper preparation.

Public speaking experts recommend writing down your whole speech and polishing up every minor detail until everything looks great without any unnecessary details ^[10]. I also recommend performing a ‘mock’ performance in front of your family, friends, or colleagues. You can simply ask someone to film your speech performance using a smartphone and look at it to identify any quirks or lines that are not flattering.

If you’re not close to anyone who you can run your speech by; talking in front of a mirror, wall, or indoor plant also works. You’ll want to talk loudly when rehearsing your speech ahead of a live event in order to memorize the key points and deliver them easily. Just writing down your speech without rehearsing it verbally usually isn’t enough.

3. Arrive Early At Venue & Mentally Conquer The Environment

According to celebrated public speaker, trainer, and author Michael Virardi, arriving early at the venue before going up on stage dramatically reduces stress ^[11]. Try and arrive at least two hours before you’re scheduled to be on the stage in order to give yourself enough time to find your bearings, get a feel for the room and focus on your speech delivery. If you arrive before the other speakers start taking the stage, you’ll be able to walk around the stage and visualize your audience and performance in the space; a great way to reduce your anxiety.

Speakers that arrive only minutes before they’re set to take the stage are often unprepared and flustered. This carries through to your presentation and your audience might feel like your speech is rushed. The hosts might also notice your lack of preparation if you don’t seem confident enough while on the stage.

For larger events, arriving early or visiting the venue ahead of the event will give you enough time to iron out technical difficulties like video, sound, and lighting control. Whether you’re working with a single technician or a large team, arriving early allows you to meet your crew and test the equipment. This can make a huge difference in how you deliver your speech.

More importantly, arriving early helps you to see & meet your audience in advance. This is a crucial step in mentally conquering your environment, which goes a long way in reducing your anxiety levels. The room might not fill up until a few minutes into the presentation, but you can build a rapport with the proactive audience that tends to arrive early.

4. Perform Breathing Exercises

Some breathing exercises have proven effective in dealing with the onset of the physical symptoms caused by your body’s response to stress ^[12]. When you’re exposed to stressful situations like public speaking, your breathing patterns change. Typically, you’ll take small shallow breaths using your shoulders instead of the diaphragm. This breathing style disrupts the gaseous balance in your body and is not good for blood flow.

Hyperventilating or shallow over-breathing can intensify feelings of anxiety by prolonging the physical symptoms of stress. As such, controlling your breathing patterns can help minimize these symptoms. When you’re relaxed, you breathe through your nose slowly and gently.

Deliberately mimicking a relaxed breathing pattern can help to calm your nervous system ^[13]. One way you can do that is by invoking a deep breathing technique known as diaphragmatic breathing or abdominal breathing. Deep diaphragmatic breathing encourages the full exchange of oxygen in your body, which helps to slow your heartbeat and stabilize your blood pressure.

5. Develop A Pre-Performance Routine

Many CEOs, actors, singers, comedians, and other successful celebrities have some type of pre-performance ritual before getting on the stage or going into important engagements. But why?

Does it mean that most public speakers or celebrities that have pre-performance rituals are superstitious or is it just for the warm-up? Well, “Psyched Up” author Daniel McGinn believes there’s a strong link between pre-performance rituals and mental preparedness, which is essential in effective public speaking ^[14].

If you’re too relaxed while on the stage, you risk boring your audience. For instance, if you’re taking long pauses, talking at a monotonous slow pace, and strolling on the stage, it might seem like you’ve forgotten why you’re there. Additionally, if you are over-stressed, you’re likely to speak too rapidly, making you seem inexperienced or unprofessional.

Any type of pre-performance routine will enhance your performance, put you in the right mind frame and help you combat anxiety ^[16]. While such rituals might seem superstitious, research suggests that it psyches you up, helping to focus your concentration and energy. Essentially, a pre-performance ritual helps puts you into your optimal performance zone. However, your routine needs to be unique to you and without any negative thoughts.

6. Join A Public Speaking Class

Whether you’re a seasoned public speaking veteran accustomed to delivering speeches to massive crowds, or you’re relatively new at speaking to people, taking a public speaking class is highly beneficial. A good public speaking class can teach you key communication skills that can help you achieve different goals.

For most people, learning how to deliver a speech in public is what comes to mind when they think about public speaking classes. In reality, a good public speaking class is designed to teach you essential communication skills that can be useful in everything from speech delivery at a family gathering to presenting ideas at work.

Of course, there are different public speaking courses available today, each with its unique benefits. That includes professional speaking classes, motivational speaking courses, and corporate or executive speaking classes.

7. Get ‘Into Your Body’

Getting into your body simply means taking on some physical exercises before your speech performance. Some people like to burn off energy by doing some yoga, cardio, or taking long walks. Whenever you feel the anxiety building up in your body ahead of a big presentation, play a basic yoga routine video on YouTube and burn some energy.

Research shows that physical activity makes your heart pump faster and stimulates the release of endorphins in your brain ^[16]. The endorphins interact with your brain’s receptors, helping to reduce any pre-presentation anxiety that you might have. Fortunately, yoga can increase your heart rate variability, which increases the body’s ability to handle stress ^[17].

Regular yoga practice can also make you more resilient towards stressful situations and change how you react to physical anxiety symptoms like trembling and heart palpitations ^[18]. The yoga exercises teach your brain to flexibly adapt to change easily, which is essential in building the stress resilience required to overcome glossophobia.

8. Try The Stoic ‘Fear Setting’ Exercise

You’ve probably heard that visualizing positive results can help you succeed in your endeavors. However, there’s another powerful approach that involves visualizing the worst scenario and coming to terms with it. That’s what stoic fear-setting is all about.

For some, anxiety is a chronic condition interferes with daily life. While there may not be one definitive cause for anxiety; it is generally believed to be the result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Recent research is also suggesting that anxiety may be neurodivergent, meaning that it may stem from differences in the brain. This theory is supported by the fact that anxiety disorders are often comorbid with other conditions, such as ADHD and autism.

While more research is needed within this area, the neurodivergence theory provides a potential explanation for why some people are more susceptible to anxiety than others.

Neurodivergence, or Neurodiversity, is quite a new concept within the mental health space itself. In this article we are going to look into what neurodivergence is, what the benefits & symptoms of neurodivergence are, and answer the question once and for all: is anxiety neurodivergent?

What is Neurodivergence?

The term “neurodivergent” was first coined by the Australian sociologist, Judy Singer, in the late-1990s and it refers to the idea that differences in the human brain are natural and normal and, in many cases, can lead to meaningful and positive insights and abilities ^[1]. People are described as neurodiverse when their thought patterns, behaviors, or learning styles fall outside of what is considered “normal,” or neurotypical.

Neurodiversity is:
– a state of nature to be respected
– an analytical tool for examining social issues
– an argument for the conservation and facilitation of human diversity

~ Judy Singer 2020

According to the Syracuse University National Symposium on Neurodiversity, neurological differences that fall under the banner of Neurodiverse include ^[2]:

• Dyspraxia
• Dyslexia
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Dyscalculia
• Autistic Spectrum
• Tourette Syndrome

You may notice that anxiety isn’t on that list, but we’ll return to that point later.

Although Neurodivergence is a growing idea in mainstream science, it does not (yet) receive official recognition in scientific and diagnostic circles. But it’s still become an important term, particularly for those within the neurodiverse community.

What is Neurotypical?

As an inverse to neurodivergence, the word “neurotypical” may be used to describe individuals whose brain develops and functions in ways that are considered usual or expected by society. This term may also be used to refer to those who do not have developmental disorders, like autism or the conditions in the list above ^[3].

This typically means that neurotypical individuals are:

• May not have cognitive, learning, or social difficulties that necessitate coping mechanisms
• May have lack of speech or certain motor impediments
• May have the ability to readily identify and respond to social cues
• May not experience sensory issues
• May hit all mental (and some physical) developmental milestones

What Is It Like to Be Neurodivergent?

There is no single, all-encompassing answer to what it’s like to be neurodivergent. There isn’t even an answer to what it’s like to have any kind of specific neurodivergent diagnosis as people are too individual and unique; in the same way that it doesn’t feel the same for all people to have bodies, it doesn’t feel the same for all people with different neurodivergent diagnoses.

Life is experienced differently by all humans, whether their brains function very similarly to the majority of people, or very different ^[4].

What Are The Benefits of Being Neurodivergent?

There are many people who are neurodivergent who are also quite accomplished and successful. Obviously “correlation does not imply causation” as the saying goes, but it seems clear that there can be benefits to being neurodivergent.

More and more people who are neurodivergent are talking about their experiences on public platforms, some examples of famous and successful people who are neurodivergent including ^[5]:

• Animal scientist and author Temple Grandin
• Oscar-winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins
• Musician and singer Florence Welch
• Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles
• Climate activist Greta Thunberg

Experts also believe several accomplished historical figures were neurodivergent based on evidence from their lives, including:

• Nobel Prize-winning physicist and chemist Marie Curie
• Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Albert Einstein
• Artist Vincent Van Gogh
• Inventor and engineer Nikola Tesla
• Author F. Scott Fitzgerald

Business leaders also have a growing understanding of the value of being neurodivergent. In 2017, the magazine Harvard Business Review published “Neurodiversity as a competitive advantage.” The article details the benefits of hiring people who are neurodivergent and why more businesses are doing so.

That same article noted that several major national and international corporations have hiring processes that can accommodate people who are neurodivergent ^[6]. Those corporations include some of the largest names in information technology, the automotive industry, the banking sector and more.

Is Anxiety a Form of Neurodivergence?

Anxiety is not technically a form of neurodivergence because people can have it whether they are neurodivergent or not. However, statistics from the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA) show how neurodiverse people can experience anxiety ^[7]:

• 1 in five autistic adults, or 40% of them, may have an anxiety disorder. They are 5 times more likely to have it than non-autistic adults
• 50% of adults with ADHD have a co-occuring anxiety disorder
• 49% of adults with Tourette syndrome may experience anxiety problems

Final Thoughts

As our understanding of mental disorders and traits has grown, the concept of Neurodiversity has woven deeper into the mainstream.

While it is not (yet) recognized officially, the word has found itself in scientific studies, special education, medicine, counseling, and more. This has led to a greater understanding of what we once considered disorders, as well as the importance of such traits in past, present, and future society.

If you answered nervous and flustered, then you might be part of the unlucky minority of golf players who frequently experience sweaty palms, racing heartbeats, and other symptoms of anxiety & nerves on the golf course.

To make it worse, you might only experience these nervous symptoms when playing a competitive game, and not so much at the driving range.

It’s highly likely that you are experiencing golf anxiety, another term for ‘golfing nerves’ or even ‘golf yips‘ although the yips are a more involved (and heavily researched) issue.

Believe it or not, the fact that you experience nervousness on the golf course can actually be a good sign. Studies have actually shown that successful professional golfers tend to experience more anxiety and nervousness before getting on the course ^[1].

But those same professional golfers also also have relaxation & preparation strategies that allow them to harness their nervousness, turn it into excitement, and ultimately improve their performance.

Let’s take a look at how you can harness these same techniques that professional golfers use to overcome golfing nerves. In this article we will try to understand why you experience golf nerves and a few remedies to help you overcome nervousness & anxiety on the golf course, so that you can also elevate your performance like the professionals.

Why am I experiencing Golfing Nerves?

Golfing nerves are essentially a form of performance anxiety. Performance anxiety, like any other form of anxiety, is a complex issue. There are physical, mental, and emotional components that can all play a role.

You may have heard stories of high-level athletes completely losing form after they make one critical mistake that cost them, or their team, an important game.

This is the same thing that might be throwing you off your golf game. How much anxiety you’re experiencing on the golf course typically comes down to one thing: how much negative stress you feel during a game, and how your mind and body respond to that stress.

That’s why you can be on top of your game at the driving range, or when you’re casually playing on the course. But when you’re competing, or when the stakes are high in your mind, the pressure to perform can get to be a bit too much, and you end up hitting into the lake or the sand dune.

Stress response and golfing nerves

If you perceive the stakes to be high in any situation, you will typically be more afraid to make a mistake. With golf, you might fear that a bad score will negatively impact your career as a pro golfer, or it could simply be the fact that you don’t want to lose to your friends.

Whatever the reason, if you feel like you can’t make a mistake then there is added stress, and your body responds by releasing stress hormones that can affect you physiologically ^[2].

This spike in stress hormones can put added pressure on your heart and potentially lead to physical symptoms of anxiety. Physical symptoms of anxiety include:

• Excessive sweating
• Rapid heart rate
• Trembling hands

At this point, if you try to force yourself to calm down, it can backfire and you may end up getting even more nervous. You go ahead and take the shot anyway, and the ball ends up nowhere you want it to!

What’s the key to overcoming Golfing Nerves?

One of the biggest reason golfers suffer from nervousness during a round is that they are too focused on how other golfers around them are performing, be that golfers on the leader-board or in their own group.

When a nervous golfer sees other golfers shooting lower scores or scoring birdie on a hole, they often respond in panicked ways; trying to match scores by attempting to hit the perfect shot, even if they lack the confidence in their ability to make the shot.

This approach leads to increased anxiety, inaccuracy and overwhelming frustration ^[3].

A better approach, and the key to remedying golf nerves and anxiety, is to play the golf course as if you were in a bubble!

You need to focus inward on your own game, and promote relaxation (mentally & physically).

Just like the pros, you need to train yourself to be more relaxed, both on and off the golf course.

The good news is that you can train your body to respond better to stress & nervousness with the golf nerves remedies below. With proper relaxation practices, you’ll still get the adrenaline spike whenever the stakes are high. But instead of letting it control you, you will be able to harness the extra energy to intensify your focus and performance.

Here’s a very relevant video all about overcoming golf nerves & golf anxiety:

A video showing techniques to overcome Golf Nerves

4 Techniques for calming your golf nerves

Let’s look at four specific strategies & techniques that you can utilize both on and off the course in order to promote a calm, relaxed, but still focused state the next time you get ready to tee up.

1. Increase your confidence

If you are able to develop more confidence around your golf game, the natural result is that you will feel less stressed about your performance.

Of course, the best way to become more confident in your golf game is to practice more. But practice without structure is inefficient. You want your practice and progress to be structured, planned, and measured.

More experienced golfers suggest making plans to visit the driving range or the course a certain number of times each week or month. Try to set goals in order to improve each week or month, and measure your progress.

If you are not improving at all, consider hiring a trainer to help improve your game. The best golfers know how to control their anxiety because they don’t have to overthink their swing. It is like second nature to them. And you can only get to that level through relentless practice and persistence ^[4].

2. Breathing techniques for golf

If you are able to increase your confidence by strategically improving your golf game, you will still most likely feel some jitters when it’s game time, unfortunately.

At this stage, I recommend taking a page out of the navy seal playbook; try Tactical Breathing to calm the nerves.

“Tactical breathing” is a trick used by the Navy Seals to stay calm under pressure ^[5]. I think you’ll agree that there isn’t really a more high-pressure job than that of a navy seal. So, if it works for them, chances are that tactical breathing will also help you overcome nerves on the golf course.

Done right, Tactical Breathing can switch your nervous system back to a relaxed mode. You will feel your heart rate slow down, and any jitteriness should steadily disappear.

You can try try tactical breathing at the driving range, or when you’re about to break eighty. Here are the steps:

1. Take a deep breath into your stomach to a count of four
2. Hold your breath and count to four
3. Exhale slowly to a count of four
4. Repeat the process till you feel calmer and in control

3. Golf Visualization

Golf visualization can be summarized as imagining the perfect shot before you actually take it, and it can have a few positive effects.

For one, it can result in a better shot. Elite athletes like Lindsay Vonn, Michael Phelps and others have routinely used visualization to improve their performances ^[6].

The other benefit of visualizing is that it will switch your focus from the negative and destructive thought patterns that might be contributing to your golf anxiety and nerves.

Instead of worrying about how everyone will laugh at you if you sink the ball in the lake one more time, you’re switching your focus to what you really want to accomplish.

And the more you practice visualizing, the more you will find that your brain and body will fall into the right swing with just the right amount of power to accomplish what you want.

Needless to say, visualization will only have a positive effect as long as you also put in the hard work and practice. But hard work, along with mental imagery, can be a powerful combination for both your golf swing and nervousness.

4. Medications

For more extreme cases of nervousness and anxiety, you may want to look into anxiety medications like beta-blockers (Propranolol, Metoprolol, Atenolol, etc).

But if you would like to try a natural alternative to beta blockers that also provides an added cognitive boost, I recommend that you give natural anxiety supplements like PerformZen a try in order to promote relaxation under pressure.

I suggest PerformZen to clients because it contains GABA, L-theanine and Magnesium, as well as cognitive-enhancing ingredients Ginkgo Biloba, Vitamin B6 and Theacrine. These ingredients have been shown to help induce a calming effect on the body, as well as keeping the brain as sharp as it needs to be on the golf course.

I even reviewed PerformZen in this article & got some interesting insight from the founder (as well as secured a limited-time discount for PerformanceAnxiety.com readers). See the review here.

Instant All-Natural Performance Anxiety Relief

PerformZen is a natural supplement uniquely crafted to overcome stage fright and performance anxiety so you can perform at your best on demand!

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Final thoughts on nervousness on the golf course

Golfing nerves is a real issue that is quite common among golfers, even experienced ones.

While you want your adrenaline levels to rise so you can elevate your intensity and awareness during a game, you want to make sure that it doesn’t kick into overdrive and make you jittery and uncontrolled.

To overcome golfing nerves, try some of the tips mentioned in this article like tactical breathing, visualization, and getting back to basics with your training & practice.

Some of the greatest golfers of all time have suffered from the same issue and have pulled through, let them serve as inspiration for you! For an added cognitive boost, be sure to check out the PerformZen supplement review.

Golf Nerves Frequently Asked Questions

I received some emails from readers who had more specific questions about extreme golfing nerves. I’m publishing my responses here to refer people to in future. If you have your own questions, leave a comment down below or get in contact here.

Nicknamed ‘The Silver Scott‘, Scottish-born Armour first experienced the golf yips in 1927 at the Shawnee Open. In that match, he first began having problems draining the short putts which he previously had no problem holing (he had previously won the French Amateur Championship in 1920 and the 1927 U.S. Open).

During that (in)famous tournament, Tommy Armour set a record that is still cited today. He made a score of 23 on a single hole ^[1]. In fact, he carded a 23 on the par-five 17th hole, a rather dubious single-hole score that has never been beaten since!

Tommy Armour said that the yips were “a brain spasm that impairs the short game.” ^[5]

So what is the cause of these yips that seem to affect all levels of golf players, and even athletes in other sports (the yips isn’t confined to just golf; baseball yips, cricket yips & tennis yips are all related conditions)? Is the yips a psychological issue, a physical issue or maybe even a neurological issue? In this article we’ll put the golf yips under the microscope; understanding what causes them and offering up 5 proven golf yips cures for those who have been suffering and want to improve their golf game.

What Is the meaning of ‘Golf Yips’?

Mayo Clinic describes the yips as “involuntary wrist spasms that occur most commonly when golfers are trying to putt.”

The description goes on to state that some people have the yips due to a neurological condition affecting specific muscles (focal dystonia) ^[2].

Studies at Arizona State University have attempted to show that the yips is not anxiety or nervousness — it’s a neurological condition where your arm or wrist muscles are operating against each other at the same time, resulting in a flubbed shot ^[3].

While the technical definition of the yips is referring to a neurological condition, it is commonly accepted among most golfers that ‘golf yips’ can also refer to severe performance anxiety affecting a players game.

While the golf yips can impact all types of golf shots, it is normally associated with the short game. Shots that require more finesse in the fingers, hands, wrists and arms tend to be the worst impacted by the yips. So primarily pitch shots, chip shots, and putts ^[4].

On the golf course, this usually translates into previously competent players seemingly forgetting how to make simple shots. Mentioning the term ‘yips’ is generally considered to be bad practice while on the green with other players… golfers are a suspicious bunch after all!

Golf Yips Symptoms

The symptoms associated with the yips are involuntary movements that happen during a live swing at a live ball. This is very different from other types of anxiety like glossophobia (fear of public speaking).

A typical scenario might be where a golfer performs one or two practice swings perfectly fine, only to see the live swing failing to reproduce the movements involved prior.

These symptoms during a short putt might be where a practice swing shows a smooth back and forth motion, but the live putt would see a jerky motion with the wrists flicking. The consequence is often a closing or opening of the club face and/or seeing the ball rolling off quite a distance past the flag ^[6].

The key to overcoming Golf Yips

A Yipping problem is commonly thought to have two components to it: a physical issue and a mental issue.

With the physical side, it is possible that golf yips are being caused by an insecurity towards the proper technique to master for a given shot.

So let’s say you are faced with a difficult pitch or chip shot with a uncertainty that makes you doubt how best to proceed. It is entirely possible that this doubt – however conscious – will translate into a less than confident strike at the ball ^[6].

The obvious solution is to focus on mastering the fundamentals of the type of shot that is most responsible for your yip-related misses. An example of fundamentals might be returning to basics and making sure you are using a proper golf grip.

On the mental side, it is entirely possible that yips are caused by performing a shot while under pressure. As we know, yips normally occur only in live shots at that ball and not during the practice swings that precede them. Consequently, it may be that the pressure of a difficult shot, during a high-pressure match can lead to yipping. In this scenario, you are suffering from performance anxiety that is affecting your game.

As this website is all about performance anxiety, we will focus on solving the mental side of your golf game, and leave the golf fundamental issues to be fixed by the reader through whatever method they think best.

The key to overcoming yips on the golf course isn’t to “try” and reduce the pressure artificially. Instead, the goal is to promote relaxation ^[7].

You can train your body to respond better to stress & high-pressure shots with the golf yips remedies we will discuss below.

Here’s a video all about overcoming golf yips/golf anxiety:

A video showing how to overcome Golf Anxiety

5 Cures For Golf Yips – How to remain calm & focused on the golf course

Let’s look into five specific remedies that you can use both on and off the golf course to promote a calm, relaxed, but focused state the next time you get ready to tee up.

Golf Yips Cure #1: Increase your confidence

When developing more confidence around your golf game, it is only natural that you’ll feel less stressed and anxious about your performance. And of course, the best way to become more confident is through practice. But the practice and progress must be structured, planned, and measured.

I suggest making plans to visit the driving range or the course a certain number of times each week or month. Try to set goals in order to improve each week or month, and measure your progress.

If you’re not improving at all, consider hiring a trainer to help improve your game. The best golf players know how to control their anxiety because they don’t have to overthink their swing. It is like second nature to them. And you can only get to that level through relentless practice and persistence.

Golf Yips Cure #2: The navy seal breathing technique

Even after you have increased your confidence by strategically improving your golf game, you may still be experiencing some yips when it’s game time.

Around this time is when I suggest that my clients (and readers) take a page out of the navy seal playbook, and try tactical breathing to calm the nerves.

“Tactical breathing” is a trick used by the Navy Seals to stay calm under pressure ^[8]. And there likely isn’t a more high-pressure job than that of a navy seal. I figure that if it works for them; chances are that tactical breathing will also help you on the golf course.

Done right, “tactical breathing” can switch your nervous system back to a relaxed mode. You will feel your heart rate slow down back to normal, and any jitteriness should disappear. You will be actively lowering your chances of suffering from golf yips.

Try tactical breathing at the driving range, or the next time you’re about to break eighty. Here are the simple steps:

• Step 1 – Take a deep breath into your stomach to a count of four
• Step 2 – Hold your breath and count to four
• Step 3 – Exhale slowly to a count of four
• Step 4 – Repeat the process until you feel calmer and in control.

Golf Yips Cure #3: Yoga for golf yips

Golf and Yoga; two activities that are commonly thought to be on opposite spectrum of the sports and fitness world.

However, if you stop and really think about it, golf and yoga have more in common than what might first come to mind. Serious golfers are seeing how practicing certain moves in yoga can help their golf game, as well as their mental states. Tiger Woods is famous for regularly practicing yoga, so it’s clear there’s a link (or at least a correlation) between the two activities ^[9].

Yoga will improve your mobility, posture, core strength, as well as functional movement and strength. All of these improvements can translate to a better and more powerful swing.

But beyond the physical benefits, yoga can also help you when it comes to better stress response for golf anxiety. According to Harvard Health, yoga improves your heart rate variability (HRV), which is the variation in the time interval between consecutive heartbeats ^[10].

An improved HRV essentially means that your body responds better to stress ^[11].

A regular yoga practice can help you maintain your composure and focus in golf by being better equipped to handle any jitteriness while controlling your physical response to stress.

Golf Yips Cure #4: Visualizing the perfect shot

Elite athletes like Michael Phelps, Lindsay Vonn, and many others have routinely used visualization to improve their performances ^[12].

Imagining the perfect golf shot before you actually take it can have positive effects.

Using visualization, it is possible to switch your focus from the negative and destructive thought patterns that might be contributing to your golf anxiety.

Instead of worrying about how everyone will laugh at you if you sink the ball in the lake one more time, you’re switching your focus to what you really want to accomplish. And the more you practice visualizing, the more that you will find your brain and body naturally falling into the right swing with just the right amount of power to accomplish what you want.

Needless to say, visualization will only have a positive effect as long as you also put in the hard work and practice. But hard work, along with mental imagery, can be a powerful combination for both your golf swing and performance anxiety.

Golf Yips Cure #5: Natural performance supplements

Some dietary supplements contain a mix of ingredients that support focus, calm and cognition, which may counteract the negative side-effects of golf anxiety and the mental part of golf yips.

One example that I personally like and recommend to clients is PerformZen ^[13], which contains GABA, L-theanine and Magnesium, as well as cognitive-enhancing ingredients Ginkgo Biloba, Vitamin B6 and Theacrine. These ingredients have been shown to help induce a calming effect on the body, as well as keeping the brain as sharp as it needs to be on the golf course. Update: I reviewed PerformZen in this new article & interviewed the founder (as well as secured a limited-time discount for PerformanceAnxiety.com readers). See the review here.

Instant All-Natural Performance Anxiety Relief

PerformZen is a natural supplement uniquely crafted to overcome stage fright and performance anxiety so you can perform at your best on demand!

Crush Performance Anxiety with PerformZen

Can Golf Yips Really be cured?

The short answer is yes! Golf yips can be cured, but it is not an easy process if it has been a reoccurring or persistent issue. Try some of the tips mentioned in this article, like tactical breathing, visualization, and yoga for improved core strength and heart rate variability. Get back to the fundamentals of your golf game, and you can pull through this.

Some of the greatest golfers of all time have suffered from the same issue and have pulled through, let them serve as inspiration for you! For an added cognitive boost, be sure to check out the PerformZen supplement review.

Golf Yips Frequently Asked Questions

I received some emails from readers who had more specific questions about the ‘Golf Yips’. I’m publishing my responses here to refer people to in future. If you have your own questions, leave a comment down below or get in contact here.

A large number of people suffer from a fear of public speaking, known as glossophobia. For these people, the physical and mental effort of speaking in front of a crowd can be overwhelming. It can cause problems in many areas of an affected person’s life, such as slowing professional progression, and causing anxiety over common social situations.

There are strategies to help overcome glossophobia, however. Through mental techniques, physical exercises, and nutritional supplements, you can prevent glossophobia from controlling your life.

Read on as we share everything you need to know to overcome the fear of public speaking; glossophobia.

What is Glossophobia?

Glossophobia is a type of anxiety disorder, referring to a strong fear (or phobia) of public speaking. Those of us who suffer from glossophobia may experience a quick onset of physical symptoms when faced with speaking in front of an audience – even an audience of just a few people.

Glossophobia is categorized as a social phobia, similar to stage fright. Though the symptoms of glossophobia and stage fright overlap quite heavily, many who suffer from glossophobia may find other social situations, like meeting new people, or performing tasks in front of a crowd, completely normal. Yet when it comes time to speak in front of a group of people, they experience a sometimes overwhelming stress response.

How Many People Suffer from Glossophobia?

The exact number of people who experience glossophobia varies from source to source, and is hard to pin down. But the consensus is that this is a very common affliction.

One survey found fear of public speaking to affect 40% of Americans, the second most common fear behind snakes ^[1]. Others find the reach of glossophobia to be even more extreme, claiming that 75% of people suffer from some form of glossophobia at some point ^[2].

Suffering from anxiety & fear over an upcoming performance?

We have created the Get Over Stage Fright (Fast) course containing fast-acting techniques that you can use today to overcome performance fears before your next performance. And it is absolutely free to enroll...

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What are the Physical Symptoms of Glossophobia?

Symptoms and severity of glossophobia vary from case to case. Some may experience light side effects, but for others, they may be debilitating.

Common symptoms of glossophobia include:

• Sweating
• Trembling
• Rapid heartbeat
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath
• Muscle tension
• Dizziness
• Dry mouth

What Causes Glossophobia?

The physical symptoms of glossophobia are caused by a stress response in our body, known as the “fight or flight” response.

This response causes the body to produce more of the hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline), which causes physiological changes such as an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, and a tensing of the muscles ^[3].

The fight or flight response is actually a survival mechanism, built to respond to stressful, life-threatening situations, in which we either need to fight for our lives, or escape.

Over time, as life-threatening situations have become less common, the fight or flight response evolved to be triggered by other stressful situations, including public speaking.

The reason why some people experience the fight or flight response in this very specific situation is not always clear. There are a number of reasons someone may suffer from glossophobia.

It may be biological. One study found that mice that show less fear and anxiety produce offspring with lower levels of anxiety ^[4]. Additional studies indicate there may be a link between social anxiety disorders (such as glossophobia) and genetics ^[5], as higher rates of social anxiety disorders are reported in relatives of people who suffer from these conditions.

The cause of glossophobia may also be psychological. Our past experiences and environmental factors may result in a person developing glossophobia. Some psychological causes may include:

• Negative self-talk
• Fear of failure
• Overplaying the pressure of the occasion
• Fear of embarrassment or being judged
• Lack of experience

While there’s no test that can tell you for sure, understanding the inherent cause of glossophobia can help you find the right strategy to overcome it.

The Best Tools and Strategies for Overcoming Glossophobia

Glossophobia does not have to be a chronic, lifelong affliction. There are various strategies and tools one can use to overcome their fear of public speaking, including mental strategies, medication, and dietary supplements.

The strategy that works for one person may not for the next. If you suffer from glossophobia, it’s important you try to understand the root causes of your phobia, and experiment with different tools to see what works for you.

Let’s take a look at a few ways people combat glossophobia.

Practice

First, mild cases of glossophobia may be treatable simply with practice.

Many people struggle with public speaking simply because it’s new to them. The fear of the unknown and lack of confidence may manifest itself in extreme fear or anxiety.

Yet, once you get used to speaking in front of people, and develop confidence in this situation, the fear may go away.

This will not solve the fear of public speaking for everyone. For more serious cases, other tools and strategies will be needed. In particular, if someone doesn’t experience anxiety in any other social situations, yet speaking in front of a crowd immediately sparks a stress response, a more concentrated strategy may work best.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Another psychological tool to combat glossophobia is cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT. CBT is used as a treatment for a range of afflictions, including anxiety, depression, addiction, and various forms of mental illness.

CBT may be particularly effective for anxiety disorders, with studies showing a significant long-term improvement in test subjects ^[6].

CBT works by addressing unhelpful or negative ways of thinking, and rewiring the brain to think positively in these areas. You may break down perceived problems into small parts, where you can more easily understand and address negative thought patterns.

A large part of CBT is also building mental exercises to practice each time negative thoughts arise.

The long-term approach of CBT, and the way it addresses the root problems of anxiety disorders makes it one of the most promising strategies to overcome glossophobia at this time.

Breathing Exercises

Certain breathing techniques may prove effective in stopping the onset of physical symptoms caused by the body’s stress response.

While public speaking practice and behavioral therapy may help the problem long-term, breathing exercises may offer a short-term fix you can put into practice before you need to address an audience.

One particular breathing exercise is known as “diaphragmatic breathing” or “belly breathing”, in which you take deep breaths, engaging the stomach and the diaphragm. In contrast to regular, unconscious breathing, an effort is made to bring the breath down into the stomach, which should rise and fall with each breath.

Diaphragmatic breathing has long been used in meditation, and meditative practices like yoga and tai-chi. Studies have shown deep breathing to have positive effects on cognition and stress, adequately reducing levels of cortisol, a hormone that gets released when we’re stressed or anxious ^[7]. It also helps reduce blood pressure and improve heart rate variability, which works to lessen the severity of symptoms one may experience with glossophobia.

Medication

Some people use medication to treat anxiety disorders, including glossophobia. Medication can’t treat the actual causes of glossophobia – however it can lessen the symptoms of the fight or flight response, such as increased heart rate and blood pressure.

The most common kind of medication used for this are over the counter drugs known as beta-blockers. Beta-blockers are especially popular with professional performers, such as orchestral musicians, to treat performance anxiety (commonly known as stage fright) ^[8].

Beta-blockers’ primary use is for heart conditions like arrhythmia and angina. However, they do appear to have some level of efficacy at treating the symptoms of elevated stress hormones.

Be aware, however, that these just offer a short-term fix, and may come with additional risks, such as addiction or dependence risk.

Natural Supplements

Some natural dietary supplements can also help offset the symptoms of glossophobia, and promote a higher level of mental clarity when you need it most.

Just as beta-blockers do, supplements can reduce symptoms like high blood pressure and an elevated heart rate that occur with anxiety disorders.

Additionally, you can use supplements to boost certain neurotransmitters such as GABA, which promote calmness and mental clarity. GABA is believed to play a role in anxiety disorders ^[9], so regulation of this may be additionally beneficial for anxiety disorders like glossophobia.

A supplement I like & recommend is PerformZen, which may provide relief for many symptoms of glossophobia. It contains several ingredients that naturally boost energy and mental clarity, including GABA, L-theanine, Ginkgo Biloba and theacrine, along with Magnesium and vitamin B6, which have been shown to have stress-reducing properties ^[10].

Natural supplements like PerformZen may be a better option than over the counter medications for treating glossophobia, as they likely carry less risk of long-term addiction or unwanted side-effects.

Instant All-Natural Performance Anxiety Relief

PerformZen is a natural supplement uniquely crafted to overcome stage fright and performance anxiety so you can perform at your best on demand!

Crush Performance Anxiety with PerformZen

What’s the Best Way to Face a Fear of Public Speaking (Glossophobia)?

Public speaking is a very real social phobia for some. Depending on the severity and the occupation of someone afflicted by glossophobia, it can present a serious barrier to living a normal life.

Luckily, there are some tried and tested techniques and tools to help you overcome glossophobia. Breathing exercises may prove effective at stopping the onset of symptoms related to the elevated stress response, while cognitive-behavioral therapy could help address the underlying cause and deliver a long-term solution.

In addition, taking a natural supplement like PerformZen before you get up to speak may help promote a feeling of calm and mental clarity, offsetting the most common glossophobia symptoms.

Glossophobia Frequently Asked Questions

I received some emails from readers who had more specific questions about Glossophobia (fear of public speaking). I’m publishing my responses here to refer people to in future. If you have your own questions, leave a comment down below or get in contact here.

It’s the anxiety you experience when you’re walking into an audition, you see all the judging eyes fixated on you, and that overwhelming feeling takes over you.

But you don’t have to let anxiety control your audition performance, and ultimately the opportunities you get as an actor. There are steps you can take to overcome audition anxiety and pursue the roles that you deserve as an actor.

Here, we’ll explore a few different ways you can calm your nerves and overcome anxiety during an audition.

But first, let’s take a closer look into why you experience audition anxiety in the first place, so you can better understand the remedies to keep it under control.

Why do you experience audition anxiety?

Audition anxiety is quite common among actors and musicians. And for some performers, it can even help.

They can harness that little jitteriness to increase their focus and intensity to deliver a better performance.

But the issue is that when that “jittery” feeling goes too far, and your heart rate goes through the roof. Next thing you know, you’re trying to keep your trembling under control, and you’re sweating uncontrollably.

Not an ideal impression, to say the least. And it most likely affects your ability to perform at a high level.

According to one University of Adelaide study, various factors might contribute to anxiety in actors. Primary reasons include career instability, and financial struggle, among others ^[1].

But when it comes to audition anxiety, there’s one thing that particularly plays a significant role. It’s how your body handles stress.

Suffering from anxiety & fear over an upcoming performance?

We have created the Get Over Stage Fright (Fast) course containing fast-acting techniques that you can use today to overcome performance fears before your next performance. And it is absolutely free to enroll...

Enroll FREE Today

Stress response and audition anxiety

When you’re under extreme stress, your body often responds by releasing catecholamines, which includes the adrenaline hormone ^[2].

The stress-response is commonly referred to as the fight-or-flight mode. Back in the day, when our ancestors lived in the wild, they were often faced with real danger. They had to actually fight, or flee, to stay alive. The spike in adrenaline better equipped them with the physical readiness to do what was necessary.

The way it works is that adrenaline puts greater pressure on your heart and forces it to pump blood faster, raising your heart rate and blood pressure. If you actually had to run away to save your life, it would be quite useful.

However, during an audition, even though you’re not in any real danger, your body might still react in a similar way to the fight-or-flight response. It happens due to the stress and perceived danger of rejection, humiliation, uncertainty, etc.

How to overcome audition anxiety

Let’s delve into how you can overcome audition anxiety, so you can perform at your best, and land the roles you want.

As we mentioned before, you might not want to get rid of the jitteriness completely. You want just the right amount to increase your alertness and mental focus.

But what you definitely want to avoid is the anxiety that makes you lose control over yourself.

Here are some of the things you can try.

Follow George Clooney’s advice

Before George Clooney became who he is today, he started out just like you. He was attending auditions, trying to impress producers and directors, and hoping someone gives him a chance.

And as crazy as it may sound, he spent the first years getting rejected everywhere he went. He spent that time blaming others for not seeing the talent that he was.

But it all changed when he shifted his perspective.

He started viewing auditions as an opportunity to solve the casting director’s problem, not his own. He realized that the producers were also hoping and praying that the next person that auditioned was the one that was perfect for their role.

And he could help them by being that person.

Remember, George Clooney adopted this mindset when nobody knew who he was. If it worked for him, it might work for you too.

Audition (a lot) more

As we previously explained, there is a significant link between your anxiety symptoms and the amount of stress that is involved with an audition.

One way to reduce the anxiety is to make auditions less stressful.

How do you do that? You guessed it; by auditioning a lot more.

Make it a point to attend as many auditions as possible, even if you have zero interest in the role. You have nothing to lose in that situation. And the point is to become so familiar and used to the process that it becomes second nature to you.

And who knows, you might even end up with roles that you weren’t expecting, which could then lead to bigger and better things. At the very least, you will make connections with more people in your industry.

Try A Calming Supplement for your nerves

Not all of your auditions are going to be practice runs. You will come across opportunities that are exactly what you’ve been waiting for.

And when you do find these auditions, you want to make sure that you can perform at your best under pressure.

That’s where anxiety management supplements like PerformZen can help. It’s a natural supplement that I recommended to several clients as it helps you calm your nerves, increase mental focus, and deliver a knockout performance so you can get the role.

PerformZen works by increasing GABA levels in your brain. GABA is a neurotransmitter that reduces mental chatter and helps you feel more calm and relaxed ^[3].

There’s also magnesium and vitamin B6 in PerformZen (among other additional ingredients), the combination of which has been proven to increase mental focus and sharpness ^[4].

Instant All-Natural Performance Anxiety Relief

PerformZen is a natural supplement uniquely crafted to overcome stage fright and performance anxiety so you can perform at your best on demand!

Crush Performance Anxiety with PerformZen

Final thoughts on overcoming audition anxiety

Audition anxiety is a common phenomenon among actors. If you’ve been experiencing it, you’re not alone!

But you don’t have to let it hold you back.

Try to shift your perspective on auditions and think of it as solving a problem for the producer, like George Clooney. And of course, practice as much as possible by signing up for all the auditions you can.

And finally, for an extra boost in calmness and mental performance, give PerformZen a try next time you walk into the room for an audition.

Audition Anxiety Frequently Asked Questions

I received some emails from readers who had more specific questions about calming audition nerves. I’m publishing my responses here to refer people to in future. If you have your own questions, leave a comment down below or get in contact here.

She is one of the most popular and beloved artists of our time. Her powerful voice and melodious tunes have earned her over 15 Grammys, more than 120 million in record sales, and sold-out arenas all around the globe.

And despite this incredible level of success, she has suffered from stage fright. If it seems hard to imagine that someone as talented and successful as her would go through stage fright, then read on.

We’ll discuss how stage fright works, and why someone even as successful as Adele can be susceptible to it. We’ll also cover the mental tactics she uses to keep her performance anxiety at bay.

Adele and her stage fright

“The only reason I’ve toured is you,” and “I’m not sure touring is in my bag.”

That’s what Adele told her fans during her final concert on a tour in Auckland, New Zealand. She was referring to her struggles with stage fright and how it almost kept her from performing in front of live audiences ^[1].

In an interview with Rolling Stones Magazine, Adele describes her performance anxiety a bit more vividly.

“I’m scared of audiences,” Adele tells the interviewer ^[2]. “I get sh**ty scared. One show in Amsterdam, I was so nervous I escaped out the fire exit. I’ve thrown up a couple of times. Once in Brussels, I projectile-vomited on someone. I just gotta bear it. But I don’t like touring. I have anxiety attacks a lot.”

She explains that her anxiety stems from the fear that her fans might come to think that she isn’t the talented performer they expected.

But how could that be? Surely, the sold-out arenas, the awards, and all the other accolades are sufficient evidence that she can captivate audiences and crush performances.

Unfortunately, stage fright doesn’t work like that. It’s not a conscious and rational thought process that leads to anxiety. It’s happening more at the unconscious and instinctual level.

Let’s take a look at what may cause stage fright.

Here’s a solid video all about the techniques Adele uses to overcome her stage fright and performance anxiety issues:

A deep dive into the ‘alter-ego’ strategy that Adele uses to overcome her anxiety & stage fright

What are some potential causes of stage fright?

Stage fright is complex. There are various physical, mental, and emotional factors that can be at play.

We don’t know specifically what causes stage fright in Adele’s case, but let’s take a quick look at some potential factors.

Negative thought patterns

If you internalize negative expectations about how an audience would react to you, eventually it becomes a part of your habitual unconscious thought patterns.

You might have had a bad experience with a performance at a young age, and maybe you felt rejected and humiliated.

Events such as this can have long-lasting effects and contribute to stage fright as an adult. To protect you from similar experiences in the future, your body reacts to the idea of a performance in the same way as it would to a real threat to your safety ^[3].

Upbringing factors

There are things in your childhood that can affect the likelihood of stage fright later in life.

For example, if you had overly critical parents, or if you were bullied as a child. These events might have led to painful feelings of rejection, and you subconsciously still try to avoid those feelings as an adult.

People who were bullied or didn’t get enough validation from parents, teachers, etc. are also more likely to experience social anxiety disorder (SAD) and tend to be more prone to performance anxiety ^[5].

Brain physiology

Some people are physiologically more susceptible to anxiety, and it usually runs in the family.

The amygdala is a part of the brain that regulates emotions and stress. Having a hyperactive amygdala can increase your likelihood of experiencing stage fright. You could be predisposed to an exaggerated fear response, which could lead to performance anxiety ^[4].

Suffering from anxiety & fear over an upcoming performance?

We have created the Get Over Stage Fright (Fast) course containing fast-acting techniques that you can use today to overcome performance fears before your next performance. And it is absolutely free to enroll...

Enroll FREE Today

Everyone’s stage fright is unique

As mentioned before, we don’t know the root causes behind Adele’s stage fright. But we do know that she told Rolling Stones Magazine that she fears the audience would be less than impressed with her performance ^[2].

So, regardless of the cause, it comes down to the fear of rejection, and the fear of letting her fans down.

Let’s discuss some of the tactics she has shared about how she overcomes stage fright to get through her concerts.

How does Adele manage her stage fright?

To keep her anxiety under control, Adele took a page from another fellow musician who also happens to deal with stage fright; Beyonce!

Yes, you read that right. Beyonce has experienced stage fright! But that’s another topic for another day.

The tactic Adele took from Beyonce was to assign herself an alter ego – Sasha Fierce ^[6].

Unlike Adele, Sasha Fierce is…well…fierce, and she does not know what performance anxiety is.

It’s a psychological hack backed by science where you distance your feelings from your behavior by assigning the feelings to a third person, in this case, an alter ego.

Adele is able to detach herself from her fears of rejection by thinking of how Sasha Fierce would respond in such a situation. And since she is fierce, she has no fear of the audience, and she thrives during a performance.

It’s important to keep in mind, that just like stage fright, the solutions and strategies to solve it are also unique for each person.

If you experience stage fright, the best thing to do is to speak to a clinical psychologist that can dig deeper for the root causes, and recommend a plan of action that would suit you best.

What are some other ways to keep stage fright under control?

Here are some of the most common and proven tactics to put the breaks on that feeling of nervous overwhelm before a performance.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

CBT has been proven to be effective against various types of social anxiety ^[7]. You’ll work with a therapist who will break down your thoughts about performing into smaller parts, and replace the bad thoughts with positive feelings.

There’s homework involved, but for those who follow through, it has been shown to be one of the most long-lasting solutions.

A pre-performance routine

You could adopt a pre-performance routine. Whether it’s breathing exercises, meditation, high-intensity workouts, or anything else that calms your nerves, the idea is to “prime” your mind and body for performance.

Eventually, your body will automatically recognize it’s time to perform and get ready for it. Think of it as taking control of your physical and emotional responses, instead of letting fear and anxiety take the lead.

Brain-boosting supplements

For extra support, take a brain-boosting & anxiety-reducing supplement. We currently really like PerformZen.

It combines various ingredients that work synergistically to support calmness and cognitive function. It will help calm the chatter in your mind and keep stressful thoughts at bay, so you can stay focused, and deliver a rocking performance even if you’re under pressure.

Instant All-Natural Performance Anxiety Relief

PerformZen is a natural supplement uniquely crafted to overcome stage fright and performance anxiety so you can perform at your best on demand!

Crush Performance Anxiety with PerformZen

If Adele can manage her stage fright; can you?

We wanted to share Adele’s stage fright story to let you know that even the most successful performers can experience performance anxiety.

So, if you experience stage fright, you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. It is not a matter of lack of preparation or even evidence of the fact that your audience doesn’t love your performances.

It could very well be your body’s defense mechanism in action trying to protect you from pain or rejection based on past negative experiences.

But the good news is that you can take steps to overcome. Whether it’s mental tactics like Adele, cognitive-behavior-therapy (CBT), a pre-performance routine, beta blockers or supplements, you can overcome stage fright and become the performer you’re meant to be.

Maybe you’re a musician and you want to take your audience to new heights with your performance, or you’re a speaker and you want to help improve people’s lives with your speeches.

Or perhaps you’re an athlete and you want to be the go-to person for your team when the game is on the line.

But every time you have the opportunity to go on stage and make an impact, that anxious feeling in the pit of your stomach washes over you, and the sweating and trembling kicks in.

The good news is that there are ways you can keep the nervousness at bay. Both short-term solutions for your next performance, and longer-term approaches that deal with the root causes of your anxiety.

Here, we’ll discuss tips and techniques to help you overcome your stage fright symptoms so you can take your performances to the next level.

Let’s get into it.

How do you cure performance anxiety?

There is a difference between curing performance anxiety and overcoming your stage fright symptoms before a performance.

Curing performance anxiety is a longer-term approach and will require you to identify the root causes of your anxiety. More on that later.

But overcoming your stage fright symptoms at the moment is a shorter-term solution. In this case, you’re looking for techniques to minimize your stress response and remain calm so you can perform at your best.

Stress response and performance anxiety

Stress response is important to understand because that’s essentially what you’re trying to control to minimize stage fright symptoms.

If you suffer from performance anxiety, then for one reason or another, performing in front of others is a significantly stressful experience for you. Maybe you fear that a less-than-perfect performance will result in rejection, pain, or loss of future opportunities.

Your fear and worry about performing results in a stress response within your body, and it triggers the release of specific stress hormones ^[1]. Too much of these stress hormones put your cardiovascular system into overdrive, which results in shaking, sweating, nausea, and other symptoms of stage fright.

The techniques discussed in the next section are all designed to help you control and minimize the effects of your stress response so you can stay calm and focused before a performance.

5 techniques to help overcome performance anxiety

If possible, give all of these techniques a try. That way, you’ll be able to see which ones work best for you so you can continue including them in your pre-performance routine.

1. Consume brain boosting nutrients

One of the most effective things you can do to combat stage fright is to consume natural nutrients that promote calmness and mental focus.

GABA and L-theanine are two of the best nutrients when it comes to reducing too much mental chatter and achieving a calm and relaxed state ^[2][3].

L-theanine is typically found in green or black tea, and it also makes more GABA available in your brain.

Both GABA and L-theanine are linked with alpha brain waves that might help with increased creativity.

One supplement that combines both GABA and L-theanine is PerformZen. You can try PerformZen about an hour before your performance to get the most out of it.

It also contains other beneficial ingredients for calmness and mental focus, like magnesium, vitamin B6 ^[4], Ginkgo Biloba, and theacrine.

The best thing about this supplement is the way it combines all of the ingredients to work synergistically. It provides you with calmness and a boost in confidence when you need it most. Learn more here.

Instant All-Natural Performance Anxiety Relief

PerformZen is a natural supplement uniquely crafted to overcome stage fright and performance anxiety so you can perform at your best on demand!

Crush Performance Anxiety with PerformZen

2. Do dress rehearsals

Try to practice your performance in the setting of the big event if you can.

So, if you’re a concert violinist, try to practice in the auditorium. Wear the outfit that you’re going to wear on the night of the performance.

If you’re an athlete, try to practice in the venue of the game. You’ll often see professional athletes train in the opponent’s stadium before an away game.

Try to use the same techniques to give yourself an edge. The more familiar and comfortable you can get with the setting of the actual performance, the better chance that you’ll be able to remain calm and collected on the big night.

3. Try deep belly breathing

When you’re having a stress response and experiencing stage fright symptoms (also known as fight-or-flight), there’s something called the sympathetic nervous system that is activated in your body.

The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for shifting your body to a new gear of elevated stress and tension.

Deep belly breathing will deactivate the sympathetic nervous system and restore you into a more regular state ^[5].

As the name suggests, take deep breaths into your belly. Hold the breath for a couple of seconds, then slowly breathe all the way out. Then repeat the process over and over till you feel calmer.

While breathing in and out, focus on the sensations in your body. Where is the breath going, what part of your body are you most aware of, how does it feel in your chest, belly, etc.

When your mind wanders, just gently bring the focus back to the breathing.

Try this for around 15 minutes, about a half-hour before a performance, speech, or other events where you have to perform under pressure.

4. Rigorous exercise to the rescue

If you’ve ever done a hard session at the gym, gone for a long run, or finished an intense hour of yoga, you’ve probably experienced the blissful and almost euphoric feeling you get after intense exercise.

It’s quite difficult to feel anxious and nervous when you’ve just given everything you’ve got on the mat or out on the trail.

You can leverage the same principle to combat stage fright.

15-20 minutes of intense exercise before a performance or speech can do wonders for your mood and confidence.

Exercise, including yoga, has been shown to improve heart rate variability (HRV), which is a measure of how well your body handles stress. Meaning, regular exercise can teach you to remain calm under pressure in stressful situations ^[6].

5. Shift the focus away from yourself

George Clooney used to be terrified of auditions. Before he was successful as an actor, he used to suffer from performance anxiety during auditions.

It all changed for him when he was able to shift his mindset. Instead of focusing on what others thought of him, and how it affected his career, he started thinking of auditions as a way to solve a problem for the casting directors.

Clooney realized that the casting directors were desperately hoping that the next person walking in could be the ideal person for the role, and that he was in a position to make it happen for them.

You can also shift the focus away from yourself.

If you’re a speaker, instead of worrying about how the audience might be judging your every word and movement, think of the problems or curiosities that led your audience to show up for your speech.

If you’re an athlete, maybe your teammates also experience anxiety like you, and you can become the person they rely on when the game is on the line.

By focusing on how you can help others, you shift your thoughts away from your own insecurities and reduce your nervousness before a performance.

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Stage fright and social anxiety

The techniques above can help reduce stress and promote calmness before a performance. They will help you keep your stress response under control so you can focus on your performance.

But if you want to cure your performance anxiety once and for all, then you need to dig a bit deeper.

You want to get to a point where performing is no longer a stressful topic for you, where you wont experience severe fight-or-flight thoughts before performances. A little bit of nervousness is completely normal, but no more shaking, sweating, or getting dizzy.

And to get there, you’ll most likely need to deal with your underlying causes of social anxiety.

How to overcome social anxiety?

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is when someone experiences anxiety in various social situations like parties, interviews, dates, and performing for audiences ^[7].

There can be many causes of SAD like being bullied as a child, having overly critical parents, or even having an overactive amygdala (part of the brain).

One of the most effective ways to cure SAD is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

You’ll work with a therapist who will help you break down big ideas, like performing for audiences, into smaller parts.

Then you’ll identify your underlying thoughts, emotions, fears, etc. around each of those smaller parts.

Finally, you’ll be assigned tasks, mental exercises, and even homework, to replace any negative thought patterns with positive ones.

CBT, if done properly, has been shown to be effective in the long run against various types of anxiety ^[8].

But there might be other treatments that are better for you. The best thing you can do to start addressing your performance anxiety for the long term is to talk to a licensed clinical therapist so they can create a plan that is right for you.

Key Takeaways: You can overcome Stage Fright

Many people that love to perform or speak in front of audiences get extremely discouraged when they start experiencing stage fright.

They feel trapped by their anxiety and feel like there’s no way they can ever achieve their dreams of becoming a great performer.

But the truth is that you can overcome performance anxiety. And even if you can’t completely cure it, you can teach yourself to deal with anxiety in a way that still lets you perform at your best.

Try some (or all) of the techniques mentioned above for your next few performances. And for a permanent cure to social anxiety, consider talking to a licensed therapist.

You’re motivated by the thought of rocking your audience with your songs, or by taking them on a journey with your acting performances. Or perhaps you want to make a positive impact on people’s lives as a public speaker.

But every time you try to perform for an audience, this wave of anxiety washes over you, and you feel stuck like a deer in headlights.

If that sounds familiar, then you might be experiencing performance anxiety, also known as stage fright.

Here, we’ll discuss what performance anxiety is, what causes it, and how to overcome it.

We’ll also include some quick hacks to beat stage fright before your next upcoming performance.

What is performance anxiety?

Performance anxiety is the fear someone experiences before and/or during a specific type of performance. When someone has performance anxiety, they might fear that the performance will be a failure even if they are well prepared.

Often, the fear is tied to the potential humiliation or rejection that might result from a failed performance. And although performance anxiety can exist around any type of task, it is usually more prevalent among people that have to perform under pressure.

Musical performers, actors, public speakers, and professional athletes are some of the professions where performance anxiety is common. This is why performance anxiety is also known as stage fright ^[1].

It is natural to experience a little bit of nervousness before one has to perform or speak in front of an audience. Some performers even use it to increase their mental focus and intensity on stage.

But for others, performance anxiety can be debilitating to the point of panic attacks. It severely impacts their ability to perform and may even end their performance career.

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What are the symptoms of stage fright?

The symptoms of performance anxiety vary from person to person, both in severity and the actual symptoms.

Many performers describe the experience as a wave of overwhelming nervousness shortly before its time to walk out on stage.

Performance anxiety typically causes mental, emotional, as well as physical symptoms, all of which are interrelated.

It’s your underlying thoughts and beliefs about your ability to perform that create specific emotions within you. These emotions of fear and worry then result in the physical symptoms before a performance (more on this below).

Here are some of the usual symptoms of performance anxiety ^[2]:

• Heart palpitations (racing heartbeat)
• High blood pressure (may cause dizziness)
• Too much sweating
• Chills
• Trembling of hands
• Shaky voice
• Nausea
• Fainting (in rare and severe cases)

Some performers describe stage fright as a severe form of the sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach. Others feel like an elephant is sitting on their chest.

It can get so bad that some performers have to back out of their performance because they feel like they’ve lost all control over their motor skills.

What causes stage fright?

Some people think that lack of preparation or experience can be at the root of stage fright. But it seems to affect performers regardless of experience or success.

Actor Hugh Grant, who reportedly considered quitting acting several times due to performance anxiety, regularly experienced panic attacks when the cameras started rolling.

He described it as freezing like a rabbit, sweating like a bull, unable to speak or think ^[3].

Barbara Streisand developed extreme stage fright at the height of her career. It got so bad that she refused to perform for large audiences for 27 years. She would only go in front of private audiences at clubs or charity events, where the pressure was presumably not as high.

Even Taylor Swift has discussed taking L-theanine to combat anxiety during an interview with Elle Magazine ^[4].

So what is it that causes performance anxiety among both amateurs and world-class performers alike?

Stress-response and stage fright

All said and done, it comes down to your underlying beliefs and emotions about your ability to perform. And what you unconsciously (or consciously) believe would be the outcomes of your performance.

If you experience severe stage fright symptoms, then for one reason or another, performing is a stressful experience for you.

It could be because you had a traumatic performance experience in the past, maybe even as a child. Or that your parents didn’t approve of you when you were a kid. Or it might be that you were bullied as a child.

And now you might fear that a “failed” performance would result in similar pain, rejection, and humiliation.

All of this underlying fear and worry activates your body’s stress response when it’s time to perform. Because of your fear, your nervous system thinks you’re in real danger and triggers a fight-or-flight response.

This is also known as a stress-response ^[5].

What happens during a stress-response?

When your fight-or-flight response gets activated due to your fear of humiliation, rejection, etc, your nervous system essentially sets you up in survival mode.

We have this response programmed into us through evolution because this is how our ancestors survived when they were in actual danger in the jungles.

But although we’re typically not running from wolves anymore in our day-to-day lives, we’re still wired to respond similarly when we sense danger. For example, the loss of our reputation or future opportunities.

What happens is that your body releases various stress hormones like adrenaline that dramatically increase your physical capacity to fight or run away (flight) ^[6].

Your heart pumps blood with more force, your blood pressure rises, and you experience all the other physical symptoms of stage fright.

It would be beneficial to you if you actually had to run for your life. But instead, you’re left standing backstage, sweating and trembling, unable to think or speak, and considering whether to back out of your performance or speech.

How can I overcome stage fright?

There’s some advice out there that suggests that if you just practice more, prepare more, then you’ll be more confident in your performance abilities, and it would reduce your anxiety.

And yes, you should obviously practice and prepare to the best of your ability.

But that doesn’t explain why world-class artists like Hugh Grant or Barbara Streisand would experience debilitating stage fright. Surely, Hugh Grant wasn’t experiencing panic attacks because he didn’t practice his lines!

The explanation could be that you would have to dig a bit deeper to overcome stage fright.

Your stage fright symptoms are caused by your fear around performing, and because your body gets overwhelmed with the stress-response.

So, let’s explore overcoming stage fright from two separate angles.

One is to reduce your fear of performing so it isn’t as stressful for you, reducing your stress-response.

The second would be to improve how your mind and body handle stress, so you’re better equipped to calmly handle future stressful situations.

How to reduce stress before a performance

If your stage fright is severe enough to the point that it could potentially ruin your career as a performer, then it might make sense for you to speak to a therapist to identify root causes and create a plan of treatment.

Also, here are a couple of approaches that might work for you.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for performance anxiety

CBT is one of the most common types of therapy to overcome stage fright. Your therapist will help you break down a big idea, like performing for audiences, into smaller parts.

Then you’ll identify your underlying thoughts, emotions, fears, etc. around each of those smaller parts.

Finally, you’ll be assigned tasks, mental exercises, and even homework, to replace any negative thought patterns with positive ones.

CBT, if done properly, has been shown to be effective in the long run against various types of anxiety ^[7].

Fear-setting for performance anxiety

Fear setting is an exercise based on the stoic philosophy. Tim Ferris, the best-selling author/entrepreneur, calls stoicism “an operation thriving in high-stress environments”.

Fear-setting is the opposite of positive visualizations. You thoroughly imagine your worst fears coming true. And then you create plans to avoid them from happening, but also contingency plans if your worst fears do come true.

The idea is that by imagining your fears coming through and planning for the worst, you’ll be more willing to accept those outcomes. And in a way, it would set you free.

And once you’re free, you won’t feel the anxiety, and your performance will flow out of you freely.

To learn more about how it works, and how to do fear-setting, check out the Tim Ferriss TED talk on fear-setting.

How to stay calm under pressure

The other part of the equation is how your mind and body handle stress. If you can train yourself to stay calm under pressure, then it makes sense that you would have an easier time dealing with stage fright symptoms.

And it basically comes down to adopting a healthy lifestyle.

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Diet that boosts your mood and focus

What you eat can have a significant impact on your overall health and mood.

A diet rich in a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and high quality proteins can improve your cognitive function. That means better balance in hormones like serotonin and dopamine, which can affect your feelings of happiness and wellness.

More specifically, ingredients like L-theanine ^[9], magnesium, GABA ^[8], and others have been proven to promote calmness and focus under pressure, which could help you before a performance. Supplements designed to help overcome performance anxiety contain all of these ingredients.

Exercise to improve heart-rate-variability (HRV)

Just like your diet, exercise can have a big impact on your mood and your ability to handle stress.

Both high-intensity exercise and yoga have been proven to improve heart-rate-variability (HRV).

HRV is the measure of the change in the time interval between consecutive heartbeats. Improved HRV is linked to a better ability to handle stress ^[10].

Mindfulness to increase mental resilience

Mindfulness practices like meditation can do wonders for your overall stress levels.

A regular meditation practice is like the ultimate chill-pill. You’ll be able to keep stress at bay and go through your day in a blissfully confident manner.

And when it comes time to perform, a regular meditation practice can significantly reduce the severity of your stage fright symptoms.

If meditation is so great, why doesn’t everyone do it? Because it takes a good amount of effort and discipline, in the beginning, to get going till you actually experience results.

Headspace is a great beginner-friendly app to help you build the habit.

Quick stage fright hacks

The suggestions above can be game-changers for your performance career. But they all take some time to implement.

Whether it’s completing CBT, or revamping your diet and exercise routine, you’re not going to get it done within the next week.

But maybe your next big performance is only a few days away, and you need a quick fix, while you continue working on the longer-term solutions.

Here are a couple of hacks you can try to beat stage fright.

Tactical breathing, brought to you by the Navy Seals

“Tactical breathing” is a trick used by the Navy Seals to stay calm under pressure. And if there’s anyone who knows about performing under pressure, it’s Navy Seals.

Done right, “tactical breathing” can deactivate your stress response and switch your nervous system back to a relaxed mode. You will feel your heart calm down, and the nervousness melts away ^[11].

• Step 1: Take a deep breath into your stomach to a count of four.
• Step 2: Hold your breath and count to four.
• Step 3: Exhale slowly to a count of four.
• Step 4: Repeat the process till you feel calmer and in control.

Into your body, out of your mind

The point of this hack is to reach a physical and mental state of calm confidence where your best performance flows out of you effortlessly.

For best results, do this 1-2 hours before your performance. The closer to the performance, the better.

Physical & Mental Activity Instructions

Here is a couple of simple exercises that I teach my clients to use when they’re prepping for a critical performance:

1. First, pick one or two physical activities to get the blood pumping
2. Once you’re physically warmed up, pick a mental exercise to reach a calm and focused state of mind

Examples of physical exercises to prime your body include:

• Jumping jacks
• Air squats
• Pushups
• Dancing
• Jog around the block
• Yoga

Examples of mental exercises to focus your mind include:

• Take deep breaths in and out while visualizing positive outcomes of the performance.
• Simply meditate. Close your eyes, breathe normally, and focus on your breath going in and out.
• Take your mind off the performance by watching comedy, listening to music, or anything else relaxing.

What about sexual performance anxiety?

Although completely different from stage fright, similar underlying principles and mechanisms could be at play for sexual performance anxiety.

You’re most likely not going to have a fight-or-flight response when getting intimate with your partner.

But if you have specific underlying thoughts and beliefs about yourself or your relationship, then it could result in sexual performance anxiety.

The topic is beyond the scope of this article, but here are a couple of great guides on sexual performance anxiety from ForHims, and Lloyds Pharmacy.

Performance Anxiety Conclusion

Suffering from stage fright doesn’t need to be the end of your performing career.

If performing in front of others is what drives and motivates you to create, speak, or perform, then that is the life you’ve been called for. And you owe it to yourself (as well as your audience) to become the best performer that you can be.

That means instead of viewing stage fright as something that derails your career, you should see it as another challenge to overcome. And when you do overcome it, not only will you become a better performer, but also a more resilient person for having done so.

If you can, schedule a consultation with a licensed therapist to identify the root cause of your stage fright. And in the meantime, try some of the quick stage fright hacks mentioned in this article to give you a mental boost before your next performance.

But here, we’ll break down the science of stage fright in a way that is easy to understand.

We’ll explain exactly what happens in your body when you’re backstage. Why your palms get sweaty, your heart starts racing, and you get that nervous sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.

If you understand the science behind stage fright, then you will better understand how to conquer it.

We’ll also discuss a few different strategies to help you remain calm and composed before your next performance, so you can go out there and knock it off the park for your audience.

What stage fright feels like

Let’s get started by quickly discussing some of the symptoms of stage fright. Below, we’ll discuss what happens within your body before a performance that causes you to experience these symptoms.

The symptoms can vary between each individual, but we do see some commonalities among those who experience performance anxiety.

Stage fright typically hits you right before you’re about to walk out to deliver your speech or performance.

As you’re waiting backstage, you might start sweating profusely and your heart can start racing. Your blood pressure rises, a wave of anxiousness washes over you, and you feel that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. Your throat gets too tight, your breathing gets shallow, and your vision changes ^[1].

You feel stuck and frozen like a deer in headlights.

To make things worse, you know that you must regain your composure quickly if you are to deliver a good performance. But you can’t seem to talk yourself into calmness, which further increases your anxiety and panic.

The feeling seems similar to what you think it would be like if you were running for your life getting chased by a monster. And there’s a reason for that, as we’ll find out below.

What’s at the root of stage fright?

We’re social animals, and we’re hardwired to care about the opinion of others.

As a performer or a speaker, you probably care deeply about how the audience receives you.

You also care about how your performance affects your reputation amongst your peers, and how that might affect future opportunities ^[2].

And if we dig deep into the main reason why your heart starts racing before a performance, it comes down to fear.

You’re also fearful of rejection from your audience, and the pain of humiliation. You fear being judged as unimpressive, incompetent, and a failure.

How your brain is hardwired to react to “threats”

Obviously, having a bad performance on a big night could have real consequences for your career as a speaker, musician, or actor.

But it’s still quite a stretch to suggest that you’re in some sort of actual physical danger.

As we mentioned before, your body still reacts to the threat of loss of reputation in the same way as it did when our ancestors had to run for their lives getting chased by jungle monsters.

But why does the body react that way?

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Darwin, the snake, and the primitive brain

Charles Darwin tested how his body would react to the theoretical threat of a snake bite at the snake exhibit at the London zoo.

He placed his face as close as possible to the glass in front of a snake that was about to strike and tried to remain as calm as possible.

But even though Darwin rationally knew that the glass provided ample protection from the snake, he would jump back in fear each time the snake would lunge at him.

He realized there was a disconnect between his reasoning and rational modern mind, and the primitive brain that was hardwired to operate on instinct.

The response from his primitive brain was the fight or flight response, which is a natural mechanism designed to identify and protect us from danger.

So, when you’re waiting backstage, you perceive there is a threat approaching your reputation and your career. Your primitive brain processes that information similarly to how Darwin’s brain was processing the snake attack from behind the safety of the glass.

Even though the rational mind knows there is no real physical danger, in either case, the fight or flight response still kicks into gear to protect us from harm.

Let’s take a closer look at the fight or flight response, and how it is responsible for your symptoms of stage fright.

What happens in your body before a performance

So far, we’ve learned that the fear of a bad performance and the consequent rejection and loss of reputation is at the root of your stage fright symptoms.

We’ve also learned that even though you’re not in any real physical danger, your primitive brain perceives the threat of humiliation as a real danger and activates the fight or flight response.

What is the fight or flight response?

When you’re under severe stress, such as the fear of your life, or in this case the fear of loss of reputation and opportunities, your brain triggers a stress response.

This stress response is also known as the fight-or-flight response ^[3].

The purpose of this response is to shift your body into survival mode. You switch to a heightened state and you get ready for the only task at hand; either fight for survival or run for your life.

All the functions that aren’t essential to survival at the moment (like digestion) take a back seat ^[4].

During severe stress, a part of the brain known as the hypothalamus activates the release of adrenaline into your blood ^[5].

Adrenaline interacts with beta-adrenergic receptors in the heart, which causes the heart to pump blood with more force.

This is why your blood pressure rises and your heart starts racing.

The stress response also shuts down your digestive system to make more resources available to the parts of your body that are necessary for survival. This is why you get the sinking feeling in your stomach and your throat gets dry when you’re experiencing stage fright.

Your vision is also affected. Your pupils dilate to enhance long-range vision, which is why you may have trouble focusing on the notes in front of you on the podium, and you become hyper-focused on the audience’s expression ^[6].

So, what it comes down to is this – Your stage fright symptoms happen as a result of a stress response, which is triggered by your fear of rejection, humiliation, or the loss of opportunities, all of which might be happening unconsciously.

Now that we understand why the fight or flight mode gets activated, and how that results in stage fright symptoms, we can begin to think of ways to combat stage fright before a performance.

But first, let’s discuss who is at a higher risk of experiencing stage fright.

What are the risk factors for stage fright?

Let’s look at some of the factors that might increase your risk of experiencing stage fright symptoms.

The perceived stakes

When it comes to stage fright, the perceived stakes matter.

You could be doing a presentation about a new idea to your coworkers in your office meeting room, and you don’t think twice about it.

You’re among your peers, and you’re not too worried about messing up, or how it would affect your reputation and your career.

But if you’re now doing the same presentation at your company’s annual conference, all of a sudden there are a lot of things to consider.

You’re now speaking to hundreds of people that don’t already know you and like you, and they’ll form their opinion on you solely based on your presentation. If you mess up, it could ruin your reputation within the company, or even your industry, and significantly affect your career.

Or worse, people might not like the content of the presentation, and you’ll embarrass your team and your boss.

Now the stakes are extremely high in your mind, and your fear of messing up can trigger the stress response, and result in a panic attack.

Your confidence in your preparation

This is an interesting one. It is not necessarily how well prepared you are objectively that plays a role in the severity of your stage fright symptoms.

Rather, it is how confident you are in your ability to perform, and how the audience will receive you.

This is why you’ll hear stories about world-class artists like Hugh Grant and Barbara Streisand suffering from severe performance anxiety to the point that they considered ending their careers.

But on the other hand, you’ll find talentless people confidently walk out on stage during the auditions of American Idol and sing their hearts out without a care in the world. They might be delusional when it comes to their singing abilities, but that’s also why they’re not affected by stage fright.

Genetics

Stage fright falls under the category of social anxiety disorder (SAD).

People with SAD are more concerned about being judged by others, whether at work, social situations, or just your average day-to-day situation ^[7].

And if you experience SAD, then your stage fright is likely to be much more severe.

Genetics plays a significant role when it comes to social anxiety disorder. So, if you have family members that tend to be anxious in social settings, then you might be more prone to stage fright.

Your brain structure can be another factor in SAD and stage fright. Some people have an overactive amygdala, a part of the brain that is involved in controlling how you respond to fear ^[7].

If you have an overactive amygdala, then the response to your fear of rejection and humiliation can be heightened, leading to a stronger stress response from your body and stage fright symptoms.

Your childhood experiences

If you experienced rejection or humiliation during your childhood, that could be another risk factor for social anxiety and stage fright ^[7].

For example, if you were bullied or teased excessively in school. Or if there was too much conflict in your family.

Overcritical parents can also cause children to develop social anxiety later in life.

If you felt like your parents (or teachers) were never happy with your performance no matter how hard you tried, then that fear of rejection could become a habitual pattern of thought later in life, making you more susceptible to performance anxiety.

Past negative experience with performing

Maybe you didn’t grow up with performance anxiety. But then you had a really bad experience with one of your musical performances or speeches.

And ever since then, you’ve been experiencing stage fright.

You’ll often see similar stories in sports. Some top-level pro athlete, who is typically clutch under pressure, has one big miss in an important game.

It affects their confidence, and the pain they experienced from letting their team down lingers for a while.

Their performance might not be at the usual level for some time, because they’re experiencing a mild version of stage fright.

Every time they step up to the plate, they fear they’d let their team down again, which triggers a stress response and affects their mental focus.

Why you need to learn how to handle stage fright

If you’re a performer that’s motivated by the experience of playing or speaking in front of an audience, then it goes without saying that stage fright can be a real hurdle in your career.

But even if you’re not a performer or a speaker, you may also benefit from overcoming stage fright. Or just learning how to handle the jittery nervousness in social situations, whether it’s a date, an interview, or when you’re at a party with lots of strangers.

Social anxiety and stage fright can also affect you during an important exam. That same fear or failure to deliver in high-stakes situations can trigger a stress response. And that can affect your ability to focus on answering questions on a test. This phenomenon is known as test anxiety.

Learning to handle stage fright can also benefit your professional career. Maybe once you learn how to stay calm and composed during a speech, you’d be more willing to speak at business meetings and conferences, and potentially open up new opportunities.

And the good news is that you can learn to keep stage fright at bay. And that’s what we will focus on in the next section.

Conquer stage fright with science

The first step to conquering stage fright is to realize that it’s not just something in your head.

As we’ve discussed above, your stage fright symptoms are a physiological stress response due to fear.

You can’t force yourself or talk yourself into calmness. You need to go deeper and address the root causes of the fear. And you need to equip your body with the tools it needs to remain calm under pressure.

Here is a 4-step approach to keeping stage fright away before your next performance or speech.

Step 1 – Exercise and nutrition

What you eat and how much you exercise can positively impact almost all areas of your life. And stage fright is no exception.

A diet that is low in processed foods, and rich in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and high quality proteins, helps your body get a wide array of beneficial nutrients to function optimally.

That also means that your brain will become more resilient when it has to deal with stress, and it will have an easier time maintaining equilibrium.

A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids (fatty fish like salmon) has been specifically shown to improve wellness and help against mood disorders ^[8].

Another key component is exercise. There is a lot of evidence that points to the mental health benefits of exercising, whether its strength training, cardio, yoga or a combination.

Exercise improves your heart rate variability (HRV) which is the measure of the difference in the time interval between consecutive heartbeats. HRV is also a measure of how well your body can handle a stress response ^[9][10].

In other words, improving your HRV through exercise will help you remain calm in stressful situations.

Step 2 – Prepare like never before

Steve Jobs was famous for preparing for hundreds of hours before delivering his famous Apple keynote speeches ^[11].

That may sound like a bit of an overkill, but the results speak for themselves. And you can try a similar approach to get rid of stage fright.

Even if you don’t have hundreds of hours to prepare, try to go way above and beyond your regular routine.

The point of preparing to the max is that you want to get to a point where the performance flows out of you naturally. It’s almost like you could perform in your sleep.

If you get to that level of mastering a speech or performance, it will significantly boost your confidence. And more confidence means less fear, which means your stage fright will be less severe.

For some extra confidence and familiarity with the performance situation, try to practice in the actual setting of the performance if possible.

Practice your pre-performance routine a few times. Wear the same clothes, the perfume, listen to the music or podcast that’s going to be playing on your commute to the actual performance, etc.

The point of all of this is to get your body so familiar with the entire process, that on the day of the actual performance, you reduce as many unknowns as possible. This allows you to focus on the task at hand, which is to deliver amazing performance for your audience.

Step 3 – A dose of calm performance formula

Consuming brain-boosting ingredients before a performance can help promote calmness and composure when it’s time to walk out on stage.

Specifically, GABA and L-theanine have been shown to reduce excessive activity in the brain and help achieve a calm and focused state that is optimal for creative flow ^[12][13].

PerformZen is a new supplement that combines both GABA and L-theanine to give you an extra dose of calmness before you walk out on stage.

But the supplement also includes other ingredients like magnesium, vitamin B6, theacrine, and Ginkgo biloba.

All of these ingredients work synergistically to not only keep you calm and focused but to also give you a boost of clean energy, so you can go out there and deliver a performance with intensity and enthusiasm ^[14][15].

Try PerformZen about 30 minutes to an hour before a speech or performance.

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Step 4 – Trick your body into relaxation

Stage fright usually hits you the hardest right before it’s time to perform. That’s when the threat of rejection and humiliation is imminent, and that’s what triggers the fight or flight mode.

And this is when you can unleash your final calmness tool to trick your body into relaxation.

If you’ve been eating well and exercising, preparing the best you can, and if you’ve taken some brain-boosting supplements, then you should already be feeling better than usual.

But your stage fright is a result of human evolution combined with other powerful factors like social anxiety, and unconscious fears about rejection and humiliation. So, it’s not about to surrender that easily.

But this final trick will be too much even for your stage fright.

Deep belly breathing to the rescue

It might sound too simple to be effective, but deep belly breathing is a powerful relaxation tool in your arsenal.

Deep breaths into the pit of your stomach will deactivate the part of the nervous system that is responsible for triggering the fight or flight response. It will restore the regular function of your cardiovascular and digestive systems.

Essentially, you’re communicating to your brain that you’re not actually in any real danger and that it does not need to be in survival mode.

In fact, researchers have found that one single session of deep breathing can help control stress response in musicians with high levels of anxiety ^[16].

Here’s how to do it.

Go to a place where you can be alone around 10-15 minutes before your performance. Stretch your arms out above you and start taking deep breaths into the pit of your stomach.

Hold your breath for a few seconds and slowly release all the way out.

Then repeat the process till you feel yourself calming down. When breathing in and out, focus on the sensations in your chest and stomach. And try to visualize the ideal outcome of the performance.

Remind yourself that you’ve prepared well, and focus on how you will start your speech or performance. And then imagine your audience mesmerized by your performance, and that the evening ends with thunderous applause as you confidently walk off the stage.

So what is the science behind stage fright?

Stage fright can feel like an impossible hurdle to overcome.

You might be full of passion for your message as a speaker, or about your performance art, whether it’s as a musician, actor, or something else. But you’ve felt hopeless because every time you’re about to walk out on stage, you feel this wave of terror take over your body.

But hopefully now you have a better understanding of why you experience stage fright. And more importantly, you realize that you can pursue your career as a performer or speaker despite your performance anxiety.

Get started today by creating a plan to get started on an exercise and nutrition routine. And then prepare as you’ve never done before, preferably in a setting similar to your next performance.

And finally, for an extra boost in calmness and confidence, consider trying the PerformZen supplement 30 minutes to an hour before you walk out on stage next time.