1. Be prepared.-- When you know you've got your material down pat-words, music, timing, and (if any) choreography-you automatically lay to rest a major source of performance anxiety. "Fear of bungling" is largely preventable. PREVENT IT.
2. Practice Visualization. Research has proven that imaging a successful outcome for a performance, before it takes place can result in the real performance living up to the image of the mental one. In your mind's eye, visualize yourself on stage singing confidently and accurately; relating well to your audience. The more detailed your visualization, the better. Play this mental "tape" as often as you like. When the curtain really goes up, your mind will obligingly go to work to duplicate what has become a familiar pattern.
3. Learn stress reduction techniques. There is a wide range of options here. The"self help" section of your local bookstore or library can offer you books about yoga techniques, mental imaging, biofeedback, meditation, and "relaxation-response" training and breathing techniques. Sample some and develop a program that works for you. Meanwhile, merely controlling your breathing-pacing yourself with regular slow, deep breaths-can have a dramatic effect in your emotional equilibrium.
4. Use positive thinking. Your mind and body function much better when you support yourself mentally, rather than chop yourself down. Affirm your abilities. Be aware of (and careful of) what some psychologists call "self-talk". Making negative, self critical comments (you blew it again, dummy) (that was a stupid thing to do) (I'll never get this learned) is like trying to dig your way out of a muddy pit by hosing water on the sides. Pay attention to everything you do right, and expect to keep doing even better. Whatever you're doing wrong will be crowded out and left behind.
5. Keep a journal of positive comments about your singing. Each time you perform, write done all the compliments you receive. This isn't obsessive ego-feeding (so long as you let it go to your heart-NOT your head). It's a technique for documenting your effectiveness as a performer, whenever doubts start attacking your self-esteem. Write down your own positive feelings after a performance, also.
6. Focus on what you did the best. If your strongest point as a singer is your voice quality, showcase that in your programming. If your strengths lie in interpretation or in style, organize your performance and your selections accordingly. You'll know you are putting your best artistry foreward, and that area of your thoughts will "inoculate" against nervousness.
7. Don't major in minor details. A missed note, entrance or "off" tone is just part of being a singer. Don't blow them out of proportion. You can't always expect to be perfect (in this day and age, the imperfections of the human voice look pretty attractive). Just be yourself, give an honest performance, and your audience will warm to you no matter what you do.
8. Intend to be successful. Have you ever listened to Olympic athletes talk after winning a medal? You'll never hear one say, "Gee, I haven't the slightest idea how I made it this far." Invariably they say, "I never thought about losing, I trained to win, and I expected to win." This principal goes hand in hand with positive thinking. Expect to succeed. When negative thoughts come to the threshold of your consciousness, close the door. Thinking about ways to fail never brought anyone closer to success.
9. Perform often. You will always find the more you perform, the easier it gets to take challenges in stride. This isn't to stay you'll never feel nervous. But by broadening your experience you become better equipped to handle different situations. The law of averages works for you, too. That is, if you've done more than 25 performances and you blow one, it's easier to shrug, collect yourself, and move on to the next opportunity.
10. Transform negative energy into positive energy. When you feel the stress of performance anxiety building before a performance, turn it into a plus. Express those feelings in terms like, "I'm really, really excited about today. I can tell it's going to be a fantastic performance."
11. Recognize mistakes, then let them go. Don't waste time agonizing over mistakes. A mistake is important only as an indicator of something that needs to be corrected. Once you've identified that, don't invest any more mental energy in the error. Put your focus on error-free performance. It's like the old mind game, " think about anything-except a hippopotamus!" Immediately, hippopotami come to front and center in the brain. Similarly, thinking about mistakes just invites more mistakes. This is especially true during a performance. Besides, if it's obvious that you attach a lot of importance to a slip-up-your audience may take it from you and do the same.
12. Be persistent. Don't give up. It takes time to train your voice; time to gain experience. Motivational speakers are fond of pointing to Thomas Edison's 10,000 failures in perfecting the light bulb or Abraham Lincoln's many political defeats on the road to the White House. Artistic success doesn't come overnight, either. You have something to say and
NEVER QUIT BEFORE YOU'VE SAID IT!!!
