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Stage fright, the fear or anxiety of performing in front of an audience or a camera, is a very common phenomenon indeed. I am sure you all know many 'tried and tested' methods of combating stage fright. These methods range from simple ones like looking at the foreheads of your audience and not directly at their eyes; to rather crude methods like imagining the entire audience in their underwear. While these methods may work for some people, I believe that there are more permanent solutions to cure the fear of public speaking.

The first thing to recognize in dealing with stage fright is that it's not universally bad. If you are facing a crowd of thirty odd people, any single blunder that you do would be like doing thirty blunders all at once. No wonder people like Laurence Olivier, Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, Rod Stewart and opera star Renee Fleming, among many others, used to suffer from stage fright at the beginning of their careers.

In fact, a little bit of stage fright may actually be desirable. It can heighten your alertness; make you cognitively quicker and sharper. What's important is controlling the more extreme physical symptoms like tremor in hands and legs, the dry mouth etc. Breathing exercises and focusing on relaxing your muscles may do the trick. The next time you find yourself on a stage; do not rush into your speech. Take a moment to look around, breathe deeply and try to become attuned with the audience. It will help to relax your nerves and focus on what you have to say. You can also ask yourself whether there is anyone in the audience who knows more abut the topic you are going to talk about. This can help to boost your confidence when you are dealing with a subject on which you have many information and anecdotes to share.

I read somewhere that if you have performed in front of an audience or have delivered public speeches for over 90 hours at any point in your life; you will be able to totally overcome stage fright. I guess this goes on to show that the more opportunities you grab at using the microphone, and the more willing you are in stepping into the spotlight; the better your chances are in ultimately overcoming performance anxiety. Just ask the friend of mine who once found himself standing on the stage of the Viqarunnisa auditorium during a school debate (and whom I am not going to name for obvious reasons). And as soon as he confronted the sea of blue as he stepped on to the podium, his mind went blank and he stood there looking at the crowd helplessly. But he did not let that one experience discourage him. He kept on chipping away, and not only did he triumphantly return to that very stage later that year; he went on to win several debating championships all over the country at both the college and the university levels.

So I guess only firm determination can help you to master the art of having your audience in the palm of your hand. Stage fright should not deter you from debating, or speaking out in the public. As they say, courage is not the absence of fear; rather it is very well controlled fear.