No worries! It's only Stage Fright

Be it an actor, a guest speaker or an examination candidate: anyone who steps out of the anonymity of the group and is exposed to the judgment of his fellows (or has no choice in the matter), will unavoidably suffer from stress and anxiety: stage fright is a phenomenon no one can avoid.

The explanation is simple: fear causes stress. And stress causes stage fright. But why do we feel anxiety and fear when talking in front of people or when we present our research results, or indeed when we have to sing in front of others? After all, these are all things that we may be happy to do, that we can do well or even excel at. The answer is: public scrutiny and possible failure.

Whatever we may say or do in public is always self-revelatory in nature: we reveal our innermost selves, let others know who we are and what we are – and at the same time make ourselves vulnerable because the reactions of our surroundings can never be fully predicted. So a major reason for stage fright is fear of a negative appraisal of our actions and our personality. To this must be added that social skills such as a self-assured manner and eloquence are greatly valued in our society, especially at work. The consequences: when giving a talk, for example, many people are afraid of failing to satisfy the expectations of those around them as well as their own desires and aims. Stage fright therefore derives from the uncertainty as to what awaits us in a given situation and whether we are up to scratch, and thus ultimately from the fear of failure.

Our sympathetic nervous system reacts to stress situations such as fear and threat by providing extra energy. The hormone adrenalin sweeps into the bloodstream so that our blood circulation speeds up and fat is converted into energy. We become more awake, more alert, more active – and are thus ideally equipped to fight or flee. After this adrenalin surge, phase two kicks in: cortisol, a kind of stress sustainability hormone, is poured out via the pituitary gland and the adrenal cortex. It ensures that the organism can adapt in the longer term to the stress situation it is facing by calming down various functions such as the immune system.

Stage fright allows us to marshal all our forces in the struggle against a real or apparent danger. It acts as a kind of afterburner that we can use as an additional energy booster. After all, when the lights go on, our stage fright also tends to disappear – and the pent-up energy can be converted into a good lecture or a brilliant job interview. Things will look grim, however, if our stage fright gains the upper hand, but here too it’s a matter of attitude to find the right balance.

NORMAL REACTIONS ARE: Sweating, shaking and a tingling sensation (in various parts of the body), palpitations, voice cracking long after puberty, general restlessness, blushing or pallor, an increased need to communicate, nausea and running to the toilet. THINGS GET SERIOUS IN THE EVENT OF: Panic attacks (frequently found among actors and pop stars), loss of memory and speech (also known as blackout) FINAL STAGE: Flight response, avoidance (“Whatever are you thinking of ? I really have no time – and even less inclination – to prepare a talk as well”).

When we are stressed and nervous, our heads begin to reel: it’s then irrelevant how often we have already been in the spotlight. Even admired stars such as pop icon Madonna have to repeatedly overcome their inhibitions to appear in front of the public. Neither has stage fright much to do with the objective or apparent importance of an event. Anyone who stands on a stage in front of strangers every week or has already held a dozen talks at technical congresses can still freak out at a family get-together: Ricky Wilson, lead singer of the rock band Kaiser Chiefs, sings in front of tens of thousands of fans every year. But when he was asked to speak to a wedding party as best man, his nerves really got the better of him: “Giving that speech was the most terrifying thing I have ever done. It was more nerve-racking than playing in front of thousands of people. I broke into a sweat and my voice became quite shrill.” The best way to deal with stage fright is to use humor: “The human brain,” wrote Mark Twain once, “is a wonderful thing. It begins to work from the moment of birth – up to the point when you get up to give a talk”.”).

This fear is fed by our imagination rather than reality: in this respect too – stage fright is all in the mind. The delusion of being closely observed by others also belongs to this category. Certainly, restless hands, blushing and a quivering voice are all too evident tell-tale signs. But our agitation blossoms most luxuriantly in private. In fact, those around us notice our nervousness much less than we think. Psychologists express this by saying that stage fright has a strong intrapsychic component and is thus experienced principally in our own minds.

That’s how a repressive personality thinks and acts. People who belong to this type try either to completely ignore their agitation or cover it up. The opposite personality is the sensitizer who deliberately signals to his surroundings how agitated he is. However, tests have shown that repressive types are merely better actors: their vegetative nervous system shows identical or even higher stress values. And incidentally, men are significantly more often repressive types, while women tend to be sensitizers.

CHRISTIAN WIMMER

The HighFlyer

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS N.V.
Le Carré · Beechavenue 130-132 · 1119 PR Schiphol Rijk · Pays-Bas

EADS Deutschland GmbH · 81663 Munich · Allemagne
EADS France S.A.S. · 37, boulevard de Montmorency · 75781 Paris Cedex 16 · France
EADS CASA · Ava. de Aragón, 404, 28022 Madrid · Espagne