Stage fright solved (the #1 fix from an executive public speaking coach)

Nervous man is afraid of public speech and is hiding behind curtain.

Do you avoid public speaking because you sometimes experience stage fright?

Is your fear of stage fright holding you back on the job?

Do you want a simple fix to solve stage fright forever?

If so, take advice from an executive public speaking coach who once suffered from stage fright – and then discovered the antidote for how to show up on stage without fear.

Many years ago (long before I was a speechwriter and an executive public speaking coach), I was invited to deliver a presentation to a couple hundred emerging leaders at a conference for women in business.

My proposed angle on the topic, approved by the conference committee, required a bit of research, which I was excited about doing.

But then work – and life – got the better of me.

In the months after my speaker proposal was accepted, way too many other deadlines and distractions kept claiming my attention (and my headspace).

As a result?

I carved out little time to think clearly about what I wanted and needed to say – much less dig deep into the research that promised to make the angle of my talk stand out from all the others at the conference.

Microphone against a blurred background of a large crowd, symbolizing public speaking or live performances.

The deadlines and distractions continued.

And then the predictable came true:

On a weekend, 10 days before my presentation, I contracted a massive case of stage fright.

And I wasn’t even on stage yet.

In front of me was nothing except the title of my presentation and a 63-word abstract.

It’s no exaggeration to say that panic set in.

Frantically, I finally began planning my talk that Saturday, the clock ticking in my brain like a hammer, nerves sending me down dozens of research rabbit holes from which there was no return.

By Sunday night, some progress:

In front of me now was a ton of stuff!

Worried African-American male using laptop for remote work from home, watching weary at the screen

But no clear line of sight.

By this time, my stage fright was paralyzing!

And my talk was just two days away.

Meanwhile, the new workweek dawned.

I had just 48 hours left!

But once again, regular work and life interfered.

And once again, I set aside my piles of research, and gave up my headspace, in lieu of all the other apparent priorities at work and in my life.

By Monday dinnertime – with stage fright mounting – I stopped everything to map my route to the finish line quickly approaching.

I had just one evening, one afternoon and one night to get focused – and crank something out.

Which I finally did.

I finished at 1:33 a.m. Wednesday morning – a mere seven hours before the conference kickoff.

I rationalized, telling myself I did the best job I could in the time that I had.

And I felt OK about it (but just OK) because deep down I knew:

Shy Woman holding her Written Speech Feeling Stressed out.

If I truly wanted to avoid all this fear?

I could have – should have! – done better.

That’s why the stage fright that nagged me for days proceeded to follow me – this time, all the way to the stage.

I shudder when I remember how I felt that morning stepping up to the lectern: my rough, unfamiliar notes (and an eager audience) in front of me, my slides projected just to the side of me.

Racing heart. Shaky hands. Dry mouth. Sweaty palms.

A sense of dread.

What would they think of me?

I took a deep breath and began, ready for it to be over so I could escape.

I heard myself speaking.

But what was I saying?

Did it make any sense?

Resolution made (by a future executive public speaking coach)

In the end, I made it through the 45-minute breakout.

Businessman with stage fright covering his face with a sheet of paper

But not without unhealthy doses of ache, angst and anxiety.

Never again, I told myself.

I never want to feel that kind of pain and pressure again.

And indeed – I haven’t.

So what’s the fix?

What is “stage fright solved”?

The solution is simple and memorable, sparked by my role today as an executive public speaking coach working with leaders who often find themselves in the same situation I was in so many years ago.

Here’s the solution:

Preparation.

Process.

Practice.

The three Ps!

To stop stage fright forever?

It’s what you must do to gain confidence in your content so you see your presentation as the gift that it is to your audience – and then feel eager and excited (not frightened) to give it.

Preparation.

Process.

Practice.

Here’s how it works.