Advice on how to appear confident?

Question

I've been taking vocal lessons for five years now, and I know I can sing, and that the people who have heard me preform enjoyed listening to my voice. But everytime I go up there to preform even when I know the song inside out I get nervous, it doesn't make my throat tense up, but I keep getting nervous and appearing as though I want to hide from the audience. I've had people try to hepl me before but I seem to be appearing even more shy every time I preform! Forexample I'll be trying to stand up straight when I sing, but I can't get myself to staighten up, my hands start to shake, I can't look up and I constantly stare at the microphone. Does anyone have any advice on how to get over this? I'd call it stage fright but I'm not afraid to go up and sing I just look as though I am. ^^;

Answer 1

So you are very good and courage always try to appear as you are then you will be the best trust me and do not think about any thing even if there is one teasing you think only that there is someone wants to hear you even one

Answer 2

The stage is a very different place from the practice room or a lesson with a nice & supportive teacher. Voice lessons and practice don't prepare you for the actual experience of performing, so you'll need to practice performance skills.

Try to set up a situation where you sing somewhere that makes you nervous, for people that make you nervous, on a regular basis. Each time you perform, you can evaluate how you did, and make a plan to improve.

Concentrate on these areas:
*Before the performance. I had to be very careful, make sure I'd had enough to eat, that I'd warmed up well, that I had enough throat lozenges, water, etc. Now, because I've got more experience, it's not vital that everything is perfect beforehand, but in the beginning, you'll want to try to make everything as perfect as possible.

*Walking onstage/entering the room. Practice the way you want to walk (Slowly, quickly, comfortably, energetically? Do you want to smile, or look serious?) Decide how you want to turn to face the audience.

*The time between walking out and starting the song. For your body, create a checklist: smile, posture, eyes up, two deep breaths, relax shoulders, etc. Make it specific and short, and practice it every day. For your mind, practice hearing the beginning of the music and feeling the first emotion of the song with your body in the ideal position.

*Starting the song. Sing the first phrase, and make sure nothing about your body changes!

A good goal for the next performance would be to develop your routine and use it. At least once during every practice session, imagine the day of your next performance. If you can't practice on the stage, pretend that your room is the stage. Walk out, smile at the "audience," run through your body checklist, hear the music in your head, and sing the first phrase. Stop there, and repeat.

The only other thing is to make sure that you have an emotional plan for the song--that you know what you or your character is feeling at each line. Practice keeping your mind on the emotions and the meaning--if you ever space out or go blank while you're singing, that's when you'll start to look shy or nervous. Looking at a full-length mirror while you sing is good for catching any places where you go blank or start to wilt.

I also recommend Sande Shurin's book Transformational Acting. It has a good meditation that focuses your energy and your creative self outwards, so that you can get a good mental start.

I've never had a problem with a specific body part shaking, but I figure that if you're totally engaged with expressing the song and keeping your poise, it won't matter if your hands shake. Just accept that it's probably going to happen, and don't let yourself be distracted.

Good Luck, and let me know if there's anything else I can do to help.

Answer 3

To appear more confident, you'll have to be more confident. First find why you're so unconfident. You said it wasn't stage fright. Are you in denile about it not being stage fright? (check up on that...) It kind of sounds as if you have 'audience fright.' Is it easier for you to sing in front of friends and or family? The problem could be not knowing the people. Sometimes you can get scared by an event that happend years ago. If, 20 years ago you were singing as a kid and fell of the stage and broke your arm, that may be a good reason. These are just some suggestions, but do try to a) find the problem b) find the source and why that problem is there c)get rid of the problem.
It'll take time- take baby steps.

Answer 4

The key to appearing confident is to BE confident. But that's a lot easier said than done. I can make a few suggestions to help you get started--but only briefly. To learn more, there are a lot of websites, books, and organizations that can help. I'll make one suggestion along those lines at the end of my answer.


The person who appears confident in a situation does so because he/she EXPECTS TO SUCCEED. And that takes practice--lots of practice. I found that the best way (and there is a lot of psych/social literature to back this up) is to start with a few easy things first. Pick some things you know you can do--and pay attention to your mental state when you do those things. You should try to bring that frame of mind to something a little harder--practice being calm--not feeling anxious. In other words, focus on building a "pattern of success."

Here's the suggestion--and if you take the above approach in doing this, it's probably all you need!. There is an organization called "Toastmasters" with chapters all over the country. The members get together (usually on a monthly basis) and give speeches. In short--its an organization to learn and practice public speaking--which is the one activity above all others that people are scared of! (No joke--some studies have found that the fear of public speaking outweighs the fear of death for many people!).

But if you REALLY want to appear--and FEEL--confident--there's no better way to do it.

Answer 5

You can't get rid of stage fright so you have to embrace it. If you can't be confident at least act confident and the rest of your mind will follow.

One person said: "Instead of trying to get rid of them, the trick is to get all those butterflies flying in the same direction" Use your nervous energy to your advantage - put it into your music.

You can try little tricks like looking above the audience's heads or imagining you are in a different place but personally I don't think thats too important.

Don't try to be anybody else, just be you. Sing your songs and do what comes naturally - you will develop your own stage presence. Not everybody has to jump up and down and dance their buns off. If you really care about your music, put all your energy into that and people will respond.

Answer 6

I found that the best way to lose stage fright is to make mistakes during performances. When you realize that it isnt the end of the world, and that it really isn't so bad after all, you lose all fear of the stage.

For instance, I sing tenor, and early in my training, I was deathly afraid of the notorious 'crack' while attempting to sing high arias, such as Che Gelida Manina from La Boheme. Every performance, I would foucs so hard on the 'what-if' scenario and calculated the consequences (embarassement, etc). Then, one day it happened. I continued on, and ignored it as if it didn't happen; in fact, it made me mad and I performed with more energy after that. Afterwords, nobody remembered the crack, they remembered the performance. I learned later that all tenors crack once in a while, so it was no big deal.

After that, no more stage fright!

Answer 7

To appear confident you have to be confident. You have to find the time to evaluate as to what affects your level of confidence. Once you identify those facters, you can work on each of them. In my case, preparation for any event like making a speech, or singing in public works very well.

Answer 8

Don't worry about being nervous, it's a normal reaction to performing infront of people, and even entertainers with years of experience will tell you that they still get nervous sometimes.

My speech teacher used to tell the class to pick a spot "over" the crowd and look at that, as opposed to looking directly into the audience, or looking down. Sounds corny, but it works. Pick a spot on the back wall, somewhere over the heads of the audience and look there, not at your microphone. It will appear as though you are looking at the people in the crowd, even though you are not. When you say you can't stand up straight, I assume you mean your "slumping". Stand up straight, drop your shoulders slightly and keep your knees slightly bent - or even better, sit on a tall stool as you sing. Sitting allows you to relax more than standing. And as you sit imagine a steel rod going up your spine, holding you straight.

Good luck! :)

Answer 9

Simple! Create a persona. All singers do this. You create a character for you to become that's fearless and wouldn't possibly be scared or intimidated in front of others. You get to "hide" behind this character and still perform. I've heard of SEVERAL current singer/performers that do this.

Good luck! :)

Answer 10

Whatever it is you are feeling is a perfect reflection of what is in the process of becoming. So if your feeling nervous then you will be nervous on stage. Try and see your self doing an excellent job on stage and everyone clapping and cheering for you. Keep doing this over and over again until you go on for real. You will do great just believe you can do it.