Captain’s log, stardate 20221011

Reframing Stage Fright

Lots of people get nervous getting up in front of a group of people to give a talk.

As a long time conference speaker - and before that, a performing musician - I never found a way to get rid of that butterflies feeling in my stomach before I got on stage.

Decades ago, I accepted that the feeling wasn’t going to go away. So I would feel it, I would ignore it, and I would get on stage anyway.

Then maybe 10 years ago, I read about the idea of reframing that feeling not as nervousness, but instead as excitement.

I love this because it flips the emotional reaction to the feeling from a negative to a positive.

So...

If you’re someone who suffers from stage fright, you might want to dig into this concept a bit.

Here’s a pretty good starting point from TED speaker and social psychologist Amy Cuddy:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/self-nudges-stage-fright-reframing-your-anxiety-excitement-amy-cuddy

Here’s the thing...

Speaking on a regular basis is one of the two key components of building an expertise-based authority business.

Don’t let those pesky butterflies hold you back.

They’re there to help.

Yours,

—J