When standing in front of people, the body often reacts as though you are under attack. Your hands may shake, your heart-rate increases, you may even experience nausea. This is the fight-or- flight response. The same physiological response happens when you encounter real danger. Performance anxiety, or stage fright, is a strange phenomena because although we feel like it, we are not in physical danger.

Stage fright is very common. Veteran performers such as Adele, Ozzy Ozbourne and the legendary operatic tenor Pavarotti have suffered from it.

One of the reasons people get so stressed about performing is because of how much pressure they put on themselves. Remember - no one is perfect, and even the best performers regularly make mistakes. Professional musicians hide their mistakes so well that only another trained musician would notice.

Students must learn to keep playing their song regardless of any mistakes that are made. The audience doesn’t know what the right notes are. A mistake doesn’t matter. Performing is not about being perfect, it is about expressing yourself. A single instance of public speaking or an artistic performance does not define who you are! You do not have to prove yourself to others.

There are a few concrete tips to help overcome performance anxiety. Practice a ton. Practice so much that you trust yourself to execute in an automatic fashion. Care for your body that day (sleep, food, limit caffeine). Manifest a positive mindset. Take deep breaths. And most importantly, be yourself. When you are willing to be vulnerable, the weight lifts off your shoulders.

Sometimes stage fright is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The fear of embarrassment can take over and ultimately distract the mind during a performance. This is why it is so important to focus on a positive mindset leading up to and during a performance.

For me, my hands get cold, clammy and shaky before I perform piano (that’s not very convenient for a pianist). But what I’ve learned over the years is that shortly into the first or second song my nervous system settles down. The anxiety transforms into excitement/passion and helps me deliver a captivating performance.

This is true with many performers. The butterflies you feel before going on stage can be harnessed to help your stage presence and emotional expression. The trick is to relax into the experience, accepting it for what it is rather than resisting it.

So what if your hands are shaky? So what if your heart is beating fast? If you are determined to enjoy the experience then doubt will bloom into positivity.

Jack Gaffney is a local musician and piano teacher. He can be reached at JackGaffney.com.