One powerful way to tame the stage fright monster is to laugh at it!
Two silly people inside us are particularly worth laughing out of existence: the perfectionist and the narcissist.
The Perfectionist in me screams “OH MY GOD!!! I made a mistake! How could this happen to PERFECT me?! I am SO perfect! I am so awesome and fabulous! I could not possibly make a mistake!
The Narcissist in me seems oblivious to the fact that everybody else is a lot more worried about how they are doing than about how I am doing. In fact, it is highly probable that even my own mother, children, best friend, significant other, or people in the audience are not thinking about me right now! Ha!
And so, it should be clear that neither the perfectionist nor the narcissist can exist in the face of these simple, self-deprecating reality tests.
Another way to expose the silliness of our fears is to try to fail on purpose. To that end, try talking to yourself as follows: I am going to really mess things up. I am going to have so much stage fright that it is going to be legendary! I am gonna have the great great grandmother of all stage frights, the most incredible stage fright in the entire history of the universe! People will be talking about my stage fright for generations to come!
And so, let’s all lighten up!
Let’s all stop taking ourselves so seriously!
Let’s all see the deep wisdom in and enjoy the therapeutic value of the capacity to laugh at ourselves.