Essay: Stage Fright

STAGE FRIGHT

Based on Wikipedia; stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, whether actually or potentially. In the context of public speaking, this may precede or accompany participation in any activity involving public self-presentation. In some cases stage fright may be a part of a larger pattern of social phobia or social anxiety disorder, but many people experience stage fright without any wider problems. 

Quite often, stage fright arises in a mere anticipation of a performance, often a long time ahead. It has numerous manifestations: fluttering or pounding heart, tremor in the hands and legs, sweaty hands, diarrhoea, facial nerve tics, dry mouth, and erectile dysfunction.

As ordinary high school students, we face the same kind of problem almost every year. Especially now the government has decides to change the education system into a more practical system as we can observe from the Form 1 and Form 2 PBS system where they have to do a lot of presentations and public-speaking in front of classes or assemblies as a form of learning. This is to promote communication skills and values among teammates. From time to time we ought to feel this kind of feelings as our body response to the situations.

The effects of performance anxiety are varying on different person. Some will have sweating hands, some will have cold feet, and their body are shivering even though not cold, and there are some that immediately faint just thinking of standing in front of an audience. It may sound funny at first but wait until you are in his shoes. Although we seem this does matter much in our lives but it do effects our appearance, carrier and even our own future. In 5 or 10 years from now we are not in this school anymore. We maybe in some college or university, doing some last minute check-up for some assignments with our mates because the next day we need to present them in a lecture room with all other the classmates and professors are there to see and judge our presentation. The last assignment that will determine whether we pass or fail. Surely we will feel nervous. But we still need to do it perfectly or we will fail. In short, we cannot let the feelings win.

To conclude everything, it is okay to feel scare sometimes. It is what makes us humans but never use it as an excuse to avoid something that we have to face. Maybe it is cool to avoid but later on it will come to bite you. Be brave and keep moving forward. “Not everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin.

Credits:

Librarian MaeMae

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