Stage Fright: The Art of Public Speaking
As most people know, public speaking is right up there with some of the greatest fears that people have. So as always, I want to offer a sense of clarity about this issue and its remedy through the lens of Jazz.
Simply put, stage fright shows up when our point of view is in a position to be questioned, and we know it hasn’t been sufficiently battle-tested by enough disagreeable people.
Years ago, when a brilliant pianist named John Chin answered a question I had about the application of chord substitutions, the answer he gave me was simply “conviction and symmetry.” What he meant was that while conviction can command one’s attention, symmetry is what keeps it (i.e. clear lines of logic). So what I’m calling into focus here is a believability factor. And the first person that needs to be convinced is yourself! So when the “math” in your head makes sense, it becomes much easier to present your point of view with the confidence needed for an audience to let you lead them along the journey of wherever your thoughts take them. So when speaking in public, the trick is to only speak about what you actually believe in, as when you tell your truth, you don’t have to remember anything. But when you try to overcompensate by punching above your intellectual weight to gain more credibility in a room, it’s anyone’s guess (especially your own) as to if you’ll accidentally talk yourself into a corner that you can’t dig yourself out of without egg on your face. So if you still don’t believe me that public speaking ain’t that hard, then imagine if I offered you $100 to get in front of 1,000 people to simply recite your name? You’d do so with no hesitation because there’s nothing to memorize, as you’re not confused about how to properly pronounce your name.
Suggested takeaways…
a) Before presenting your ideas in front of large gatherings of people, stress test your assertions in smaller settings with people who are willing to challenge your POV. *Start with respectable people.
b) Anxiousness comes from uncertainty about the future. And since the first thing you have to contend with is simply the sound of your voice, it’ll be helpful to record it enough times so you can predict how it’ll sound if you haven’t done so already. Because if the sound coming out doesn’t match what you hear in your head, it’ll distract you from being present with your audience. And if an audience thinks you’re distracted, they’ll be too distracted by your distractions to focus on the merit of your content. Thus diluting the impact of your message.
c) Since much of the fear and anxiousness we experience in life comes from the stories we’ve allowed ourselves to entertain in our heads—which is usually related to our projection of other people’s opinion of us—a good way to quell that feeling before having to speak is to introduce yourself to as many people as possible so that when you do speak it feels like you’re talking to a group of people you’re already familiar with. Also, when you’ve met enough people before your talk, you’ll be able to better personalize certain parts of your talk so that it becomes more engaging than that of a memorized script.