Public Speaking Fear: Overcoming the Odds to Become a Great Spoken Word Poet
As professional poets and storytellers, you must all at some instant become accustom to speaking in front of others. Public speaking is essential to the careers of professional poets and storytellers, as it is the most direct way to help one’s audience link with a particular piece. It is therefore very inauspicious that many professional poets suffer from public speaking fear. Whether it causes stage fright, a fumbling of words or lines or a disconnect with the mood of a piece, public speaking fear can affect even the most seasoned of artists at any time. There are several reasons that public speaking fear is played into and allowed to take control of a performance, but simply knowing these reasons is not enough to keep public speaking fear from holding you back during a performance. In order to overcome public speaking fear, you must understand its nature and what role your thoughts and actions play in a performance situation.
Public Speaking Fear is Born of Insecurity
Did you know that public speaking fear stems from your own insecurities about a direction or thought pattern you’re having? This is very true, and can be debilitating for spoken word poets. When you are not firm in what you are doing, whether it be your decision to perform poetry professionally or just the direction of a certain piece, a breeding ground is established for all of you uncertainty to germinate from. These doubts can cause you to have irrational thought patterns and form assumptions that can be limiting to your creativity and performance. After these doubts and irrational thoughts are allowed to exhaust you internally, it can cause a breakdown in the actions that need to be taken during a performance. This is why many spoken word poets forget the lines, facial expressions, cadences or rhythms that help their audiences relate to a certain piece. If left unchecked and allowed to ruin more performances, a public speaking fear gradually evolves that can run over into other parts of their lives.
You Are Not the Only One Who Experiences Public Speaking Fear
Often times one of the irrational thoughts that come to mind when a person is insecure is that they are the only one who is going through such a problem at this time. In terms of public speaking fear, however, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Millions of people every day experience public speaking fear. It is an unwanted but natural response to a situation in which we have to address several of our peers at once. Once you understand that you are not the only artist that suffers from public speaking fear and you accept it as a natural feeling (and not an oddity that further alienates you and your work), you can work toward finding ways to overcome it by talking with and acquiring advice from others who share your interests.
A Few Tips to Overcome Public Speaking Fear
Now that you understand where public speaking fear comes from, you need a plan for how to overcome it so that it does not continue to affect your performances and your life. You must first start by explaining to yourself why you have chosen to become a professional poet or why you have chosen to create a particular piece. As you go through this process of explanation, you will in all likelihood find that your reason for taking this path is not to gain acceptance at all, yet that is where your fear stems from. If you have decided to become a poet in order to express your own views about a phenomenon or concept in an artistic way, then the reward comes in achieving that goal and not in being accepted or liked by others. The sooner you understand your reasons for wanting to become a professional poet or for creating a piece to perform, the easier it will be to dispel your insecurities. If you are firm in your values and views, then this will shine through in your work.
Next, it is always a good idea to talk with other aspiring and professional poets to get an understanding of certain processes. If you’ve never performed a piece live, then there will naturally be some fear associated with your lack of experience. Talking with other professional poets and storytellers can help to prepare you for the process of performing so that you are not surprised or distracted during the performance. Sometimes, it is also just good for the soul to relate to others who have a public speaking fear to gain comfort and strength from those who are experiencing similar feelings. You may also find that others have ideas for solutions to overcoming public speaking fear that you may not have thought of otherwise.
Last but not least , perfect practice makes perfect. Determine what you want out of the performance and how you see it happening in your mind. Then endeavor toward this goal. Use family members, friends and other artists as sounding boards to gain feedback and further perfect your process. The more you do this, the more prepared you will feel by the time your performance comes and the less room there will be for the doubts , insecurities and irrational thoughts that grow into public speaking fear.
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Posted June 12, 2010 by admin under Poetry Articles
