Discover how you can improve your stage presence instantly
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Do you struggle with this? You've trained your voice for a while, know your songs, practice your arrangements, and yet you go on stage and something is missing.
Whether it's that the audience is not connecting to you the way you would like, or that you don't receive the response you're hoping for, people are not being completely blown away but more like 'Yeah, it was nice'.
Your Stage Presence might be the problem
Stage Presence is majorly important in creating memorable performances. The audience connects to you through emotions and storytelling but if your stage presence is not up for the part, you could be the best singer but won't get the recognition you deserve. That lack of stage presence is costing you connection with the audience.
What is Stage Presence
Stage presence is the magic that transforms a mere performance into a captivating and memorable experience. It's the unique aura and energy a performer radiates while on stage, leaving an indelible impression on the audience. It is conveyed in your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors on stage, as well as your body language and facial expressions. However, there are things we can do and learn to significantly improve our stage presence.
The Power of Confidence
One of the things that will boost our stage presence is our confidence. Confidence is not only heard in the voice but also seen in the performer's body language and facial expressions. Here are a few exercises you can try to improve your confidence on stage:
1. Mirror exercises
The objective of this exercise is to work on your body language and be aware of your facial expressions. You will stand in front of a mirror and sing your song while observing your posture, mimic, gesture, etc.
2. Video Tape yourself
This exercise is very similar to the mirror exercises however you will videotape yourself and then watch and analyze the video. Observe and take notes of what you can improve to have a more confident performance, for example, are you clouching your back? Then make sure you are singing with an open and engaged chest. Are your eyes circling all over the place? Then slow down and imagine a real person you'd singing/talking to. Does it look like you have hardly any facial expressions? Then exaggerate your facial expressions and movements more.
3. Power Pose Exercise
The objective of this exercise is to boost confidence through powerful body language.
Before you sing, strike a 'power pose' for 2-3 minutes. Center yourself, calm your breath, and image yourself tall and grounded like a tree with roots. Continue singing your song while maintaining the power postures. Just be careful not to make it look stiff, singing is movement and motion, and it shouldn't be restrained.
4. Confidence Affirmations:
The objective of this exercise is to boost self-assurance through positive affirmations.
Our thoughts create our reality. Make positive affirmations for confidence in your daily practice. You can close your eyes and say things like 'I am a confident and captivating performer', 'My energy on stage is like a magnet for people', etc.
Overcoming Stage Fright
A little bit of nervousness is helpful when it comes to performing but sometimes stage fright can keep us from showing our full potential. It's ok to feel the sensations of stage fright, such as sweating, trembling, increased heart rate, dry mouth, shortness of breath, or muscle tension but there are a few things you can do to contain stage fright and strengthen your courage and confidence.
1. Breathing:
Start with breathing exercises to calm down your nervous system. A few deep diaphragmatic breaths will calm your nerves and center you for what's to come.
2. Visualizing:
Visualize yourself having a successful performance. As we mentioned before, it's best to do this way before the performance or just ongoing. Our mind can be tricked, it doesn't need to experience something to believe it's true, The brain doesn't distinguish between whether you're facing a stressful situation right now or imagining it happening and when you're relaxed you can control how you react to it. Visualize yourself shining in all your colors and eventually your brain will expect that and instead of sending stress hormones out when you're performing or auditioning, it will feel calmer and more grounded.
3. Perform & Repeat:
Keep training your performance skills by performing! The best way to overcome stage fright is to go through it. You'll get better with every performance and eventually, that initial monster anxiety will turn into excitement more than anything.
If you want to improve your stage presence, work with one of our coaches and see for yourself!