by Barry Joe McDonagh

I’ve often observed that many people’s top-ranking fear is not death, but being in spotlight. The joke is that these people would rather lie in a casket at their own funeral than give the eulogy.

Whether you’re preparing to step on stage at your competition, perform a routine in front of an audience, deliver a speech at a big party or in a professional setting, being in the spotlight, for people who suffer from panic attacks or even just general anxiety, often becomes a major source of worry — possibly weeks or even months before the event is to occur.

The Root Cause

The fear of public speaking or presentation centers on having a panic attack during the presentation. The individuals fear being incapacitated by the anxiety and hence unable to complete what they’ve started. They imagine fleeing the spotlight, running off the stage after forgetting how to do a quarter turn, for instance.

This differs slightly from the public event presentation fear a non-anxious person may experience. With others, their fear tends to revolve around feeling somewhat uncomfortable under the spotlight. The jitters or nerves are, of course, a problem for this group as well — but they’re unfamiliar with that debilitating threat, the panic attack, because they most likely haven’t experienced one before.

If you, on the other hand, have experienced a panic disorder or are so anxious that you’re losing sleep at night, then the following tips should help you out.

Using Anxiety to Your Advantage

Stage 1 is accepting that all of these bizarre and, quite frankly, unnerving sensations aren’t going to go away overnight. In fact, you’re not even going to concern yourself with getting rid of them for your next event. When they arrive during your show or presentation, you’re going to approach them in a new manner.

We need to build your confidence back to where it used to be before any of these sensations ever occurred. This time, you’ll approach it in a unique, empowering manner, allowing you to feel your confidence again.

Some say that most of the top performers and speakers are riddled with anxiety before an event, but they somehow use this nervousness to enhance their presentation.

I’m going to show you exactly how to do this!

My first point is this, and it’s important:

The average healthy person can experience an extreme array of anxiety and very uncomfortable sensations while being the center of attention, but is in no danger of ever losing control — or even appearing slightly anxious to the audience. No matter how tough it gets, you’ll always finish your presentation-even if, at the outset, it feels very uncomfortable to go on.

You won’t become incapacitated in any way.

The real breakthrough happens when you fully believe that you’re not in danger and that the sensations will pass. By asking for more, you’re saying:

“I realize that you [the anxiety] hold no threat over me.”

What keeps a panic attack coming again and again is the fear of the fear itself; the fear that the next one will really knock your socks off, along with the feeling that you were lucky to have made it past the last one unscathed.

Because they were so unnerving and scary, it’s your confidence that’s been damaged by previous anxiety episodes. Once you fully understand that you’re not under any threat, then you can have a new response to the anxiety as it arises while you’re on stage.

The Turning Point

There’s always a turning point when a person moves from general anxiety into a panic attack, and when you imagine this happening on stage, you think to yourself:

I won’t be able to handle this in front of these people.

That split second of self-doubt leads to a rush of adrenaline, and the extreme anxiety arrives in a wavelike format. If, however, you feel the initial anxiety and react with confidence that this is not a threat to you, you’ll process the anxiety rapidly.

Using this new approach is a powerful ally because it means it’s okay to feel scared and anxious when speaking. That’s fine — you’ll feel it, and you’ll move with and through the sensations in your body and out the other side.

Because people are often very anxious before the talk has begun, they may feel they’ve already let themselves down. Now you can relax on that point. It’s perfectly natural to feel the anxiety.

Take, for example, the worst of the sensations you’ve ever experienced in this situation, be it general unease or loss of breath. You’ll have an initial automatic reaction that says:

“Danger: I’m going to have an episode of anxiety here, and I really can’t afford for that to happen.”

At this point, most people react to that idea and confirm that it must be true because of all the unusual feelings they’re experiencing. This is where your train of thought creates a cycle of anxiety that produces a negative impact on your overall presentation. This is when you’re running a high chance of stumbling in your heels.

So let that initial “Oh dear, not now” thought pass by, and immediately follow it up with the attitude of:

“There you are; I’ve been wondering when you would arrive. I’ve been expecting you to show up. By the way, I’m not in the least threatened by any of the strange sensations you’re creating. I’m completely safe here.”

Reverse Your Thought Process

Instead of pushing the emotional energy and excitement down into your stomach, you’re moving through it.

Your body is in a slightly excited state, exactly as it should be while performing or giving a speech — so release that energy in your self-expression. Push it out through your presentation, not down into your stomach.

Push it out by expressing yourself more forcefully. In this way, you turn the anxiety to your advantage by using it to deliver your performance; you’ll come across as more alive, energetic, and in the present moment. You’ll shine as you pose, speak, act, do a fitness routine… you’ll illuminate the stage with that inner energy.

When you notice the anxiety drop, as it does when you willingly move into it, fire off a quick thought when you get a momentary break (as I’m sure you have between pieces), and ask it for “more.” You want more of its intense feelings because you’re interested in them and absolutely not threatened by them.

It seems like a lot of things to be thinking about while also putting on a show, but it really isn’t. You’d be amazed at how many different, unrelated thoughts you can have while performing. This approach is about adopting a new attitude of confidence about what you might have deemed a serious threat up until now.

Embrace your fear and light up the stage. You’ll walk away to applause, and maybe even a trophy.

About Barry

Barry Joe McDonagh is the creator of the Panic Away Program. A native of Ireland, he first published the program back in 2001 after completing his undergraduate at UCD. Panic Away has since been sold in over 32 countries worldwide and has gone on to become one of the most successful courses for treating panic attacks and general anxiety today.