One of my teachers believes there are only two fears: fear of the unknown and fear of the stage. You can agree with him or not, but the fears associated with attracting attention to his person and public opinion, occupy a large place in the life and psychology of many (if not each) of us as members of society.
The most obvious example, perhaps, is a speech to the public, whether it is a toast at the next feast, a lecture by a teacher or a monologue of a politician in front of a large crowd.
As a rule, stage fright manifests itself in a feeling of excitement with internal panic and fussy attempts to urgently change your state or at least not to show it to others.
During my life and practice, I have accumulated a decent Arsenal of technical solutions to this problem. When I say "technical", I mean that, as with every psychological manifestation, behind the fear of the scene is a whole story: education, negative experiences, psychological attitudes, family scenarios, response habits, etc., etc. And, as in the situation with any other "symptom" technical solutions are not always effective, limited effective or have side effects when used regularly without finding out the causes of the "symptom" and their study.
So, tools. Try and choose what works for you.
1. Imagine being alone.
Options can be mass, in dependence from imagination. Some seem to disconnect from reality and imagine that there is no one around or even that they are in a completely different place, for example, at home. Someone imagines what is behind the plate glass: he sees others, but they do not see and do not hear. For other people, the option is to imagine that the environment around him - just a reproduced video sequence, as on the TV. And, accordingly, no one sees him either.
2. Focus on WHAT You're DOING, not what it LOOKS like.
Excitement is almost always associated with thoughts about how we currently look from the outside and what others will think about us. In this case, our attention is entirely devoted to this aspect of what is happening. Therefore, what you need to do - to direct your attention to the action performed. For example, if it is a monologue, then: what exactly do you want to say, why, what idea to lead, what to mention, etc.
The ability to direct attention is one of the properties of this cognitive process, so we can all do it. As training for this skill is great for regular meditation.
3. Reduce the significance of what is happening.
In imagination, add an element of Comedy or absurdity to the situation. One commonly used example is to imagine that everyone is wearing diapers. Or in funny hats (you can Google on this request, many options will find).
4. Breathing "square".
Imagine a square. With side 4. Each side corresponds to a certain phase of breathing. On 4 accounts do inhale, then on the same 4 accounts pause then 4 accounts - exhale, then pause again. Breathe like this for a while, accompanying the expense and breathing visualization: how would the movement of the inner eyes on the sides of the square respectively breath.
5. Imagine the worst had already happened.
When you are preparing for a performance and notice the excitement, you can think what exactly you are afraid of. I must say that at this point in our lives two parts: one adult, logical, and the other children, irrational. And the question to yourself "what's the worst that could happen?"rational answer "Yes nothing!". And then will to persuade and be angry on irrational, explaining it, that fear there is no sense. The excitement will not diminish.
So ask the nursery should be part of it. What was she afraid of? And look in that direction. What answers come? What situations are drawn? When you get the answer, imagine that it has already happened. And you have nothing to lose in this case.
First, suddenly it becomes clear that the worst case scenario is not so terrible. Second, the very fact that certainty appears reduces anxiety.
Remember the session at the University. If You have ever failed an exam, you may remember that the excitement faded after the deuce, and after passing the exam. Very often we are more worried about the limbo than the bad, but certainty.
6. Desensitization method.
It consists in multiple repetition of a stressful situation, starting with a minimum level of stress and gradually increasing the intensity of the stressor. That is, for example, first imagine how You perform in front of an audience of two people, and these are your good friends. Then perform before them. Then three people (or two less close). Each time to do this, until not will become quietly. And gradually increase the number of people and reduce the degree of intimacy with them.