Terry Fox Theatre

Confidence is a lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes right down to it. Everyone gets nervous. Everyone cares, at least to some degree, about what others think; how others see them -- especially when performing something that is truly important to them. When you see someone on stage, in the midst of the performance of their life, you can make a safe bet that person is -- or at least was -- afraid. It's entirely natural, and the best performers are no less human than you are.

How do they do it, then? How do they appear so calm, so cool? How, exactly, is it that they can command such attention from their audience, captivating them sometimes to the point of awe? Can it be learned? Is there some sort of trick to it?

The answer to both questions is yes -- and where tricks are concerned, there are many. Here are five of the most important of them:

Image by Patrick Pearse

Again with the Breathing

The first and foremost trick of confidence when performing is the simplest to achieve, but also the easiest to forget: breathing. As we discussed in our previous post in the Owning the Stage series, 5 Tips for Overcoming Stage Fright, getting control of your breath helps to relax your body and mind, allowing you to think more clearly and enabling you to better overcome your fears. Breathe slowly and evenly, from your core -- try something like breathing in for a slow four count, through your nose; your stomach expanding, your shoulders remaining steady, not rising and falling. Breathe out the mouth or nose for another slow four count, without holding your breath at the top. Rinse, lather, repeat -- it should help.

For some, the ability to control, or even use the fear and adrenaline generated prior to a theatrical performance or public speaking engagement is a natural thing. They may find that their stomach flips a few dozen times before they walk on stage, but the moment that they step in front of their audience they make a decision, whether consciously or unconsciously, to discard fear and drive forward. Proper breathing helps prepare your body and mind to make that same decision, which helps you to project the confidence needed to perform above even your own expectations. If you find that you are overcome with anxiety, engaging in some sort of physical activity that forces you to breathe is also good, as is anything that increases your blood flow, such as stretching -- in moderation of course. Overdoing it will only cause you problems, not help you. Breathe. Relax. Increase your calm. This will allow you to focus; to do what you need to do to perform effectively.

The Moment is Key

Your newfound focus will lead you into the second trick and first necessity of a powerful performance: being truly and wholly in the moment. Getting lost in what you are doing, focusing on each moment as you are in it, will allow you to fully give of yourself. This, in turn, will allow you to connect and resonate with your audience. Thinking about what you need to do tomorrow, or fretting about the next section of your theatre performance, music show, public speaking engagement, or whatever it is you happen to be performing, will not do anything but distract you. If you become distracted, your audience will also become distracted -- and once the connection is lost, it can be very difficult to get it back.

Control

Being lost in the moment does not mean that you should retreat into yourself, however. Nothing about a performance is introspective. Certainly, you must tap into all that you are -- passions, emotions, personal experiences -- but your job is to take what you are, and then to direct it outward, to the audience. This can't be done in a haphazard way, or by spewing it all out at once. It can't be shored up by ridiculous antics and an overabundance of flamboyance -- those things will only take you so far, and could end with your audience not taking you seriously. Control is the key, here. Know your material, know your audience, guage them -- and then engage them. Give everything you can into your performance, but direct it outward in a steady, dynamic stream, tweaking intensity as is appropriate to both the audience and the material.

Be Careful with Eye Contact

You may have heard that you need to make eye contact with your audience members to truly connect with them. This is not true. If it were, theatre performances would be exceedingly strange, and televised performances would never work. Eye contact is a powerful thing; a very personal connection. Use it too strongly, and you can make others uncomfortable, or you can cause yourself to be distracted by the recipients' reactions. However, you do want the audience to feel that you are intimately connecting with them when it is appropriate, and a good technique to accomplish this without overdoing it is to look just over the tops of their heads. Doing this helps the people in the audience to feel that you are, in fact, making eye contact with other audience members -- fostering that deep connection -- which they can then relate to by proxy.

Technique is Not Enough

Technique does not equal a powerful performance. Some of the best perfomers in the world are not trained to sing, dance, play, or speak publicly. Many could not begin to read a note of music or tell you the technical name for a particular dance step, and they might well fail the technical aspect of a competition -- but their performances are electrifying. Ultimately, that is why your audience is there: to be electrified by you. Unless they are professionals in your field, they have no idea what the difference is between good and bad technique, and only know if they can feel what you are doing or not. This is not to say that technique is not important, as good technique gives you tools to draw on that can improve your performances, and the practice it takes to develop good technique helps increase confidence in your ability. However, to rely solely on technique, without incorporating the ideas presented in the previous four points, will lead to a performance that, while technically correct, has no heart or soul. Without those intangibles, your performance is doomed to mediocrity -- but with them, you can take even the most uninterested party on a journey that will leave them breathless.

• Breathe.
• Give yourself to the moment, applying the right amount of intensity for your audience.
• Connect with them, engage them -- but don't overwhelm or distract yourself or them.
• Know your material and your art, but don't rely on the fundamentals to the point where you lose your passion for the performance.

These things will help you to walk on stage with the appearance of -- and maybe even some genuine -- confidence. They will help you to project your passions outward, enrapture your audience, and deliver consistently phenomenal performances.

You may even surprise yourself.

What techniques do you use to increase your stage presence?