Hallo again. As we are continuing with our investigation of stagefright this week, I suggest that if you haven’t read the previous two articles on this subject, you might like to click onto Previous Posts at the bottom of the page and catch up with the two earlier articles on this subject before you read this one.

So what is stagefright? Where does it come from? In order for me to answer that question, I need to take you on a fast ride back through time. Welcome to the Stone Age! Back then, Mr. and Mrs. Caveman faced constant physical danger from other cavemen who wanted to steal their cave or their food, or from wild animals who wanted them to be their food! As part of a brilliant survival kit, these early people were equipped with a built-in defence mechanism, ‘discovered’ in the 1930s by Walter Cannon and called the ‘Fight or Flight’ reflex. You can read more about Mr. Cannon’s identification of this reflex in:The Wisdom of the Body, Norton Publications, New York, 1939, or in the following websites: www.The BodySoulConnection.com and www.ChangingMinds.org.

The Fight or Flight reflex functioned like this:when Mr. Caveman was threatened by physical danger, his fear triggered an alarm which prompted the release of hormones into his body, changing his physical state within seconds.The release of adrenaline pushed up his heartbeat; fat and sugar reserves were pumped to his muscles along with more blood so that Mr. Caveman was equipped to either run away or to stay and fight. In addition, hydrocortisone was released into his body, depressing his immune- and digestive systems so that all his energy was steered towards surviving the danger he faced. These processes and symptoms created additional physical strength in moments when peril was close at hand.

What’s important to realise is that this mechanism is still part of our survival kit today! It’s there to protect us from threatening situations. When we perceive that we are under threat, the Fight or Flight mechanism is activated and the associated symptoms appear. This is great for facing sabre-toothed tigers, but not so great for facing the audience when we make a presentation. And the trouble is, our bodies can’t tell the difference. If you regard speaking in public as something even slightly fearful, the symptoms of stagefright will kick in to some degree – that’s the way we’re made. And while most of us are happy to have that excitement buzz when we get up to speak, the last thing we want in public performance are the destructive stagefright symptoms from which many people suffer.

So if these symptoms are normal in situations where we experience fear, what strategy can you use to overcome them when they appear before or during your presentation? Well, now that you know more about the origin of stagefright, you may want to answer that question for yourself over the next few days. I’ll be back next week to share with you the most successful strategies for handling stagefright symptoms.