Moving Past Performance Anxiety

Think back to those classroom presentations. Most of us felt a familiar surge of anxiety, a knot in the stomach fueled by more than just our performance. We worried about everything from how we would be judged by our peers to whether we would get a good grade. But the real challenge was often the “anxiety within anxiety”—the relentless stream of internal questions that played on a loop: “What if my voice cracks? What if I forget my next line? What if everyone can see how nervous I am?” This relentless cycle of worry could easily hijack our thoughts and make it impossible to focus on the task at hand.

Even in adulthood, presentations and public speaking engagements remain a common — and often vulnerable — experience. While we’ve grown beyond our school days, the familiar pangs of adolescent anxiety can resurface. So, how can we effectively manage this natural discomfort that arises when we speak or perform for an audience? Below are four psychologically-backed strategies to help combat performance anxiety.

Harnessing Self-Efficacy: The Power of Belief

Psychologist Albert Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy highlights the profound impact of our self-judgment on our capabilities. When we perceive ourselves as incompetent, we’re more likely to falter and fall short of our goals. Conversely, a belief in our own competence empowers us to succeed, allowing our sense of capability to guide us through challenging tasks. As Bandura wisely noted, “It is difficult to achieve much while fighting self-doubt.”

Imagine if, instead of automatically assuming the worst, we approached challenging tasks through a lens of inherent competency. This seemingly simple yet radical shift in mindset—a conscious valuation of our own abilities—can be transformative, fostering a powerful sense of “I can” rather than “I cannot.”

The Power of Visualization in Performance

In his seminal work, Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control, Albert Bandura asserts that “numerous studies have shown that cognitive simulations, in which individuals visualize themselves executing activities skillfully, enhance subsequent performance.” This powerful concept can be directly applied to managing anticipatory anxiety before a performance. Instead of dwelling on potential pitfalls, consciously visualize yourself successfully accomplishing the task.

A 2020 study by Watkins et al. provides compelling evidence for this. Student athletes were instructed to positively visualize themselves lifting weights during their training. The results were striking: “a directionality analysis demonstrated that, compared to athletes who did not, participants who positively visualized had a significant increase in weight moved during a lift.” Specifically, the group engaging in positive visualization demonstrated a 10-15 lb. increase in weight lifted, while the control group only saw a 5 lb. increase. This highlights the tangible benefits of mental rehearsal in improving actual performance.

Normalizing Performance Anxiety: Insights from the Stars

A 2015 Guardian article, “The Ten Best Stage Fright Sufferers,” featured global icons like Adele, Ewan McGregor, Carly Simon, and Laurence Olivier. This highlights a crucial point: viewing performance anxiety as a common human experience, rather than a personal failing, can be incredibly helpful.

When we normalize these feelings, we’re less likely to perceive them as a sign of individual weakness or incompetence. This sense of shared experience reduces feelings of isolation and inadequacy, making us less prone to self-doubt about potential failure or revealing perceived flaws. The psychological concept of humanization aims to make challenging experiences less unpleasant. For instance, recognizing that even a superstar like Adele grapples with pre-performance anxiety can make our own similar experiences feel less burdensome, fostering self-compassion and acceptance of our emotional responses.

Disidentifying: Separating Yourself from the Performance

Psychologist Irvin Yalom introduced the idea of disidentification, which involves separating the feeling of anxiety from the perceived threat it poses. Yalom observed that many individuals become “inordinately stressed… at threats to their career… they believe in effect, ‘I am my career.'”

He suggests it’s crucial to recognize that “you are your self, your core essence. Draw a line around it: the other things, the things that fall outside, they are not you; they can vanish and you will still exist.” This perspective allows us to detach the anxiety from the event itself. The presentation or performance isn’t you; it’s simply something you do. By recognizing this, we avoid giving the event undue importance, which often fuels the “do or die” mentality. Through disidentification, we can calm our anxiety by realizing the situation is neither as risky nor as threatening as it might feel.

By understanding and applying these psychological concepts—self-efficacy, visualization, normalization, and disidentification—we can better manage performance anxiety and approach our moments in the spotlight with greater confidence.