Many people believe that you need to be naturally confident or outgoing in order to overcome stage fright.
Considering that introverts make up between a third and a half of the population, and not all of them suffer from stage fright, that can’t be true.
That belief also ignores that stage fright affects both extroverts and introverts.
If you take a look behind the curtain at any elementary school performance, you know this to be true.
All kids, from the quiet ones to the loud ones, are nervous about how they’re going to measure up on stage.
For most of them, it is one of their first times in front of an audience. The closest they’ve come to a similar situation was giving a class presentation, which was probably just as stressful. This is often true even in other educational institutions, such as high school or college.
Now, while it’s true that introverts avoid being the center of attention in social situations, that says nothing about their ability to perform on stage.
Introversion, very simplified, means that one prefers solitary activities to social ones, small groups to large ones, and that one needs more time to recharge after too much sensory input or social interaction.
The only thing that could affect his ability to perform on stage is the recharge time. It means you shouldn’t run eight-hour-a-day workshops for a week on a regular basis. If you do, you run the risk of getting burned.
In fact, introverts have their own strengths that they can play on.
Introverts like to spend time alone pursuing their interests. That means they are often experts on the topic they are presenting on. They also spend a lot of time practicing, for example for musical performances or the upcoming speech.
All this extra time spent studying their material gives introverts a sense of confidence in their abilities. In turn, that translates into a solid presentation or performance, even in the face of stage fright.
It doesn’t matter if you’re an introvert or an extrovert, the reason you’re nervous is because of your internal dialogue.
Self-talk is the voice inside your head that says, “If you make a mistake, it will be the worst thing in the world.”
The way to overcome stage fright is to change that to something more rational, for example, “It’s okay if I make a mistake. Of course, it would be much better if I didn’t, but it happens to everyone and I can handle it.” with that.”
That has nothing to do with your social tendencies, just how you perceive the situation at hand.