Stage fear - or performance anxiety - is a common hurdle, but you can overcome it. Here are seven practical steps to reclaim your confidence and shine in front of any audience:

1. Practice in Front of a Mirror
   Watching yourself helps improve your posture, facial expressions, and body language—essential for carrying yourself with poise.

2. Record Yourself
   Listening or watching your performance highlights areas like clarity, pacing, and tone, enabling focused refinement.

3. Breathe & Relax
   Before stepping on stage, take three deep breaths. This slows your heartbeat and calms nerves naturally.

4. Use the Eye Contact Trick
   Avoid staring directly at the audience. Instead, focus on a few friendly faces or just above the crowd to ease anxiety and appear confident .

5. Know Your Content
   You don’t need to memorize every word - master your key points. Deep familiarity builds confidence more than rote recitation.

6. Practice Positive Visualization
   Visualize applause and a supportive audience. This mental rehearsal steers your mindset toward success.

7. Start Small
   Begin with familiar audiences - friends, classmates - then gradually scale to larger groups. Each step builds resilience. 

   Stage fear doesn’t need to hold you back. By embracing these seven small yet impactful practices - whether it's mirror drills, deep breaths, imagining applause, or progressing from intimate to larger audiences - you’re setting the stage for calm, confidence, and compelling presence.

   Take it one step at a time, and soon you’ll be delivering with ease.