Stage fright, fear of public speaking, or performance anxiety are things that many people, especially creatives, have to deal with to achieve some sort of success in their lives.

If you want your message to be heard, then you’re just going to have to deal with it – so many of the experts say.

How exactly do you deal with it?

Personally, I’ve always struggled with it as far back as I can remember. It prevented me from joining the debate team in high school and it also prevented me from trying to achieve more in band. Later, when I was in college, I couldn’t help but have a dear in headlights look in my communications classes… and then finally, when I hit grad school, it was really a fight or flight situation. Either I get over it and teach 6 classes of 30+ students, or don’t go to grad school. I had no interest to do research.

Those classes were rough, but I made it through.

For today’s guest, Marti MacEwan, she had a similar struggle. It suddenly hit her when she attempted to sing – but couldn’t.

From that point on, she made it a point to figure out why she couldn’t. And she came to find out that it stemmed all the way back to her childhood.

As she found out where her fear actually came from, she learned to cope with it. What she found out she later shared in her book: The Stage Fright Cure.

In today’s chat, Veronica and I learn from Marti more about this path of hers, where the book came from, and some really good tips for you if you’re struggling with stage fright.

Thanks for listening, and enjoy the show!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

• What was Marti’s background with stage fright before she could help other people tackle theirs? 9:13
• Why did she choose theatre as a major in college even though she would get stage fright? 11:00
• How did Marti get into therapy while her background was in theatre? 13:01
• What inspired Marti to write her book, the Stage Fright Cure? 15:52
• What’s the difference between therapy, training, and coaching? 28:33
• What’s her take on pivoting in one’s career successfully? 39:27
• What are some of the things that someone can start doing to work on their own stage fright issues? 43:45
• Top three favorite books? 52:54
• What is a scientific fact that she knows but yet still blows her away? 56:32
• What’s something that isn’t as hard as she thought it was going to be? 1:01:22
• What’s a basic life skill that Marti is amazed people lack? 1:02:48
• What does it mean to live a life of abundance? 1:04:30
• … and MUCH more!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Marti Online: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter
• Veronica Kirin AoL Interview
• Barbara Ireland AoL Interview
• Marti’s Seattle Meetup
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (Amazon Link)
• Progress by Yohan Norberg (Amazon Link)
• How to Use of Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes (Amazon Link)
• Rinna Mai’s AoL Interview
• Co-Host for this Show: Veronica Kirin
• Fizzle.co: Don’t build your lifestyle and business alone! Get support and advice whenever you need it. (5 Weeks free!)

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Glenn Interviews Lewis Howes (Starts at 37:38):

A bit more about the Stage Fright Cure:

Marti discusses how to untie emotional knots with psychotherapy and energy work:

Prof. Dave Guin discusses why We Fear Public Speaking:

Richard Greene on the 7 Secrets of the Greatest Speakers in History:

---

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!