Well, it's official, Peter has stage fright. I thought when he gave his talk he was just being stubborn or was unaccustomed to standing in front of a large group of people and was therefore thrown off his game. Nope, I think he was afraid.
He came home from church last week with a paper saying he had been assigned the scripture for Primary for the next Sunday, which was yesterday. I made a mental note of it and then forgot until Bryan picked the paper off the counter yesterday morning during breakfast. Ack! I forgot! I looked at the topic and quickly found a short scripture. Peter, Bryan, and I spent the next few hours repeating Moroni 10:5 to each other. By the time we walked into church Peter had it memorized.
I wanted to make sure he understood what was going to happen this time. We talked about when he was supposed to give a talk before. We reminded him that he would walk up to the podium and say his scripture. I told him I would be right there next to him the whole time in case he needed help remembering. He assured me he wouldn't need help.
He got as far as the the front of the room (which was only a few steps because he sits on the first row) and behind the podium when he stopped. He started saying he had changed his mind and couldn't go up, that he didn't want to do it, that he wanted to sit down. I didn't make as big a deal out of it this time. I tried for about half a minute (it felt much longer) to get him up the steps, but to no avail. I shrugged at the Primary Presidency and walked him back to his seat.
I don't get stage fright, so I can only imagine what he's feeling. To any of you that have stage fright or who have children that get stage fright, how do you overcome it? I'd like to start giving him tools to deal with it now so that when he's on his mission and is asked two minutes beforehand to speak for the next hour he won't try to crawl under his seat and hide. Are there any tricks? Any positive affirmations to help you get in front of an audience?
After church Peter was singing a song he had made-up. He had put the words of his scripture to music. So even if he didn't share the scripture with the whole Primary, at least he memorized it. That's something, right?
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Blog Archive
-
▼
2009
(259)
-
▼
June
(22)
- It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
- Monkey See...
- The Very Talented Artist
- Face Time
- Bow-dacious
- Fashion Statement
- Deep in the Heart of Texas
- Begin Your Celebration Early
- P.I.
- Who Stole the Cookie From the Cookie Jar?
- Incommunicado
- Bowling - Peter Style
- I'm Sorry, Where You Flirting With Me?
- It's A Twista, It's A Twista
- But I Neeeeeed It
- Like Father, Like Son
- Writing History
- I Keep On Fallin'
- As If I Wasn't Paranoid Enough
- But You Don't Have to Take My Word For It
- Fame!
- Take Two
-
▼
June
(22)
4 comments:
Stage fright is a killer. There's really no way to "cure" it. As a parent, just make sure that you're supportive and that you don't force him in to situations that cause him anxiety, because that's the worst. Give him plenty of opportunities to speak/sing/whatever in front of a group, be there to hold his hand while he's up there, and that's about all you can do. Really the only way to get over stage fright is to just get in front of a group a million times. It never goes away, but you learn to cope with it. I heard that Barbara Streisand suffers from debilitating stage fright yet her performing career spans decades. Go fig.
The one time I remember not being able to perform was for a Ward Talent Show as a kid. Obviously I got over it, but I have experienced it. I'll try to explain.
Have you ever gotten nervous before performing? Sure, all performers do, but we use the adrenaline as motivation to do our best.
Now, most of the time (if you're properly prepared) the nervousness is minimal. Now, imagine not only not being prepared, but you have to perform in Chinese and you're naked. I know it's a bit of a cliche, but really, it's kind of accurate. All eyes are looking at you and all you can feel is inadequate and embarrassed and foolish. Your basic social anxiety.
As far as getting over it. It may take a while, but as the poster above wrote, you just need to be on stage to get over stage fright. Peter is very social, so I don't think it'll last for too long. (And if you're judging people for being good Missionaries when they're three, then I would've jumped on the couch during every discussion ;-).)
When it comes to speaking in front of people, for me, it doesn't matter how much or often I do it. I straight up hate it. Even playing my tuba by myself, I get nervous. Now put me in a group, and I thrive. Marching band and concert band really had me in my element. To this day though, ask me to speak in front of people and I immediately start hating my life. I hope he grows to be more used to it for his sake.
I think the other posters had some great advice. I have never cared for standing in front of a group, but I can do it and have even come to not mind it. Will I ever *enjoy* it? I doubt that.
And I give Peter some major kudos for memorizing his scripture! (And his mama for helping him!) I *do* think that's something. Good for him!!
Post a Comment