Stage Fright Quotes

“Stage fright is very common and could be overcomed through step by step processes, but stuttering is a fright that takes time to conquer.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson

“I feel it's all wrong to be nervous," said Maria. "I feel it's lack of confidence. One ought to go right ahead, never minding."

"Some people do," he said, "but they're the duds. They are the ones that win prizes at school, and you never hear of them again. Go on. Be nervous. Be ill. Be sick down the lavatory pan. It's part of your life from now on. You've got to go through with it. Nothing's worth while if you don't fight for it first, if you haven't a pain in your belly beforehand.”
― Daphne du Maurier

“Going on stage always felt like being shot out of a cannon. My stomach would tighten as I got closer to the backstage area. You wondered why you put yourself through all the stress. Then BOOM! You're on, adrenalin pumping, and thinking: "THIS is why I do it!”
― Stewart Stafford

“Stage fright occurs when a knowledge of the work being performed is replaced with a self-conscious awareness of the staring crowd and their expectations. Once it supersedes a performer’s confidence, it is difficult if not impossible for them to perform live again. Then the crippling flight response we’re all aware of comes into play.”
― Stewart Stafford

“Stage footlights have sent many tumbling, the prepared and unprepared, to suckle at the bosom of Madame Obscurité.”
― Stewart Stafford

“I've always got stage fright,' he says. 'There's always a level of fright. If I can just make it manageable rather than overwhelming then I've won.”
― Chris Heath, Reveal: Robbie Williams

“I am emptied through shallow breaths.
Muscles tighten in my chest.
I think I am a fool dressed up in king’s chamber,
holding a four-leaf clover.”
― Zaineb Afzal, Spare Change

“To all of you who suffer from stage fright agonies, take heart. You suffer because you are not a potato. Does a potato possess your abilities, your sensitivity, or richness of imagination? Do you want to present like a potato? Do people pay to hear potatoes speak? Your imagination makes your life harder but, when you have conquered your fears, it will set you apart.”
― Ruth Bonetti, Speak Out - Don't Freak Out

“A first recorded instance of “presentation anxiety” occurred around 1300BC when God commissioned Moses to urge Pharaoh to free the Hebrew slaves. “Please send someone else!” pleaded Moses to God. “I'm a nobody. I'm not eloquent. I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Perhaps he stuttered.

Poor Moses. As well as having to argue with God and Pharaoh – and convince the Hebrews they should follow him to the Promised Land – he had to overcome his insecurity as a speaker.

Moses’ story reveals an important truth – the more we speak in public, the less our fears intrude and the more we grow in confidence. If Moses, the self-confessed “nobody”, could surmount his fears, so too can we.”
― Ruth Bonetti, Speak Out - Don't Freak Out

“The stranger and the crowd are the stutterer's nightmare.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson, Stamerenophobia

“Introverts rather die than volunteer to give a speech in public.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson, Stamerenophobia

“I realized I could either fall underneath it, or stand on top of it," [Lin-Manuel Miranda] said. "And that's how I think of nerves. They're a fuel source... You can get on top of them and it can power the ship, or don't get on top of them, and they blow up your ship.”
― Michelle Obama, The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times