Speaker 1Shut up and sit down. Welcome to Being On Stage, the only podcast that gives you motivation, inspiration, and confidence to be better on stage. No matter how you entertain, sing, dance, band, comedian, public speaking, MC, drag, burlesque, performance art, or street performer, this is the show for you.
Speaker 2Hey Rockstars, Reggie Dawson, host of the Being On Stage podcast and your performance coach for all things on stage. One question I've been asked a couple of times, and not by anyone that's scheduled a call or anything, not by anyone that I've talked to through my calendar, but one thing I've been asked a couple of times just when I'm explaining this podcast is, you know, why do you need stage presence? Well, they ask it in sort of a way of like, why is your podcast? Podcasts are important and things like that, but this is people that, you know, doubt what I do. But that's okay. People are going to doubt what you do. But I have been asked why stage presence is important in so many different ways. And stage presence is one of those things that it either comes natural or it doesn't. And just because it doesn't, it doesn't mean that you can't become this extremely charismatic performer or that you can't become this extremely charismatic performer. And I think that's one of the things that I've been asked a couple of times. It can take time. It can take, well, it will take time. It will take rehearsal. It will take, practice is the same thing as rehearsal. It will, you know, it will also take doing it over and over and over again. By doing it, I mean getting on stage in front of your audience, giving them a show. So what's the difference between, you know, a show with stage presence and a show without stage presence? Well, I've coached a performer before that had, a severe lack of stage presence. And one of the, one of the markers of stage presence is it's, it's almost, it's, well, one, it's a little uncomfortable to watch because the person is nervous. And when they're so nervous, they're, they're inside their head and they're processing all these thoughts while at the same time displaying their talent on stage. There's this, almost this fear. And I don't want to call it a fear because it's not always, it's not always actually fear. But there's something in them. That makes them feel like there's almost like there's no point, or it makes them feel like they, they don't. I can't, it's hard to describe how they feel because I haven't had this issue. But what it is to watch is it almost seems like there's no explosion. They call it the it factor, the X factor. Man, they have it. You've got it. It's it. It is what it is. And there's no, no better way to describe it other than to call it, it. And I've just said that way too many times. But when you don't have it, there's a lack of connection with your audience. They don't feel what you're feeling. And part of having stage presence is, is developing that ability to bring the audience in and make them feel something, create that connection. So how do you know when you don't have stage presence? Well, for one, your audience may not react to your talent the way that you want them to. And listen, you can be incredibly, incredibly talented and lack stage presence. Like you can have this incredible talent that just is absolutely amazing that you can do what you do. And listen, I'm not just talking singing, dancing, guitar, things like that. I'm talking, you know, acrobatic stuff, hand balance. That is acrobatic stuff. Circus type acts as well. And dance, all sorts of different stuff. Anything you do on stage. But there is, there's always something missing from the show. And how you can develop your stage presence is, you know, I mentioned it earlier on the podcast that, you know, practice, time, things like that. But the other, the other way is. Confidence, you know, and, and confidence does come from experience. So you see a pattern here, like to, to build and develop your stage presence, you're going to have to have the experiences of going on stage. So the individual that I had coached all, all the years ago had a severe, like, I mean, severe lack of stage presence. Like when you watch this individual, it was like almost like there was a nervous tick while they were on stage. There was like always a. Twitch to their movements. And that's a form of anxiety. You know, it's a form of stage anxiety, performance anxiety. And he always stayed inside this box. And when, so if you could take, okay, if you watch baseball and I know performers in baseball, but if you watch baseball, you know, the, the strike zone where it's like from your shoulders to, to just above your knees. That's, that's your strike zone. Well, if you imagine drawing a rectangle around someone's body that stops. In that zone, their shoulders to just above their knees, maybe a little bit wider than themselves. That's what he did. He stayed inside this box. All his movements were very small. They were very twitchy. If that's a word, there was always like an extra twitch to them. And they were not sharp. It wasn't sharp movements. Meaning like when, when you point left, like just, just act like you're pointing left. Now, when you're giving someone directions, you're going to be like, oh, just go left. And you're just going to swing your arm out slow. But when you're like performing and you want a sharp movement, you're going to like point with, with purpose and with force and your muscles and your veins are going to bulge out of your arm because you're pointing. It's kind of like a Michael Jackson point. Like when he put his point up in the air, it's kind of like that sharp, crisp movements. And it doesn't always have to be crisp. Like if you're doing a slower ballad, I'm not talking like that. But the movement. The movements had no flow to them when he would move. It had no purpose. Even when you're doing slow, flowy movements, there's still purpose to them. And he didn't, he didn't have that. And we worked together probably close to eight months. We worked together and it started to develop. You know, he started to realize that I have to do bigger movements. I have to do sharper, crisper movements. I have to, you know, engage the audience, walk towards them, not away from them. That's the other thing. If you shy away from your audience, that's the, that is the, probably the number one way to get your audience to check out of your performance is just shy away. Meaning you're staying back, you're staying back towards the back of the stage or upstage for those of you that know the stage positions. You're staying more towards upstage. You're not really going towards the front line of the audience or downstage. You're not really going to the left or to the right to visit your audience. You're kind of just staying back away. You're staying away from them. Almost like there's an invisible, like no man's land between you and the audience. And that's, that's got to stop because first of all, stage presence is being there for your audience. Because once that spotlight hits you, it's no longer about you. It's no longer about the things that you do. Now, here's the thing. I mentioned that you can have this incredible talent and lack stage presence. Likewise, you can have incredible stage presence. And you're talented. Be mediocre. I mean, you can't have stage presence. Actually, you can have stage presence and have zero talent. That's actually me. I have incredible stage presence. I could coach you how to perform. I can perform, but I actually, my talent is lip syncing and moving with purpose. So I don't really have those fancy, fancy talents that you guys have. Singing, dancing, playing music, juggling, acrobat. I am a speaker. So that is, that is one thing. That's the one talent I did. Fine is, you know, case in point podcast. I am a speaker. But you can have mediocre to, to even just, you know, beginning or intermediate or novice talent and have this incredible stage presence and be able to put on an electrifying show for your audience. But your talents just kind of, eh, it happens. It happens all the time, all the time. There are tons of local acts around me. On both sides of the spectrum. There are tons of local acts where their talent and their music is mediocre. They don't have a, and they have incredible stage presence and can put on a great show. I know people like that. I've worked with people like that. Those people are going to be incredibly successful. Why? Because they have so much room to build and they already have stage presence for their audience. The people that have this incredible talent but lack a little bit of stage presence, they do okay. You know, people still come to see them because their talent is impressive. But the building isn't there. The growth isn't quite there. And that's, that's one thing everyone needs to develop. You have to develop that growth of your stage presence. So to wrap it up, I guess, stage presence is bringing the audience into your show. I mentioned in a lot of my podcasts, you know, that you have to give your audience an experience. Just yesterday, just yesterday I said, you know, the purpose of my podcast is to help you turn your talent into an experience for your audience. That is stage presence. I do this through motivating you, helping you with confidence, keeping you inspired, keeping you growing through your social media, getting paid, all sorts of stuff like that. But ultimately, it's that on-stage performance that is going to make your career. You can make videos on social media, you can post on YouTube and things like that, but that live performance is what is going to get you paid as a musician. There's other ways to get paid. I actually have 10 ways you can get paid. If you go to beingonstage.com, you can put in your email address, I'll send you 10 ways to get paid for performing. And none of them have anything to do with going out to a bar and playing for an audience. Boom! So yeah. Check that out. It's free. Completely free. Just go ahead and sign that up. And you'll be on my email list so you'll get all the cool emails that I'll be sending out. So listen, make it an experience though. Turn your audience into your friends really. Perform as if you're already connected to them. You already have that vibe. They're your people. They're there to support you. They want you to do well. They're a popular belief. Your audience is not there to judge you. They're not there to make fun of you, although some people may, but screw those individuals. They don't even matter. They're there to be entertained. They're there for an experience. And they're trusting you, the performer, to give it to them. So be confident. Let go of your inhibitions. Put your raw self out there. If they judge you, let them judge you. Judgment of other people is a reflection of insecurity of yourself. Man, I need to write that down. Other people judging you, they're just insecure with themselves because they're not getting up on the stage and doing their talent that they have. You are. And that in itself gives you a leg up. That in itself gives you a reason to be confident. That in itself gives you a reason to develop your stage presence so that you can continue to give your audience something new and fresh and something you. So hop on my calendar. Let's get you going on a plan to build your stage presence up and just amplify your career as a performer. Go to beingonstage.com/calendar. Or if you're already putting in your email address, you can go to beingonstage.com and click coaching at the top. It's completely free. Just pick a date and time and I'll call you. By the time we get off the phone, you're going to have a solid plan to move forward. Let's do it. Let's get you moving. Move it. Let's get it. All right. Take care, everybody. I appreciate you listening. Thank you so much. Oh, one more thing. If I know I've asked you to do so much, but if I could just one more thing, go into iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts, drop a five star rating on this podcast and please leave a comment. It helps other people find the show and it boosts my ego just slightly. All right, everybody. Thanks again. And I so appreciate you and you and you and you and you keep on shining.
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