L'art du trac

Cold sweat, pounding heart, moist hands, dry mouth... who never suffered from stage fright, this unreasoned fear which overcomes us before an important appointment, an exam or a public presentation?

This only too natural anxiety generally disappears when we are in the heat of the action: this is the good stage fright, the one we absolutely need to mobilize our energy, know-how and abilities and to give the best of ourselves...

But for some people stage fright can persist with such intensity that it embarrasses or paralyses their resources, sometimes causing real emotional pain: this is the bad stage fright, an inhibitory state which one must absolutely learn to control and to manage if one wants to enjoy a real self control.Stage fright is not a fatality - it is the result of a psychological conditioning which has built itself up on our personal experiences, our perceptions and our beliefs.

Contrary to what is usually thought, it is not the situations that create stage fright, but the very way we apprehend them. We can all learn to think and to react differently.What psychological mechanisms are at the origin of stage fright?

How to change our perception of events generating stage fright?How to identify and to change our emotional and behavioural reactions for a better performance?How to prepare oneself for a public performance, an exam or any other stressful situation?

Through a series of simple and progressive exercises which you can make on your own, this practical guide, based on the latest researches on cognitive psychology, offers you to acquire the tools which will help you to manage your stage fright. It gives artists, sportsmen, students, speakers, as well as all those who have to face an audience, the concrete means of fully being themselves.

Beyond the problem of stage fright, this book proposes a personal training which will facilitate your self-fulfilment and well-being.