“Performing is like expressing the soul, which is why stage presence is so important.”
A good stage presence is one of the most important aspects of a captivating performance. It can also be difficult to achieve, especially when nerves come into play. Don’t know what I mean by ‘stage presence’? Well, it’s basically the way you come across during your performance, and can also be identified as performing with emotion, through your body language, gestures, and facial expressions. It is all about performing so that you engage the audience, by adding this sense of interest to your performance. Performing is like expressing the soul, which is why stage presence is so important.
One of the easiest ways to achieve an expressive stage presence is through facial expressions. If you tend to get nervous on stage this is the best one for you as it doesn’t require much at all. When you’re practicing your piece, really think about the tune, the words, and the genre of the song. Is it a slow, soft song, with sad lyrics? Make your face look sad. Is it an upbeat, funky song that’ll get people wanting to get up and dance? Smile and look like you’re having fun with it! This can also be a really good way to conquer nerves as it allows you to become really involved in the piece you’re performing and focus on that rather than the feeling of being nervous. It’s also very noticeable to the crowd that you’re really engaged in the piece you’re performing and allows your performance to have more of an impact on the audience.
Another really useful way of expressing as much emotion as you can through your performance is to have good body language and gestures which are engaging to the audience and really show them that you love the song you are performing.
Some helpful ways to do this are:
– Instead of singing with a microphone stand, take the mic out and hold it in your hand (unless you’re playing guitar or piano at the same time of course). This will give you more freedom to walk around the stage and not have to worry about keeping your head in one place.
– Rather than using two hands on the microphone, hold it with one hand and gesture with the other hand, based on the genre of the song. For example, if it’s a slow, smooth song, float your hand around as if you’re running your hand through a cloud, so… soft and delicate. And then, if it’s an energetic, loud song, maybe point into the crowd and flick your hand around so it gives you that confident vibe.
– Positive and engaging body language would also include singing without any lyrics. I know this can often be a bit daunting at times, but it’s a lot harder for the audience to connect with you if there’s a music stand in front of you as they can’t see your facial expressions properly and there’s a barrier between you and them. So maybe try one or two songs without any lyrics and see how you feel about that and as you get comfortable with that you can start doing it with more and more songs from your set list.
– Close your eyes sometimes. I know that might sound weird.. but it not only helps the audience see and feel the emotion you’re trying to portray but it can also help with nerves. It’s a technique I’ve found really works because it helps me escape into the music, and the audience can pick up on that and see that I’ve totally involved in what I’m singing, which gives it a greater impact on them.
So there you go, I hope those few techniques help you to give your music the impact you want it to have on the audience as well as give you a bit more confidence when it comes to knowing what to do when you’re performing in front of a crowd. I hope this has been helpful, and happy singing 🙂
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