In this episode we talk about mindset tips for female performers including everything from dealing with stage fright, how to recover when everything goes wrong on stage, how to think about your relationship with the audience and how to feel worthy of being paid what your worth.

Performing mindset is a really important topic since it’s something we all face and we all deal with. Beth started out performing since she was young and she’s always been comfortable with it. However, there were still times where she experienced stage fright. Our mindset is affected not just by external factors but also internal. It would be helpful to look at it in those two categories.

Internal would be thinking like, “Am I good enough?” or “Who am I to be doing this?” Even professional performers still encounter issues with their mindset from time to time. We can check what story we are telling our minds. Especially as female musicians, we may be affected by how we look like. Remember that it is not who we are from the inside. That can be a factor with our mindset. Also as a female, you may feel that some places may not value you as much because of your age. What has helped me is knowing that everything you’ve been through as part of your life helped you to become who you are. Another thing we may do internally is to doubt our own capabilities. We are always learning as musicians and we should remember that. We should always be learning and growing.

Another factor is getting feedback from others that make us question our performing skills. We need to be true to ourselves, not just to meet the needs of our audience. It takes vulnerability and courage to accept who you are and who yourself to who you really are. Being open to receive constructive criticism is really valuable. We can always continue to learn and grow and improve our craft.

Cayla remembered a time where her song, “Divalicious”, came out and that was a time when she was at her heaviest. She compared it to a time when she watched Aretha Franklin who embraced how she was and did not really care what the other women performers with her looked like. That’s what the audience wants.

Tips on How to Prepare for a Performance:

Whenever you have a performance, be prepared. Talk back to the voice you hear in your head telling you negative things.

Put your armor on. It may be listening to a great song before you perform. It might be wearing a lucky sock or something, but make sure you feel the best in your skin the way that you are.

Remember your purpose.  Remember why you are doing what you’re doing. Remember that you are born for it. Realize that the feeling you get when you’re nervous and the feeling of excitement is right on the same line. Reframe it, change that thought and say, “I’m not afraid, I’m excited!”.  Tom Jackson advised in this book that when you are going onstage and thinking of how people will think of you, you are being so selfish because it’s not about you, it’s about your audience.

Love on your audience. When you make a mistake, laughter can be good. It would be great to have confidence to not really care about forgetting a line in your own song. Usually, your audience would love to see that you’re human.

Keep on practicing. Experience helps improve your performance as time goes by. If you feel you may not be good enough, just keep on going. Focus and engage on people who engage with you positively.

Determine your rate according to how you feel about yourself. Know your value. Consider your experiences. Ask yourself what makes you feel comfortable.

Take action and do the thing that scares us the most. It’s normal to feel scared. If we wait for that fear to go away, we may not be able to start doing what we really want to do. Keep your purpose as your north star.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Bandzoogle – use promo code WOS15

Female Indie Musician Community