What makes good stage presence

Your real persona will become your stage persona over time. That means you can't stand there like a statue behind your instrument or the mic stand. You need to be moving to the music. Whatever you do, the audience will be drawn to do the same. So if you're enjoying your own performance, so will they. You need to be showing their subconscious minds that you're the real deal and deserving of their focus. And that will only happen if you're truly enjoying yourself and confident.

You can force this to occur until it happens by itself. You should stand up straight, make eye contact with people, and speak or sing forcefully. Stand with your shoulders back and down, head held high, chest out, and stand with your legs at least shoulder width apart if not more.

Don't fidget about. Don't cross your arms. Don't sit down. Anything that you see other people do when they're uncomfortable, nervous, and self-conscious are all of the things you want to stay as far away from as possible.

All of this shows dominance and confidence. And without those two characteristics, nobody is going to want to look at you, let alone for an hour or more straight. You must be the alpha in the room that everyone would be watching even if they weren't in the spotlight. If you're telling a story to a group of five acquaintances and you keep ignoring one of them, guess what happens? They'll pull out their phone, go to the bathroom, start whispering to someone else, etc.

You have to keep everyone engaged, and there's a way to do that. First and foremost you should be taking up as much space as possible. That shows that you own the entire room. It is yours to do as you wish in, where you can move about freely. On stage, that means "working the whole stage. On a small stage that may be three sections or in a big theater that could mean there's five sections.

The point is, you need to be moving through these sections and stopping in them. And when you do, you'll engage that portion of the audience. Look at and sing towards the people in the front. Then engage those in the middle, and finally those furthest back and in the balcony.

Don't leave anyone out. Rotate through these sections of the stage and crowd constantly. Get crazy, depending on the energy level of the show. You can jump on the speaker monitors, squat down and give the crowd high fives, and even hop down off the stage and run up and down the aisles.

Try different things and if they go over well, add them to your repertoire. Just because you're moving around the parts of the stage and looking at the various parts of the audience doesn't meant they're involved. They might be engaged, but not involved. You need to find ways to make your performance feel like a group effort. Simple things to do would be to get them to clap along during certain songs. At other times you can point the microphone at the crowd during a simple chorus and let them sing it instead.

If you have a super fan that knows the lyrics, you can invite them on stage to sing a verse. Between songs you can comment on the crowd's energy, compliment how kind and nice the city is, etc. Bigger things you can do is create a battle between the sections of the audience and see who can chant some phrase louder. You can invite several people on stage to perform air guitar solos and make the sounds with their mouths into the mic. You can even invite people up to beatbox and create melodies, basically improvising a song on the spot.

Then the band can perform it. You have to be creative, but there's tons of cool things you do on stage to involve the audience. Don't think of it as "there's me and then there's the crowd.

While all stage shows include visuals, the dominant sense to engage is hearing. If sounds are happening then we know we should be paying attention. As soon as you stop making noise, you start losing audience members to boredom and distraction. So the rule is to not allow silence. But how do you do that? You need to fill every gap, and that's usually between songs in the context of musicians on stage. Think about when you've been in the crowd of a show.

Nothing is more boring than hearing song after song with nothing else happening. A lot of this needs preparation and coordination before you get on stage, but you can create skits and jokes that require multiple band members to execute.

Interspersing these is great, but need to be rare. Maybe two or three quick skits per show, maximum, or it'll become cheesy. You can also tell jokes between songs as your bandmates tune their instruments or grab some water. And of course you can tell stories. Funny or interesting things that have happened to you on tour are perfect.

You can tell the origin stories of some of your songs, the meaning of the lyrics, etc. You can make up something ridiculous and then inform the crowd that you made all that up on the spot. Have fun with it. Goodhearted banter works too but be careful, you have to pull this off just right or you'll offend someone. If you know you're going to go right into the next song without any downtime, give the audience time to clap for you.

But as soon as you hear the volume of the clapping dying down, start the next song. Don't allow silence to occur! I mentioned earlier about giving fans high-fives, inviting some up to sing or to have an air guitar contest, etc. You have to make it become personal for a handful of people at the event. You can't do this for everyone but everyone will go home and tell the story about the other lucky people.

Making eye contact is huge and easy to do non-stop from on the stage. You can do things like ask the crowd to raise their hands if they've ever done something you enjoy just make it make sense in context of the show. Then ask a couple what it is they like about that activity. The point is to single out a few people who look like they're willing and not introverted and elevate them to a level in between "general audience" and "musicians on stage.

These are people who can merely step on stage and people are jumping out of their seats in anticipation. Having a strong stage presence is not for the faint of heart. A stage presence is about being in your element as a musician, sharing the best of yourself and other artists around you. How can you develop this stage presence if you are already a little fearful in front of others? There are some ways to improve your performance and your presence, by listening to the advice of some of the great music artists who have been where you are now.

Not too many kinds of performances allow that. For example, you may be required to wear traditional black-tie attire during a performance, but you can also wear a colorful necktie or interesting shoes to stand out. This can be incredibly intimidating for any stringed instrument player, especially if you are used to be in the background or just practicing with peers in a safe practice space.

But, if you want to develop a stage presence, you will need to step outside of your comfort zone and into the spotlight. How do you do this? Connect with the members of the audience. For actors, moving across the stage and executing lines can be tricky.

If you stay in one place, your performance might seem unbelievable and stunted. Control your movements and posture. Avoid twiddling your thumbs, pacing, or touching your face.

Use good, natural posture and controlled, relaxed body movements. Method 3. Be natural. The audience will notice if you are trying too hard or lack confidence. Relax, and be yourself on stage. Include the crowd. They want to move, dance, and sing along. Create an energetic environment that allows the crowd to let loose and have fun.

The best way to do this is — have fun yourself! For actors, make eye contact with the crowd. Eye contact is the closest you can get to making physical contact with your audience. This might make them feel nervous or singled out. Instead, practice scanning the crowd in a way that appears natural to engage each audience member.

Remember to show as much emotion as you can through the eyes to make the performance convincing. Allow yourself to become one with the crowd. For musicians, get involved with what the crowd is doing. If the crowd is dancing, jump off stage and dance with them! Mosh pits generate huge amounts of energy at concerts, and showing your audience you want to be part of the fun will get them even more excited about your show. If the energy is right, invite a few people from the front row on stage, or lean over to shake and slap hands.

Be active. If you have any dramatic tricks, give them a shot, and include the rest of your band in your dramatics. Vary your vocals. The audience will grow bored by a constant monotone and aggravated by perpetual sing song. Utilize every vocal register low, high and vary your pitch and volume. Let your voice convey richness and emotionality to keep your audience engaged.

Did you know you can get expert answers for this article? Unlock expert answers by supporting wikiHow. Kendall Payne. Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1. Yes of course! I have an extreme anxiety disorder, but, surprisingly, being on stage is the only time I'm not afraid. It took me a while to learn this, but you just gotta "Lose Yourself" Eminem.

Some shy, anxious people find that they're able to take on the persona of the characters they're acting while on stage, leaving their anxious selves behind.

Not Helpful 0 Helpful To be confident while singing in public, you have to first learn to be confident with yourself as a person. You can try practicing in front of mirrors, and then you can practice in front of your friends. Start with a small audience and work up your way to bigger audiences. While nothing can prepare you completely for the big stage, with enough practice, you can learn to sing comfortably in public without stressing.

Not Helpful 1 Helpful I'm a drummer and I'm going to perform in a show the day after tomorrow. My band members want me to perform a song that I don't want to perform. What should I do? Play the song. Even though you may not like it, there will always be things you have to do that you don't want to do.

Try to compromise. Maybe if you do the song they want to do this time, you can choose the song next time you perform. Cassidy Faith. It depends on what you are auditioning for. If you are auditioning for Broadway, use big movements and project your voice, because you must keep in mind that when you are on the real stage, you need your acting and singing to get through to the people in the very back row of the balcony.

However, you can be a little bit more subtle for TV series and movies, but still project and use appropriate movement. And be sure to work on your skills as much as possible, even when you aren't practicing for a specific audition.