Hi everyone

I'm holding my second pupil concert next Sunday and I've just returned home from the rehearsal. I'm just annoyed with myself for being so dog gam scared! When I teach I'm fearless, confident, professional, really enjoy what I do and have a great rapport with my students. I really want to be the same in my concerts, but the thought of addressing the audience en masse is something with which I feel so very out of my depth!

I'm happy with all the organisation and running of things - I've been working really hard to make sure it's going to be a great show. But does anyone have any tips of how to address and audience, how to not be so nervous, and how to rid my mind of thoughts that I'm completely incompetent?! Is it just a learning process? A matter of confidence? Today's rehearsal made me feel like an embarrassed teenager all over again - I do NOT want to return to that state next week!

Any useful tips would be hugely appreciated!

Write down what you want to say and if necessary read it.

Hmm maybe... You've got me thinking now. I don't want it to sound scripted but maybe I should give more thought to actually what it is that I want to say. Then I suppose it follows that I could say it with more conviction.

I have 20 pupils performing. Do you think I ought to say something about each of them? I've asked each of them to introduce their own piece/s because I want them to get used to public speaking! But I'm scared the whole thing will drag if I say too much and also, I'd have much more to say about some pupils than others... In truth, I just wish someone else would do the talking!

It is a good idea to have the children introduce the pieces. You could also ask one of them to do the general welcome to the concert at the beginning. Then at the end you could make a short speech - semi-scripted - notes written on a card - in which you thank people for coming, praise the children etcetc.
This means that the concert is over before you have to speak so you can concentrate on the logistics of the concert up until the end and then say a little something when at least the nervousness of the concert as a whole is over. When the concert has gone well, which I am sure it will, you will have a boost of confidence and that will help the speech.

I have always been very confident as a public speaker but I have recently given my first children's choir concert here in Austria (I have founded a choir for the children from our valley) and I had to give my speech in German. My German is now good after a year here but to make a speech was really nerve wracking. I did exactly what I have suggested to you and only spoke the end. I started with a bit of humour saying that the audience were lucky that I was speaking in German and not in English because when I speak English I talk for far too long and as I only know a couple of sentences in German they would all be able to go home early! That got a laugh and the rest of the semi-scripted speech went well (although I still ended up talking too much!)

Some good ideas there Organistin, thanks. Do you think I should actually get up and say 'and now it's Anabelle'... or should I tell the children just to get up when the last one sits down? By the way, I haven't got a pupil called Anabelle so I'm not breeching any pupil confidentiality or anything!

Yes, I'm sure you do get used to these things with experience - something you've done one hundred times can't possibly seem as scary as it did the first time. However, not everyone has the opportunity to get a lot of experience playing in public or addressing an audience.

There are the old chestnuts such as imagining the audience naked, deep breathing, bananas, etc. The best advice I can offer is to act as if you're confident even if you don't feel it - after all, the audience doesn't know how nervous you are unless you give the game away! I think this can also work to some degree as a self-fulfilling doodah, just as smiling and laughing can make you feel happier.

Speak slowly and clearly, try to look at the audience, use notes or not as you prefer. Don't try to do anything like being humorous if that doesn't come naturally, or anything else you feel uncomfortable about (apart from addressing the audience in the first place, which you can't really avoid!) as that may come across and will make you more anxious.

Good luck!

Pupils concerts have a tendency to last longer than you expect, and frankly longer than many of your audience would like! Therefore, I fully agree that it is best for you not to speak before each performer, but agree it is great that your pupils are introducing their own pieces.

When I hold these concerts, the only speaking I ever do is a few words of introduction at the start, inviting people to the refreshments in the interval, and thanks to the audience and performers at the end. I used to avoid public speaking at all costs, having given the type of solo recitals where I walk on stage, play a selection of pieces and never speak a word so much derided by many audiences. I was finally forced to confront this when I was a member of an orchestra which forced different members of the orchestra to introduce each piece in their concerts. Now I am relatively relaxed about it. Several things have helped. Firstly, when speaking in concerts, it has helped when things have gone wrong as I have always survived. One time I was doing a chamber concert where we each agreed we would prepare to speak about one of the pieces. Just before going on, one of the group said to me he had not prepared and would not say anything and I was forced to make something up on the spot having prepared nothing. Another time just as I started to speak the first time I knocked the music stand over, so made a quick joke and continued. Both times, I felt I got the audience immediately on side far more than when doing a perfect delivery of a prepared speech.

You say you are confident in lessons so clearly happy explaining something to someone. Now imagine there were two people there and you were explaining, would you still be happy? Multiply this by many times and you have an audience - you are simply speaking one to one, but the ones you are speaking to happen to be there all at the same time. It sounds simple and stupid, but once you get past this point, I think the fear can go. For this reason, I don't pre plan speeches word for word - we don't script all our conversations so why start here? Even if your mind goes blank, just admit it and laugh about it, that's how we deal with it the rest of the time.

The other thing to remember is that people are not interested in you, just the message you are giving. Unless you either tell the funniest joke in history, or hurl abuse at the audience, or fall over and break your leg while speaking, nobody is going to remember this bit of the concert - they are far more worried about the performances!

Good luck!

I always get the kids to do most of the talking. At the last concert I did, there were a couple of really cute little'uns that did the introduction and vote of thanks. If I have to say anything I keep it short and sweet, maybe mention something about the pupil as he/she walks up to the piano, maybe how long they've been playing, or a recent merit in grade 1 etc. I get so nervous speaking in front of people, you have my every sympathy!!

Some really helpful comments. Thank you so much! Czerny - you're right about acting like I'm not nervous. I even do that sometimes if I'm meeting a new student or if a parent seems scary - nobody would ever guess I'm intimidated, and somehow because I act brave, I feel brave!

Yet another muso, strange as it seems, it does make me feel better to think that nobody really cares about me! I'll bare that in mind - it removes the proverbial spotlight which I feel is burning a hole in me! As for an audience being just a group of one to ones - yes you're right - I suppose I need to remember that they're all individuals, rather than one scary audience-monster!

I think I'll do a brief 'Welcome', then point them towards refereshments for the interval, and say a quick thank you at the end. If I actually have a reason to be speaking, I don't feel quite so bad. I think today I just filled the space with rubbish because I was so nervous and trying not to be! Haha... it's quite funny really.

I welcome any more comments people have to make!

A pupil concert is not the time for long speeches - a brief introduction is all that is needed - welcome, thank you for coming, that sort of thing.

Have the kids introduce their pieces "Hello, I'm Juliet and I'm going to play Blah Blah Blah by Whatsisname". Good practice for them at overcoming their own nerves.

A good tip is to get everyone to have their music open at the right page at the very beginning - saves a lot of faffing about and you can get the next student to come up during the applause from the last one.

At the end you stand up, thank pupils for playing, parents for support, and tell them what to do next - eat buns, put donation in charity box, stand together for photo or whatever, and see you next time. End.

Don't write every word that you want to say - you are right that it will sound scripted. Put a few headings on a small card as a reminder. It will sound much more natural if you say what comes into your head.

Remember public speaking is just another skill that gets better with practice. I make my pupils practice their announcements at every meal the week before their performances!

There's a song about that in the King and I, isn't there?

Twinkle - I can really empathise with you! I can sing in front of six or two thousand and six people, but the thought of having to speak, and I'm locked in the loo! I hated having to introduce my songs when I was younger.
Now that I hold two student concerts a year, I can tell you that it has taken me four years to become more comfortable with it. Initially I read my opening and closing speeches from notes, which I read verbatim. Last year I progressed to cards with bullet points on so that I didn't forget to thank anybody. To keep these speeches to a minimum (especially, as someone else said, concerts can go on...) I print a programme. All essentials are on there - date of next concert, charity money raised to date, etc. This also removes the need to introduce each student and for them to announce their songs, which also takes time (they do this for festivals so get practice then). I also invite a representative from our chosen charity to come and tell us about how the money raised might be used.
There's no doubt about it, you need to feel the fear and do it anyway, fake it till you make it, and it eventually gets easier. I hope it does the same for you, too.

Ann - thanks. I have a feeling what you've experienced will happen to me. Similarly to you - I can sing and play in front of people and it's not a problem - it's just the speaking! I remember the book 'feel the fear and do it anyway'. I think this does apply now. As horrible as it is, I'm sure it gets easier.

Sue - I think i'll take your hint about writing a couple fo points on a card so I dont' forget anything, but I'm not going to read anything - I imagine I might sound like a 9 year old giving a 'talk' at school if I did!

I'm not sure that whistling a happy tune would be quite the thing in the concert though!

Perhaps not!