“Considering the fact that most artist make their money from shows you would want your performance game to be at the top of its level. There is no greater feeling than connecting with your audience at a live gig.“
Stage Presence is something that you can build upon but some people are just naturals. We’ll discuss some basic things you can do to help build your stage presence later, but first lets talk about the importance of stage presence in your career.
Considering the fact that most artist make their money from shows you would want your performance game to be at the top of its level. There is no greater feeling than connecting with your audience at a live gig.
The adrenaline rush to see the crowd connecting to you and your music is a site to see. To have thousands and thousands of fans at your beckon call. “Put your hands up” and to have a sea of people putting their hands in the air and following every word you say is a remarkable feeling.
Some artist are just natural performers and some aren’t. Its intimidating to see a huge crowd in front of you and it takes a lot courage to perform in front of huge crowds.
I’ve had my share of performance and I’ve opened up for major acts like Shyne, Trina, Ludacris, and Black Rob to name a few. But it wasn’t until later in my corner that I learned to connect with my audience.
In the beginning of my career I was notoriously famous for getting on stage and forgetting my lines. A lot of the time it was due to lack= of being focused and prepared for my show. Other times it was outside sources that contributed to my lack of memory. But as I learned to focus and prepare myself I found my stage presence to become better with time.
Here are 6 Tips you can use to help connect with your audience.
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Eye Contact
Eye ContactoFreestyle
FreestyleoCrowd Participation/Acknowledge
Crowd Participation/AcknowledgeoSmile
SmileoWork The Stage
Work The StageoPractice
PracticeEye Contact – One way to connect with your audience is through eye contact. I don’t know how often I see it. Rappers on stage rapping but doing it with their eyes closed. Their whole set is done with them on stage rapping into the mic with their eyes closed. I’ve seen artist complete their whole set and not look into the crowd not one time.
Personally, I see this and view this as a sign of nervousness. You don’t want to see what the crowd is feeling about your music. Your scared to see them not feeling you, but your actually making it worst by not looking at your audience. When you go to an interview they tell you always to make eye contact. I think you should do the same when your on stage.
Work The Stage – Don’t just stand in one spot, work the stage, move from side to side performing your songs. It will be hard for the folks to connect with you if your only performing for the crowd on the left side and not the ones on the right side. Don’t forget to look at your fans and interact with your audience.
Practice – Last and definitely not least the absolutely best way to build stage presence is with time and lots of practice. You know they say practice makes perfect. You’ll get better the more shows you do.
Keep that in mind when you book your next show. Practice some of the tips we discussed and knock’em dead with your stage presence. I was told from a A&R with Capitol Records that good stage performance can be worked on by not taught.
Coming off as being relaxed looks like you know your way around the stage, which looks even better to critiques of your performance. With that said, good luck at your next performance. Don’t rush, make eye contact and practice, practice, practice.
Good Luck