Every day I offer shows & workshops for corporate teams and student groups from around the world. We have multiple teams in serving New York, DC & Boston and beyond. While spreading joy & laughter we teach invaluable life skills. My mission in 2026 and moving forward? Knock Stage Fright off the top of the phobias list. Let’s out a dent into social anxiety. Let’s help you and your team(s) reach their full potential today! – Walt Frasier

ARTICLE SUMMARY

• Don’t Panic!
• Don’t Stop! Don’t Make the Face!
• Learn to lead with I GOT THIS and/or I CAN FIGURE THIS OUT
• Start every day with a smile!
• Listen! Don’t Think!
• Listen with your eyes!!!
• LEAD BY EXAMPLE
• HAVE FUN but NEVER at another’s expense!

We don’t pop out of the womb afraid to be on stage. We’re born ready to play. Somewhere along the line, our subconscious learned to react to anything new as “scary.”

First, YOU are normal. THIS is common. We teach kids the GOLDEN RULE. Then in grades 3-5 kids start doing as the see, not as they are told. They start calling folks out on their mistakes. They start to form tribes, cliques. We don’t see this solidified till middle school, but the process started years ago. We go through those adolescent changes. We think we come out on the other side as mature adults.

But after 20 years of “smart phones” and social media – after a life time of judgement – most never truly grew up. Far too many suffer from various degrees of crimpling anxiety. OR they over compensate with ego, arrogance, or mood enhancing substances. They are not confident.

YOU/THEY are not living up to your/their potential if:

• You play it safe.
• You fear looking foolish.
• You TRY to impress people.
• You TRY to be funny.
• You TRY to be clever.
• You worry about being good enough, smart enough, loved enough, etc.

The judgement ends here. YOU / THEY are normal. Sadly far too normal. But there is a better way and it is easier than you think to achieve. BUT it will take some time and effort. Here is one habit we can address today…

THE PANIC RESPONSE

When I’m teaching improv comedy and I introduce a new game, I often hear a collective gasp. Someone will audibly say, “That sounds hard!” or “Oh my God!” It’s a knee-jerk reaction—a search for allies in the room who feel just as overwhelmed. Usually, it’s two or three people saying it out loud, while many others are thinking it but staying quiet. There’s nothing inherently “wrong” with saying it, and it’s completely normal—most people do it—but I want you to stop having that thought altogether. I want you to recognize that the second you give voice to that fear, you’ve shifted your energy away from the solution and anchored yourself in the problem.

In acting, we talk about subtext and inner monologue. It’s the voice in your head when you aren’t talking, and the meaning behind the words when you are. For many of us, that voice is a defensive jerk. It sees a new challenge and immediately screams, “This is hard!” or “I’m going to look like an idiot!” To change a habit—whether it’s craving sugar less or overcoming stage fright—you have to change that psychology. It’s education, but then it’s repetition. You have to train your “inner child” to stop the old recording and start a new script.

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Strategy One: DON’T PANIC!

Someday I going to write the book my uncle Vincent had in his head for a life time. He would jokingly say to his kids and us nephews and nieces, “DON’T PANIC!”

The second you say (or even think) “this is hard,” you’ve destroyed your focus. As a teacher, when a student says that, it destroys my focus, too. It’s a defense mechanism. We think if we announce our inadequacy early, it’ll hurt less when we fail.

In reality, being defensive just makes you look less competent and less intelligent than you actually are. Leaders recognize that “ay yi yi” reaction for exactly what it is: fear.

Rewrite the script: The next time you’re presented with something new, skip the “this is hard” step. We usually get past that feeling ten seconds later anyway, so why waste the energy? Go right to the mantra:

“I’ve got this.” OR “I can figure this out.”

Because the truth is YOU HAVE THIS or YOU CAN FIGURE THIS OUT! The second we move past this panic we usually do. Have confidence that YOU are smart enough. If you don’t have the answer you know show to find it. Don’t try to solve every problem in minute one. Use the tools at your disposal – colleague, online search, and even AI. While AI is terrible for final products (Don’t cheat with mediocre slop!), it can be a powerful partner in brainstorming ideas and unlocking our minds.

Listen, Don’t Think

Think about a basketball player waiting for a rebound or a poker player reading the table. They aren’t “thinking” in the way we usually do. They aren’t worrying about the future or imagining looking foolish. They are in a state of active focus.

• Listen with your eyes: Stay locked in. Don’t turn away in fear.
• Instead of thinking of words, visualize successful outcomes.
• Top Down Design thinking: Make broad stroke choices.
• Don’t Stop! Don’t make “the face”: Catch yourself before you make that defensive grimace we use when we feel inadequate.
• Don’t react, just receive: If you’re worried about being “good enough,” you’ll rarely be great. But if you stay focused and listen, when you finally do respond, you’ll be informed. You’ll be great because you actually paid attention.

True Confidence is Being OK with Looking Foolish

I see it in every workshop: people look around like, “What? This sounds impossible.” It’s not that the game is difficult; it’s that they’re terrified of looking silly.

True confidence isn’t the absence of mistakes; it’s being 100% okay with looking foolish. When you stop being afraid to fail, you start making far more interesting choices. You tap into a deeper subconscious level of concentration that “safe” thinking can’t touch.

Sometimes we have to be brave first. BRAVERY is pushing through despite fear. Over time we realize most of what we feared WAS in our head.

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The Bottom Line

It’s a constant exchange between the conscious and the subconscious. You have to consciously remind yourself: “If I eat this, I’m going to feel like crap later,” or “If I stay focused here, I’m going to look like the smartest person in the room.”

It’s normal to feel those defensive urges. But I’m challenging you to catch yourself. Stop the defense mechanisms that make you look “less than” and replace them with presence.

Don’t stop. Don’t make the face. Just say: “I’ve got this.”

LEARN MORE

We daily work with corporate teams and student groups from around the world. We use improv comedy shows & workshops to spread much needed joy & laughter while teaching invaluable life skills. Check out our public programing or book a FREE consultation today to bring the fun to your community at office, school, home etc. Simply playing improv games develops self-confidence, creativity, critical thinking, public speaking and more.

New York City Comedy Shows & Classes

• 3pm Saturdays Times Square Improv Comedy Shows 
• Saturday 12pm Improv Comedy Drop In Class Adults (16+ welcome)
• YOUTH Classes & Camps – Summer Camp Starts 6/22. Weekly sessions September thru June
• EMAIL for group sales & private events!

Every Saturday at 3pm EIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH Improv Comedy, an interactive musical comedy show, with skits and songs improvised based on audience suggestions and participation. Live from Times Square NYC since 2002, fans have seen the show at The New York Improv, World Famous Laugh Factory, Caroline’s on Broadway, touring nationwide and now, since 2011, at the Broadway Comedy Club. Get tickets to our next performance at the Broadway Comedy Club: EMAIL