The science of stage fright (and how to overcome it) - Mikael Cho

Translator: Elda Indria Sari Reviewer: Nathaniel Luis Reyhan Soesilo

Palms sweaty,

heart racing,

Telapak tangan basah, jantung berdebar, perut terlilit.

stomach in knots.

You can't cry for help.

Kamu tak bisa meminta tolong.

Not only is your throat too tight to breathe,

Tak hanya tenggorokanmu terlalu ketat,

but it'd be so embarrassing.

tetapi akan sangat memalukan.

No, you aren't being stalked by a monster,

Tidak, kamu tidak sedang diburu monster.

you're speaking in public,

Kamu berbicara di muka umum,

a fate some deem worse than death.

nasib yang kadang dianggap lebih buruk dari kematian.

See, when you're dead, you feel nothing;

Kalau kamu mati, kamu tak merasa apa pun; di podium kau merasa demam panggung.

at a podium, you feel stage fright.

But at some point we've all had to communicate

Namun, suatu waktu, kita semua harus bicara

in front of people,

di depan orang lain.

so you have to try and overcome it.

Jadi, kamu harus coba mengatasinya.

To start, understand what stage fright is.

Pertama-tama, pahami dulu apa itu demam panggung.

Humans, social animals that we are,

Manusia, makhluk sosial seperti kita,

are wired to worry about reputation.

cenderung mencemaskan reputasi.

Public speaking can threaten it.

Bicara di depan publik bisa mengancamnya.

Before a speech, you fret,

Sebelum berpidato, kamu resah,

"What if people think I'm awful and I'm an idiot?"

"Bagaimana jika mereka menganggapku buruk dan bodoh?"

That fear of being seen as an awful idiot

Ketakutan terlihat bodoh

is a threat reaction

adalah reaksi ancaman

from a primitive part of your brain

dari bagian primitif otakmu

that's very hard to control.

yang sangat sulit dikendalikan.

It's the fight or flight response,

Ini adalah respons hadapi atau lari,

a self-protective process seen in a range of animals,

proses pertahanan diri di berbagai hewan,

most of which don't give speeches.

yang sebagian besar tak berbicara.

But we have a wise partner

Namun, kita punya rekan bijak dalam studi kepanikan.

in the study of freaking out.

Charles Darwin tested fight or flight

Charles Darwin menguji hadapi atau lari

at the London Zoo snake exhibit.

di pameran ular Kebun Binatang London.

He wrote in his diary,

Tertulis dalam buku hariannya,

"My will and reason were powerless against the imagination of a danger

"Kehendak dan akalku tak berdaya di hadapan imajinasi bahaya

which had never been experienced."

yang tak pernah kualami."

He concluded that his response

Dia menyimpulkan bahwa responsnya adalah reaksi kuno yang tak terpengaruh

was an ancient reaction unaffected

by the nuances of modern civilization.

oleh nuansa peradaban modern.

So, to your conscious modern mind,

Jadi, bagi pikiran sadarmu yang modern, itu adalah pidato.

it's a speech.

To the rest of your brain,

Bagi sisa otakmu,

built up to code with the law of the jungle,

yang terbentuk untuk memahami hukum rimba,

when you perceive the possible consequences

saat kamu merasakan akibat yang mungkin timbul dari berpidato,

of blowing a speech,

it's time to run for your life

saatnya menyelamatkan diri

atau bertarung sampai mati.

or fight to the death.

Your hypothalamus, common to all vertebrates,

Hipotalamus, yang umumnya ada di semua vertebrata,

triggers your pituitary gland to secrete

memicu kelenjar pituitarimu untuk mengeluarkan hormon ACTH,

the hormone ACTH,

making your adrenal gland

membuat kelenjar adrenalmu menyemburkan adrenalin ke dalam darah.

shoot adrenaline into your blood.

Your neck and back tense up, you slouch.

Leher dan punggungmu tegang, kamu membungkuk.

Your legs and hand shake

Kaki dan tanganmu gemetar saat ototmu bersiap menyerang.

as your muscles prepare for attack.

You sweat.

Kau berkeringat.

Your blood pressure jumps.

Tekanan darahmu naik.

Your digestion shuts down

Pencernaanmu terhenti

to maximize the delivery of nutrients

untuk memaksimalkan kiriman nutrisi

and oxygen to muscles and vital organs,

dan oksigen ke otot dan organ vital,

so you get dry mouth, butterflies.

sehingga mulutmu kering, gemetaran.

Your pupils dilate,

Pupilmu membesar,

it's hard to read anything up close,

sulit membaca dari jarak dekat seperti catatanmu,

like your notes,

but long range is easy.

tetapi jarak jauh tak masalah.

That's how stage fright works.

Begitulah cara kerja demam panggung.

How do we fight it?

Bagaimana cara melawannya?

First, perspective.

Pertama, perspektif.

This isn't all in your head.

Ini bukan hanya ada di kepalamu.

It's a natural, hormonal, full body reaction

Ini adalah reaksi tubuh yang alami dan hormonal

by an autonomic nervous system on autopilot.

dari sistem saraf otonom yang bergerak otomatis.

And genetics play a huge role in social anxiety.

Genetik berperan besar dalam kecemasan sosial.

John Lennon played live thousands of times.

John Lennon tampil langsung ribuan kali.

Each time he vomited beforehand.

Tiap kali, dia muntah sebelum tampil.

Some people are just wired

Beberapa orang memang cenderung merasa lebih takut tampil di muka umum.

to feel more scared performing in public.

Since stage fright is natural and inevitable,

Karena demam panggung itu alami dan tak terhindari,

focus on what you can control.

fokus pada yang bisa dikendalikan.

Practice a lot,

Banyaklah berlatih,

starting long before

dimulai jauh hari, di lingkungan yang mirip tempat tampilmu.

in an environment similar to the real performance.

Practicing any task increases your familiarity

Berlatih tugas apa saja akan membuatmu terbiasa

and reduces anxiety,

dan mengurangi kecemasan.

so when it's time to speak in public,

Jadi, saat bicara di muka umum,

you're confident in yourself and the task at hand.

kamu akan percaya pada dirimu dan tugasmu.

Steve Jobs rehearsed his epic speeches

Steve Jobs melatih pidato epiknya selama ratusan jam

for hundreds of hours,

starting weeks in advance.

sejak berminggu-minggu sebelumnya.

If you know what you're saying,

Jika menguasai materi,

kamu akan menyerap energi penonton

you'll feed off the crowd's energy

alih-alih hipotalamus meyakinkan bahwa tubuhmu akan dimangsa predator.

instead of letting your hypothalamus convince your body it's about to be lunch

for a pack of predators.

Namun, hipotalamus vertebrata

But hey, the vertebrate hypothalamus

sudah berlatih jutaan tahun lebih lama darimu.

has had millions of years more practice than you.

Sebelum naik ke atas panggung,

Just before you go on stage,

it's time to fight dirty

saatnya melakukan trik kotor

and trick your brain.

dan mengelabui otakmu.

Rentangkan tangan ke atas dan tarik napas dalam.

Stretch your arms up and breath deeply.

This makes your hypothalamus trigger

Ini akan membuat hipotalamus memicu respons relaksasi.

a relaxation response.

Stage fright usually hits hardest right before a presentation,

Demam panggung biasanya paling parah tepat sebelum tampil.

Jadi, gunakan menit terakhir untuk meregang dan bernapas.

so take that last minute to stretch and breathe.

You approach the Mic, voice clear,

Kau menghampiri mikrofon, suara jernih,

body relaxed.

tubuh rileks.

Your well-prepared speech convinces the wild crowd

Pidatomu yang cermat meyakinkan penonton

you're a charismatic genius.

kamu adalah seorang jenius yang karismatik.

How?

Bagaimana caranya?

You didn't overcome stage fright,

Kamu tidak mengatasi demam panggung, tetapi beradaptasi.

you adapted to it.

And to the fact that no matter

Dan tak peduli seberapa beradab penampilanmu,

how civilized you may seem,

in part of your brain,

damlam bagian otakmu, kamu masih makhluk liar,

you're still a wild animal,

a profound, well-spoken wild animal.

makhluk liar cerdas, dan mahir berbicara.