This story is especially relevant for you if you're a performing singer - eg a lead vocalist in a band, a singer-songwriter, a hobby singer who sings at open mics, an entertainer or whatever.

I've been a performing singer on and off since my early twenties.

I've always loved it but there were certainly times when I felt awkward, self-doubting, or under-confident while up there in front of an audience.

It was like, I didn't really believe that my songs, my music, my singing, were good enough to share. But I still had a strong urge to perform, and that drove me to do it even though I didn't feel 100% confident.

In 2012, I came across Tiamo, an American singer-songwriter who teaches singers how to become successful. I followed his stuff for a while and implemented some of it.

There was one particular thing he recommended which I really took on board.

I started using this regularly. I found it easy, enjoyable, and surprisingly, it gave me so much more courage in my singing performances.

So what is it?

It's… telling stories.

Or more specifically, before you play each song, you introduce it with a little story. Whether the song is your own or a cover will affect what you share about it, obviously.

You could tell people what it's about / what inspired you to write it/ where you wrote it and why / something special about it / and maybe what you hope people will get out of it.

What really works about this, is that before you get into ‘performing singer’ mode, you're just being yourself.

You're looking at people and talking to them just like friends. You're sharing something with a bit of emotional juice/ inspiration / vulnerability / generosity / relatability.

The magic of this is that it gets people's attention in a really mellow way and puts them at their ease.

It helps them open up to you, and sparks their curiosity so they want to hear the song. So by the time you start singing it, you've created a really human, down-to-earth connection with your audience.

You feel more at ease, and you've got good rapport with them. It generates an attentive and supportive atmosphere for your song.

When I started using this in my performances, I got a great response. People said they loved how I introduced the songs. And during the actual singing, I felt much more comfortable and confident.

I use this every time I perform now, it's just become a natural part of my act. But I don't ramble on. No, it's got to be short and sweet.

You can even ask questions during the story like ‘have you ever experienced x y z ?’ and people may nod. It helps you know that they’ll relate to the meaning of your song.

So if you're not already doing this, make sure to give it a try. Hopefully it will give you more courage, enjoyment, self-confidence and presence when you sing to an audience.

Let me know how it goes!