Ask a group of people to do a jigsaw in front of others. Some will do well, others won’t. Type in front of someone else. With some people it will make no difference, others will start to make lots of mistakes.
Some people will perform better in front of a crowd and it is usually people who are excellent at what they do. This is not just because they are good, it is also because they are able to deal with stressful events and crowds well.
Look at an experienced Formula 1 racer, they will drive exceptionally well in front of a crowd. But put a less experienced driver in front of a crowd and they may do worse than normal.
Why is this?
There are two main factors.
Stressful Events cause stress. In the short term, stress can be a positive thing IF you find good ways to deal with stress.
Stress can –
- Increase a person’s performance
- Heighten their senses
- Improve their memory
- Help them to focus on their goals
- Help them to focus on challenges
So in the short term, stress can increase a person’s performance.
Also, being in front of a crowd can increase some people’s performance. Social Facilitation is the idea that people will perform simple or well-rehearsed tasks better in front of an audience, but complex, new tasks worse. So the new Formula 1 driver would be performing a new AND complex task, so would be likely to do worse in front of a crowd. Whilst an experienced driver would be doing a well-rehearsed task, so would be likely to do better in front of a crowd.
The idea of social facilitation was put forward by Triplett in 1898, but the theory is still useful today. Some people will enjoy being in front of a crowd, the enjoyment, cheers, the performance, whilst others will not. They may find the situation increases their anxiety and stress in a negative way.
Learning techniques to deal with situations like this can be very help, for anyone who has to perform in public.
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