Asked to give a speech, many people experience sweaty palms, a dry mouth and rising sense of panic. But we perform better when people are watching than alone (stock image)
Asked to give a speech in front of an audience, many people experience sweaty palms, a dry mouth and rising sense of panic.
Whether it is singing, playing an instrument or taking part in an amateur dramatics production, there is a very real fear in front of an audience of 'choking' or forgetting the words on stage.
But, believe it or not, we actually perform better when people are watching than alone because having an audience boosts our motor skills, researchers have revealed.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University asked participants to play a tricky computer game involving moving a cursor to reach a cross hair target at the optimum speed.
When watched by an audience of two, all but two of the participants did better - up to 20 per cent better than if they were playing alone.
Brain scans showed that when they knew they were being observed, the parts of the brain linked to social awareness and reward triggered those controlling motor skills to improve performance.
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