ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Joe Kowan - Musician and graphic designer
By day he's a graphic designer, and by night Joe Kowan is a quirky folk singer-songwriter.

Why you should listen

Joe Kowan is a Boston-based musician and graphic designer who has been struggling with stage fright since he first started writing songs at age 27. Despite his adorably expressed fears, he charms audiences with his own style of quirky folk and acoustic hip-hop, by turns poignant, salacious and comical. In 2009 he released the gangsta' arts and crafts video for his original song “Crafty,” and in 2011 he was a finalist in the USA Songwriting Competition.

Kowan is a senior graphic designer on State Street Global Marketing’s Brand Strategy team. With a BFA in sculpture and design, his work explores diverse areas of design including scenic, print, environmental design and wayfinding.

More profile about the speaker
Joe Kowan | Speaker | TED.com
TED@State Street Boston

Joe Kowan: How I beat stage fright

乔·科文: 我是如何战胜怯场的

Filmed:
2,585,266 views

敏锐的警觉感曾是人类的重要武器,它帮助我们这个相对年轻的物种生存下来:让人类祖先能迅速发现危险,避免成为猛兽口中的猎物。 但如果到了今天,比如在一次周二晚间开麦表演现场,面对 20 位民谣爱好者,你却不由自主地产生人类最本能的警觉感,效果就完全不一样了。你会手心出汗,四肢发抖,视线模糊,脑子里还有个声音在说:快跑!这是怯场。 而这正是乔·科文 (Joe Kowan) 的经历。在这段简短欢快的精彩演讲中,乔为我们讲述了他战胜怯场的历程。
- Musician and graphic designer
By day he's a graphic designer, and by night Joe Kowan is a quirky folk singer-songwriter. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
Joe KowanKowan: I have stage阶段 fright惊骇.
0
577
1497
我有怯场的毛病
(演讲者:乔·科文)
00:14
I've always had stage阶段 fright惊骇,
1
2074
1493
我一直都怯场
00:15
and not just a little bit,
2
3567
1828
不是一点点
00:17
it's a big bit.
3
5395
1791
是非常严重的怯场
00:19
And it didn't even matter until直到 I was 27.
4
7186
2793
27 岁之前,这毛病对我都没什么影响
00:21
That's when I started开始 writing写作 songs歌曲, and even then
5
9979
2558
在 27 岁那年,我开始写歌
00:24
I only played发挥 them for myself.
6
12537
1802
那时只唱给自己听
00:26
Just knowing会心 my roommates室友 were in the
same相同 house made制作 me uncomfortable不舒服.
7
14339
3745
但一想到室友就在隔壁,我就会觉得不自在
00:30
But after a couple一对 of years年份,
just writing写作 songs歌曲 wasn't enough足够.
8
18084
2807
几年后,我不再满足于单纯写歌
00:32
I had all these stories故事 and ideas思路,
and I wanted to share分享 them with people,
9
20891
3019
我有很多故事和创意想跟人们分享
00:35
but physiologically生理, I couldn't不能 do it.
10
23910
3306
但生理上,我做不到
00:39
I had this irrational不合理的 fear恐惧.
11
27216
2926
就因为这没来由的紧张恐慌
00:42
But the more I wrote, and the more I practiced,
12
30142
2159
但我写的歌得越多,练得越多
00:44
the more I wanted to perform演出.
13
32301
1190
就越想表演给大家看
00:45
So on the week of my 30th birthday生日,
14
33491
2057
所以在我 30 岁生日那一周
00:47
I decided决定 I was going to go to this local本地 open打开 micMIC,
15
35548
2953
我决定参加社区开麦表演
00:50
and put this fear恐惧 behind背后 me.
16
38501
1715
暂时把怯场的问题抛在脑后
00:52
Well, when I got there, it was packed打包.
17
40216
2857
到了那儿,我发现已经人山人海
00:55
There were like 20 people there.
18
43073
1974
大概有 20 个人在那里
00:57
(Laughter笑声)
19
45047
1883
(笑声)
00:58
And they all looked看着 angry愤怒.
20
46930
2607
他们看起来都很疯狂
01:01
But I took a deep breath呼吸, and I signed up to play,
21
49537
3601
我深吸一口气,在表演报名单上签了名
01:05
and I felt pretty漂亮 good.
22
53138
1492
当时感觉还不错
01:06
Pretty漂亮 good, until直到 about 10 minutes分钟 before my turn,
23
54630
3061
一直到表演前 10 分钟,我都自我感觉良好
01:09
when my whole整个 body身体 rebelled背叛, and
this wave of anxiety焦虑 just washed over me.
24
57691
5464
接着,我全身开始不听使唤
整个人也变得非常不安
01:15
Now, when you experience经验 fear恐惧,
your sympathetic有同情心 nervous紧张 system系统 kicks in.
25
63155
3555
听我说,当你害怕时
交感神经系统就开始发挥作用
01:18
So you have a rush of adrenaline肾上腺素,
your heart rate increases增加,
26
66710
2843
你会肾上腺素增高,心跳加速
01:21
your breathing呼吸 gets得到 faster更快.
27
69553
1453
呼吸变急促
01:23
Next下一个 your non-essential非必需 systems系统 start开始
to shut关闭 down, like digestion消化. (Laughter笑声)
28
71006
6172
那些不太重要的系统开始关闭,比如消化系统
(笑声)
01:29
So your mouth gets得到 dry, and blood血液 is routed路由
away from your extremities四肢,
29
77178
3364
你会感到口干舌燥,四肢供血不足
01:32
so your fingers手指 don't work anymore.
30
80542
2600
手指变得僵硬
01:35
Your pupils学生 dilate膨胀, your muscles肌肉 contract合同,
your Spidey蜘蛛侠 sense tingles廷格尔斯,
31
83142
3132
你的瞳孔变大,肌肉收缩
你的蜘蛛侠第六感也开始发挥作用
01:38
basically基本上 your whole整个 body身体 is trigger-happy好战的.
(Laughter笑声)
32
86274
5174
基本上,你整个人处于高度备战状态
(笑声)
01:43
That condition条件 is not conducive有利于
to performing执行 folk民间 music音乐.
33
91448
4783
只是,这状态很不适合表演民谣
01:48
(Laughter笑声)
34
96231
1569
(笑声)
01:49
I mean, your nervous紧张 system系统 is an idiot白痴.
35
97800
2632
我的意思是,你的神经系统基本报废了
01:52
Really? Two hundred thousand years年份 of human人的 evolution演化, and it still can't tell the difference区别
36
100432
3810
不信?经过二十万年人类进化
01:56
between之间 a saber军刀 tooth齿 tiger and 20 folksingersfolksingers
37
104242
2372
它却分不清剑齿虎和
01:58
on a Tuesday星期二 night open打开 micMIC?
38
106614
2071
参加周二晚间开麦表演的 20 名民谣歌手
02:00
(Laughter笑声)
39
108685
1431
(笑声)
02:02
I have never been more terrified -- until直到 now.
40
110116
4057
我从没那么紧张过,不过现在更紧张
02:06
(Laughter笑声 and cheers干杯)
41
114173
5831
(笑声,鼓励声)
02:15
So then it was my turn,
42
123248
2509
然后该我表演了
02:17
and somehow不知何故, I get myself onto
the stage阶段, I start开始 my song歌曲,
43
125757
3086
我挣扎着走上舞台,开始唱歌
02:20
I open打开 my mouth to sing the first line线,
44
128843
2637
我开口唱第一句歌词
02:23
and this completely全然 horrible可怕 vibrato颤音 --
45
131480
1963
发出的却是可怕的颤音
02:25
you know, when your voice语音 wavers动摇 --
comes streaming out.
46
133443
2487
就是嗓音颤抖时发出的声音
02:27
And this is not the good kind of vibrato颤音,
like an opera歌剧 singer歌手 has,
47
135930
2613
但不是歌剧演员那种好听的颤音
02:30
this is my whole整个 body身体 just convulsing抽搐 with fear恐惧.
48
138543
2694
而是因为害怕,全身发抖发出的声音
02:33
I mean, it's a nightmare恶梦.
49
141237
1651
那真是一场噩梦
02:34
I'm embarrassed尴尬, the audience听众
is clearly明确地 uncomfortable不舒服,
50
142888
2468
我尴尬极了,观众也很不自在
02:37
they're focused重点 on my discomfort不舒服.
51
145356
2353
他们只在关注我的局促不安了
02:39
It was so bad.
52
147709
3775
真是太糟了
02:43
But that was my first real真实 experience经验
as a solo独奏 singer-songwriter创作歌手.
53
151484
3937
这就是我作为唱作歌手的第一次个人表演经历
02:47
And something good did happen发生 --
I had the tiniest最小的 little glimpse一瞥
54
155421
3015
当然,也发生了值得高兴的事
我微微感受到了
02:50
of that audience听众 connection连接 that I was hoping希望 for.
55
158436
2483
希望跟观众达成的共鸣
02:52
And I wanted more. But I knew知道
I had to get past过去 this nervousness神经紧张.
56
160919
4008
我想它让更强烈
当然,我知道必须先解决怯场的问题
02:56
That night I promised许诺 myself:
I would go back every一切 week
57
164927
3170
那一晚,我向自己许诺:
从今往后,每周都参加开麦表演
03:00
until直到 I wasn't nervous紧张 anymore.
58
168097
1935
直到不感到紧张为止
03:02
And I did. I went back every一切 single week,
59
170032
2883
我的确这样做了,每周都去
03:04
and sure enough足够, week after week,
60
172915
3815
经过了一周又一周,果然
03:08
it didn't get any better. The same相同
thing happened发生 every一切 week. (Laughter笑声)
61
176730
4170
情况一点儿都没好转,每次上台还是怯场
(笑声)
03:12
I couldn't不能 shake it.
62
180900
1948
我实在摆脱不掉它
03:14
And that's when I had an epiphany顿悟.
63
182848
1673
直到有一天我灵光一现
03:16
And I remember记得 it really well, because I
don't have a lot of epiphanies顿悟. (Laughter笑声)
64
184521
6011
那一刻我记得非常清楚,因为我灵光一现的时候不多
(笑声)
03:22
All I had to do was write a song歌曲
that exploits战功 my nervousness神经紧张.
65
190532
3629
我唯一需要做的,就是写一首表达我紧张的歌
03:26
That only seems似乎 authentic真实 when I have stage阶段 fright惊骇,
66
194161
2122
只有当我怯场的时候,这首歌才更有感染力
03:28
and the more nervous紧张 I was,
67
196283
1288
我越紧张
03:29
the better the song歌曲 would be. Easy简单.
68
197571
2589
就能把歌演绎得越好。这太好办了
03:32
So I started开始 writing写作 a song歌曲 about having stage阶段 fright惊骇.
69
200160
4829
于是,我开始着手创作一首关于怯场的歌
03:36
First, fessingfessing up to the problem问题,
70
204989
2061
先坦承自己有怯场的毛病
03:39
the physical物理 manifestations表现, how I would feel,
71
207050
1828
说说都有哪些生理表现,有什么心理感受
03:40
how the listener倾听者 might威力 feel.
72
208878
1429
谈谈听众的感受
03:42
And then accounting会计 for things like my shaky摇摇欲坠 voice语音,
73
210307
2608
然后再做些解释,比如为什么会发出颤音
03:44
and I knew知道 I would be singing唱歌 about a
half-octave半八度 higher更高 than normal正常,
74
212915
2932
我知道因为紧张
03:47
because I was nervous紧张.
75
215847
2114
我的音比正常高半个八度
03:49
By having a song歌曲 that explained解释
what was happening事件 to me,
76
217961
3072
有了这么一首解释我状态的歌
03:53
while it was happening事件,
77
221033
1487
当我怯场时
03:54
that gave the audience听众 permission允许 to think about it.
78
222520
1863
观众就不会觉得太突兀
03:56
They didn't have to feel bad
for me because I was nervous紧张,
79
224383
2761
他们不必因为我紧张而担心我
03:59
they could experience经验 that with me,
80
227144
1718
他们可以和我经历这一切
04:00
and we were all one big happy快乐, nervous紧张,
uncomfortable不舒服 family家庭. (Laughter笑声)
81
228862
5249
我们是开心快乐、局促不安的大家庭
(笑声)
04:06
By thinking思维 about my audience听众,
by embracing拥抱 and exploiting利用 my problem问题,
82
234111
4809
我去体会听众的感受,接受并利用自己怯场的问题
04:10
I was able能够 to take something
that was blocking闭塞 my progress进展,
83
238920
2935
从而挖出阻碍我前进的因素
04:13
and turn it into something that
was essential必要 for my success成功.
84
241855
3937
然后把它转化为成功的必备要素
04:17
And having the stage阶段 fright惊骇 song歌曲 let
me get past过去 that biggest最大 issue问题
85
245792
3020
这首怯场歌帮我解决了
04:20
right in the beginning开始 of a performance性能.
86
248812
1818
开场表演最大的障碍
04:22
And then I could move移动 on,
and play the rest休息 of my songs歌曲
87
250630
1544
这样我就能继续唱下去
04:24
with just a little bit more ease缓解.
88
252174
3254
稍微轻松地表演其他歌曲
04:27
And eventually终于, over time, I didn't
have to play the stage阶段 fright惊骇 song歌曲 at all.
89
255428
6276
最终,我甚至完全不需要再唱这首怯场歌了
04:33
Except for when I was really
nervous紧张, like now. (Laughter笑声)
90
261704
5720
除了我的确非常紧张的时候,比如现在
(笑声)
04:40
Would it be okay if I played发挥 the
stage阶段 fright惊骇 song歌曲 for you?
91
268945
2725
可以为大家唱一次怯场歌吗
04:43
(Applause掌声)
92
271670
4992
(掌声)
04:52
Can I have a sip of water?
93
280753
2962
我可以喝口水吗
04:55
(Music音乐)
94
283715
3951
(音乐)
05:00
Thank you.
95
288143
2377
谢谢
05:07
♫ I'm not joking开玩笑, you know, ♫
96
295442
2921
嘿,我没开玩笑
05:10
♫ this stage阶段 fright惊骇 is real真实. ♫
97
298363
5628
我真的怯场
05:15
♫ And if I'm up here trembling发抖 and singing唱歌, ♫
98
303991
3211
如果我在台上一边发抖一边歌唱
05:19
♫ well, you'll你会 know how I feel. ♫
99
307202
4346
你会知道我的感受
05:23
♫ And the mistake错误 I'd be making制造, ♫
100
311548
3920
我还会搞砸发出颤音
05:27
♫ the tremolo颤音 caused造成 by my whole整个 body身体 shaking发抖. ♫
101
315468
3928
那是全身发抖的杰作
05:31
♫ As you sit there feeling感觉 embarrassed尴尬 for me, ♫
102
319396
3467
不用替我尴尬
05:34
♫ well, you don't have to be. ♫
103
322863
3046
哦,真的不用
05:37
♫ Well, maybe just a little bit. ♫
104
325909
2515
好吧,可以有一点
05:40
(Laughter笑声)
105
328424
1401
(笑声)
05:41
♫ And maybe I'll try to imagine想像
you all without clothes衣服. ♫
106
329825
7879
我会想象你们都没穿衣裳
05:49
♫ But singing唱歌 in front面前 of all naked strangers陌生人
scares恐慌 me more than anyone任何人 knows知道. ♫
107
337704
7873
但在一群躶体陌生人前唱歌更让我紧张
05:57
♫ Not to discuss讨论 this at length长度, ♫
108
345577
3953
不要细说下去
06:01
♫ but my body身体 image图片 was never my strength强度. ♫
109
349530
5245
身材从不是我的强项
06:06
♫ So frankly坦率地说, I wish希望 that you all would get dressed连衣裙的, ♫
110
354775
3538
老实说,我希望大家都正装出席
06:10
♫ I mean, you're not even really naked. ♫
111
358313
4890
我的意思是,不要真的什么也不穿
06:15
♫ And I'm the one with the problem问题. ♫
112
363203
3343
我才是有问题的那个人
06:18
♫ And you tell me, don't worry担心
so much, you'll你会 be great. ♫
113
366546
7268
你们跟我说,不要太烦恼,一定能唱好
06:25
♫ But I'm the one living活的 with me ♫
114
373814
2804
我一直都陪着自己
06:28
♫ and I know how I get. ♫
115
376618
2318
我知道该怎样做
06:30
♫ Your advice忠告 is gentle温和 but late晚了. ♫
116
378936
4144
你的建议很贴心,但来得有点晚
06:35
♫ If not just a bit patronizing光顾. ♫
117
383080
3449
就算你不是神气十足
06:38
♫ And that sarcastic讽刺 tone doesn't
help me when I sing. ♫
118
386529
4832
那挖苦的语调也让我唱不好
06:43
♫ But we shouldn't不能 talk about
these things right now, ♫
119
391361
3888
但现在我们不需要谈论这些
06:47
♫ really, I'm up on stage阶段, and
you're in the crowd人群. Hi你好. ♫
120
395249
6887
真的,我在台上,你在台下。嗨~
06:54
♫ And I'm not making制造 fun开玩笑 of
unnurturedunnurtured, irrrationalirrrational fear恐惧, ♫
121
402136
9223
我没有拿这莫名其妙的恐慌开玩笑
07:03
♫ and if I wasn't ready准备 to face面对 this, ♫
122
411359
2916
如果没准备好去面对
07:06
♫ I sure as hell地狱 wouldn't不会 be here. ♫
123
414275
4532
我也不会站在这里
07:10
♫ But if I belt one note注意 out clearly明确地, ♫
124
418807
5138
如果我清晰将一个音符弹唱
07:15
you'll你会 know I'm recovering恢复 slowly慢慢地 but surely一定. ♫
125
423945
4286
你会明白我在恢复,慢却稳当
07:20
♫ And maybe next下一个 week, I'll set my guitar吉他 ringin'在响
126
428231
3963
或许,下周我会把吉他奏响
07:24
♫ my voice语音 clear明确 as water, and everyone大家 singin'登录'. ♫
127
432194
4354
我的声音清澈如水,大家一起歌唱
07:28
♫ But probably大概 I'll just get up and start开始 groovin'groovin', ♫
128
436548
3767
或许,我会走上台,渐入佳境
07:32
♫ my vocal声音的 cords线 movin'往前, ♫
129
440315
3407
声带不停震动
07:35
♫ at speeds速度 slightly faster更快 than sound声音. ♫
130
443722
8363
快得超过声速
07:48
(Applause掌声)
131
456024
5803
(掌声)
Translated by Li Yuwei
Reviewed by Daisy Leng

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Joe Kowan - Musician and graphic designer
By day he's a graphic designer, and by night Joe Kowan is a quirky folk singer-songwriter.

Why you should listen

Joe Kowan is a Boston-based musician and graphic designer who has been struggling with stage fright since he first started writing songs at age 27. Despite his adorably expressed fears, he charms audiences with his own style of quirky folk and acoustic hip-hop, by turns poignant, salacious and comical. In 2009 he released the gangsta' arts and crafts video for his original song “Crafty,” and in 2011 he was a finalist in the USA Songwriting Competition.

Kowan is a senior graphic designer on State Street Global Marketing’s Brand Strategy team. With a BFA in sculpture and design, his work explores diverse areas of design including scenic, print, environmental design and wayfinding.

More profile about the speaker
Joe Kowan | Speaker | TED.com