Nervous Before Going On Stage? The "Lip Trill" Haaland Made Famous — MCs Have Used It All Along

Q: Do lip trills really relieve stress?

To be precise: research confirms that semi-occluded vocal tract exercises reduce muscular tension around the lips, face and larynx, and doing a lip trill forces a prolonged exhale, which studies link to increased parasympathetic activity and lower in-the-moment anxiety. No study has directly proven that lip trills relieve stress, but the movement makes you complete both of those evidence-backed actions at once.

Q: I get very nervous before going on stage. Any other instant techniques?

Two directions: shift your attention from how am I performing to what does this event need from me; and use real sensations to return to the present — feel your feet on the floor, feel your grip on the microphone. Nerves are mostly the brain imagining what hasn't happened; come back to reality and the imagination loses its grip.

Amanda Fok
4 hours ago
5 min read

Lip Trill for Stage Nerves: An MC's Honest Guide | Amanda Fok

At this year's World Cup, one clip travelled almost as far as the goals: Erling Haaland rapidly fluttering his lips on camera with a "brrrr" sound. Netizens tagged it #stressrelief, and facial-yoga practitioners chimed in to note that the movement closely resembles exercises they use to release tension in the lips and jaw.

When I saw that clip, I laughed.

Because I've been doing that exact movement for years. In the MC and vocal world it has a name — the lip trill — and it happens to be a daily habit of mine.

1. I Do This So Often a Colleague Once Told Me to Stop

The lip trill has long been a standard exercise in vocal training and MC training; I always teach it in my advanced class. As for me, it became something I do whenever I have a spare moment — waiting for the bus, backstage, between messages — completely without thinking.

I still remember the day a colleague sitting next to me finally couldn't take it any more: "Amanda, could you please stop? I can't concentrate." Only then did I realise I'd been "brrrr"-ing again.

So when the whole world started discussing this movement because of Haaland, my honest reaction was: about time it got its moment.

2. Does It Really "Relieve Stress"? An Honest Breakdown

Plenty of posts online simply say "lip trills relieve stress." As a trainer, I'd rather break it down precisely — because what's really going on is two things:

Layer one: the muscles genuinely relax. The lip trill belongs to a family of exercises vocal science calls semi-occluded vocal tract (SOVT) exercises. Research shows they reduce muscular tension around the lips, face and larynx. Note carefully: the "relaxation" in those studies refers to muscles, not emotions.

Layer two: the exhale genuinely slows. To keep your lips fluttering, you must breathe out slowly and evenly — the moment the airflow rushes or breaks, the trill stops. And prolonged exhalation itself has research behind it: it increases parasympathetic activity and lowers in-the-moment anxiety.

Put the two together: doing a lip trill relaxes your facial muscles and forces you through one long, slow exhale at the same time. Strictly speaking, no study has directly proven that "lip trills relieve stress" — but the movement makes you do two things that do have evidence.

Which is why I tell my students: this exercise loosens more than your voice.

3. The MC Version: One Minute Before You Go On

The method is simple:

1. Relax your lips completely and close them lightly

2. Exhale steadily, letting the airflow set your lips into a continuous flutter — that "brrrr" sound

3. Can't get it going? Support the corners of your mouth lightly with two fingers and try again — the more relaxed the lips, the easier it is

4. Stretch each breath out as long as you can — the slower, the better

Before going on stage, find a quiet corner and do this for thirty seconds to a minute. The point isn't doing it beautifully; the point is that long, slow exhale.

One more thing: this is also why the lip trill doubles as the first step of a vocal warm-up — once the face is loose and the airflow steady, the voice comes out naturally. Proper voice training, though, is a subject of its own; I'll write about it another time.

4. Beyond the Lip Trill: My Own Two Pre-Stage Moves

After more than 1,500 events, do I still get nervous before going on?

Yes. Just not as intensely as when I was new — and I know how to bring it down.

Move one: breathe deeply, then put your attention on the event, not on yourself. Nerves usually come from "how am I doing" and "what do they think of me". When I turn my mind back to "what does the audience need from me in this show", the nerves have nowhere to sit.

Move two: come back to reality. Nervousness is largely your brain's imagination — it keeps rehearsing a disaster that hasn't happened. So I teach my students: feel your feet pressing into the floor; feel the grip of your hand around the microphone. Real sensations pull you out of imagination and back into the present. (For how stage fright actually works in the brain, see my earlier article on the neuroscience of stage fright.)

5. A True Story: Humour Can Cut Through Nerves Too

One of my students was hosting a fan meeting and autograph session for the singer and actor Raymond Lam — her first time working an event with a celebrity.

Her ability was well above what she was showing that day. But being her first star-studded event, she stood pressed against the backdrop, speaking hesitantly.

I said one thing to her: "Relax. Today, Raymond Lam is in your hands — he walks when you say walk, sits when you say sit. If you don't call him out, he can't even come on stage."

She laughed. And the moment she laughed, the tension dissolved. She ran the rest of the show with complete ease.

Nervousness is the brain spinning stories. Sometimes a single line of humour is enough to cut the thread — which is also why my training classes are never short of laughter. There's more than one way to relax: breathing is one; humour is another.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: How do I do a lip trill? What if I can't get it going?

Relax your lips fully, close them lightly, and exhale steadily so the airflow sets them fluttering with a "brrrr" sound. If it won't start, your lips are probably too tense — support the corners of your mouth lightly with two fingers and try again. What matters is a long, even exhale, not a loud sound.

Q2: Do lip trills really relieve stress?

To be precise: research confirms that this family of semi-occluded vocal tract exercises reduces muscular tension around the lips, face and larynx, and doing a lip trill forces a prolonged exhale — which studies link to increased parasympathetic activity and lower in-the-moment anxiety. No study has directly proven "lip trills relieve stress", but the movement makes you complete both of those evidence-backed actions at once.

Q3: I get very nervous before going on stage — any other instant techniques?

Two directions: shift your attention from "how am I performing" to "what does this event need from me"; and use real sensations to return to the present — feel your feet on the floor, feel your grip on the microphone. Nerves are mostly the brain imagining what hasn't happened; come back to reality and the imagination loses its grip.

Want to Train the Nerves Along with the Skills?

My Signature MC Training Course covers more than technique — it teaches you how to handle pre-stage nerves, from breathing to mindset, step by step.

Learn about the latest cohort and enrolment: https://www.amanda.hk/en/mc-training-workshop

Updated 2026

About the author | Amanda Fok

Hong Kong's "MC Godmother," a professional MC training mentor and ADHD coach, and an ADHD person herself. Champion of Hong Kong's first-ever territory-wide MC competition, with over 1,500 MC and hosting engagements and more than 10,000 students trained, she has authored and been lead writer on several books on MC work.

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