Has this ever happened to you? You have an important presentation and you’ve done all your preparation. You don’t want to memorize the talk, but you also want to have a clear sense of what you are going to say and how you are going to say it. The morning of the talk you practice More…
Category: Public Speaking Presence
Presence: A stress management tool for anxious times
Recently I was driving to an appointment and running late. My mind was racing, my breath was shallow, my heartbeat was off the charts, and whenever I thought about it I realized that my muscles were clenched, I was leaning right up next to the steering wheel, and every cell in my body was urging More…
Coming to your senses: Tune in to calm down
Recently I’ve been asked to do a series of stress management programs rather than pure public speaking programs. I think this is a reflection of the level of anxiety present in our world today. Since all my speaking programs are focused on helping people find their calm center, I’ve found it easy to re-cast my More…
The power of a smile
Do you have an inner critic who finds fault with everything you do? I do, and she can be especially loud when I have been less than perfect. And, it seems most everyone else has the same issue. Yesterday I had two separate conversations with friends who each felt badly because of something they had More…
What do fear of public speaking, trauma, and yoga have in common
I had a conversation with a colleague today about how much I incorporate yoga practices in the coaching I do with my public speaking clients and it reminded me of this article, which I wrote back in 2008. I thought readers of this blog might be interested and so here it is: In 2008 I More…
Lessons from a lint filter, water bottle and electric toothbrush
Somehow, as much as I’m trying to slow down and simplify my life, I always seem to be in a hurry. Every time I do my laundry I’m reminded that hurrying through my tasks isn’t the most efficient way to get things done. I always seem to want to quickly empty the lint filter in More…
About making mistakes, being human, and connecting
I had the pleasure last night of being invited to a small dinner party for two extraordinary young performing artists who are touring the US from Europe. Carolina Ullrich and her pianist, Marcelo Amaral, will be performing tonight at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland, Vermont. After playing the Paramount, Carolina, who has just won the More…
Openings… The biggest stumbling block
“The first few moments of a presentation always terrify me.” “I know my subject really well and know what I want to say, I just don’t know how to get started.” “If the first few minutes go well, then I relax for the rest of the talk.” Statements like these are almost universal. It seems More…
The yoga of public speaking
I’ve been a yoga practitioner for more than 20 years. At one time I taught yoga. I now take every opportunity I can to study with different yoga teachers from different traditions. I do so to expand my experience of myself and to extend my ability to return to a state of inner quiet while More…
“What do I do with my hands when I speak?”
I was having an important conversation with my daughter this week when I became very aware that I was not connecting at all with her. We were standing by a car and I couldn’t find a relaxed, comfortable position. So instead of really listening to what she was saying, I was focused on where I More…