I don’t want you to work so hard at public speaking. Consider opening to the experience that public speaking doesn’t have to be so hard and that you don’t have to work so hard to connect with listeners.  I have this new battery operated toothbrush that does all the work for me.  But I […]

Much has been said about Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and how he appears when speaking in public.  As recently as June this year, he sweated profusely while being interviewed.  But last Sunday he seemed calm, comfortable and in command of himself on CBS 60 Minutes.  His passion is palpable in this interview.  Some have speculated that he […]

“Has anyone ever been in prison?” These were the words that opened W Mitchell’s talk to NSA Houston Chapter in September 2010.  Words spoken quietly in a voice vibrating from deep within his chest.  Words not spoken immediately. W Mitchell wheeled himself to the center of the staging area, sat deeply into his wheelchair and […]

I found a wonderful blogpost by Kathy  Reiffenstein at Professionally Speaking Blog that I simply must share with you!  Kathy draws some valuable lessons on speaking from the Broadway production of A Little Night Music. So much of my skill as a speaker and speaking teacher comes from my training as an actress.  So it […]

The following is a post written by my friend and client Leigh Mires, Principal and Training Director of Walter P Moore Engineering.  She and I have been working for seven years to train their engineers to reduce their dependence on PowerPoint.  I guess we have more work to do!   Married to PowerPoint Cate Blanchett, portraying […]

This week, I coached a Director at a Fortune 100 company who is preparing to deliver an executive summary presentation.  Twice a year, “Steve” must present to senior executives an update that includes what his team has achieved, what they are working on, what their prospects are and what they have contributed to the overall […]

Presence is also an external quality that others sense and to which they respond.  Other people perceive your presence as a magnetic force and they are drawn to you, because presence is actually a radiation of psycho-physical energy emitted from your body.  It is your life force emanating from your body, and it occurs when […]

Presence is an inner state of awareness in which your attention is fully focused in this moment.  You are “being here and now,” as many other spiritual teachers have instructed.  Okay, so where is here and now?  It simply means being in your body!  That is having attention focused inside your physical body. The only […]

  The opposite of stage fright is presence, the powerful state of being integrated.  When you are integrated, all of your human energies, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, are working together, with no part of you split off or dis-integrated.  You are connected to your whole Self*, and able to express yourself fully.  Athletes know […]

  I enjoy watching Chris Wallace’s show Sunday mornings. He usually stirs up debate on political issues by asking leading questions to guests and panelists from both political major parties.  I usually watch with partial attention while getting dressed for my Sunday meditation group. Once in a while someone on his show speaks with unusual […]