I was waiting in the lobby of my massage therapist’s office this week.  Happy to be there to have a massage with my extraordinary orthopedic massage therapist Deborah Cimo, I was feeling good and anticipating feeling even better after Deborah did her magic on my neck and back.   The door from her […]

Sean  Buvala  at storyteller.net has written an awesome post on using stories for apologies and healing.  He says that “Storytelling can be used for many different applications. One of the most difficult, but needed, application of storytelling is to express reconciliation, repentance and recompense.” Sean lists five steps that help create a story of redemption: 1. […]

I heard this on the radio today, “Great Leadership begins with the ability to level with people.” That’s another way of saying we must be transparent to be effective as leaders. I just heard Obama criticized for going to Cairo to “apologize” for American behavior. It might just be that he was being transparent – […]

Public speaking clients ask me how they can “read” their audience. I tell them they must open to receive their audience members. Receiving is an experience of 1) seeing individuals in the audience, 2) making authentic connection one-to-one with them and 3) taking them in through soft-focus eye connection. Receiving is my way of expressing […]

Many speakers allow their listeners to ask them questions, but not many ask questions of the audience.  Ellen Finklestein of ellenfinklestein.com writes an excellent article about asking questions of your audience.  I will let you read her article for yourself. At the end of her article she says it is important to plan your questions carefully.  […]

David Portney at Best Public Speaking Training  has written an article on how to Prevent Stage Fright.  He has a great idea to meet and greet audience members just before your talk.  I have advocated this for many years. I hope I have David’s permission to mention his article and to add to his helpful […]

In Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach teaches us that perfect speed is being there. That means the exact right pace for any activity is the pace that allows you to be fully present for the event. In speaking to groups, presenting and public speaking, pace is a key to effective communication. If you talk too […]

Thursday evening, I was almost asleep with the TV on when I awoke startled to hear Thomas Friedman speaking to Charli Rose on PBS.  Thomas was speaking about the importance of talking to people from a gut level. He mentioned Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton as speakers who impart more than information, as speakers […]

People who have stage fright and fear of public speaking will often feel uncomfortable in networking situations and social settings. The issues are really the same – being comfortable with yourself and opening to connect with others.  I have written in the past about  the importance of opening to receive others for both networking and […]

This week, Tuesday night, marks the re-emergence of my acting classes at Self-Expression Center. Acting as an art form, for its own sake, has long since lost its luster and attraction for me. I am after much more important results from acting! I think all the art forms are really for the purpose of healing […]