Most people don’t like the sound of their voice when they hear it replayed on a recorder. As a voice and diction teacher for almost four decades, I can attest to that fact. When Arthur Lessac trained me to teach his Lessac Voice Method, he also trained me to have a great voice. The day […]

A commonly held misconception about executive presence is that it is all about dressing for the part. While appearances are important, your presence is more comprehensive than merely the clothes that you wear. Most people won’t be convinced about your leadership until you demonstrate the ability to communicate in a sophisticated and distinguished manner. Executive […]

The great presentation guru Garr Reynolds wrote a blog post in which he shows a video of Frank Sinatra singing “You Make Me Feel So Young.” Garr quotes Sinatra saying, “When I sing, I believe. I’m honest. If you want to get an audience with you, there’s only one way. You have to reach out […]

When there is a need for accent reduction to help speak English correctly, learning to pronounce the letter “A” can be valuable for non-native speakers of English, for professionals with heavy accents and even for native born Americans who grew up in areas of the US where regional dialects are heavy. There are seven ways the […]

If you are in a position to communicate with executives, it is important to learn the rules for delivering information to a top-level leader. First, understand what an executive is, as it will help you understand how to communicate information to him or her. An executive is a decision-making top-level leader.  As such, the executive decides […]

Executive Presence is hard to describe but easy to recognize in a room of people. In a group meeting, one person will stand out as a leader because that person exhibits a quality of gravitas. That person may or may not be the stated leader. You’ll find an article at my website called “How to Develop […]

Developing executive presence is much like being an actor working to develop a character. The process is basically the same. You must step into the skin of a leader and embody the physical, mental and emotional characteristics so that you behave as an executive. As Constantine Stanislavski, the father of modern acting technique often said, […]

Happy July 4th! Let Freedom Ring throughout the World! – Sandra Zimmer The following post was written by my dear friend and social media expert, Karen Scott Jones. Thanks, Karen! How often do we reflect on our right to speak freely in this country?  I think we take it for granted that we can say what […]

Today, Sunday, March 23, 2014, The Houston Chronicle Jobs Section is printing an article entitled “Public Speaking an Important Career Tool.” This article written by Emilia Benton, a copy editor from the Special Publications of Houston Chronicle Media Group, features some of my ideas about the value of public speaking skills for career development. Ms. Benton […]

As we lay Nelson Mandela to rest this past week, here is a lovely TED talk story told by Boyd Varty, a man who met Mandela as a child. To learn to tell your valuable and inspiring stories, join my speaking group classes at Self-Expression Center or coaching via Skype. I am Sandra Zimmer, author […]