Alan Rabinowitz: How a Severe Stutterer became the Voice for African Wild Cats

Alan Rabinowitz could not talk to people at all, but he could talk to animals fluidly. He promised his childhood pets if he ever became a fluid speaker, he would speak up for the animals of the world. I heard Alan tell his story about being a severe stutterer as a child on the MOTH… Read more

The Power of Self-Expression

There is simply nothing that transforms your life as much as Self-Expression, because a profound shift in consciousness happens when you open yourself to share your truth. “What we say is important… for in most cases the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” – Jim Beggs As you express your inner Self, your… Read more

One Subtle Communication Secret for Getting Others to Hear Your Message

The prevailing model for speaking persuasively is a style of speaking that is enthusiastic, energetic and extraverted.  The speaker is asserting a point in hopes to convince the listener to agree. However, this model can be a trap. It puts you in the position of selling.  Of course others don’t want to be sold, so they have… Read more

Sandra Zimmer featured in Houston Chronicle Article on Public Speaking as a Career Tool

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… Read more

How to Encourage People to Speak the Truth

Have you experienced that people sometimes give you excuses rather than reasons? They respond, but somehow it just doesn’t ring true? Maybe their answer just does not satisfy you? I walked into the women’s restroom at my favorite pizza kitchen last week. A lovely young black woman was in the restroom talking on a cell phone. … Read more

Joe Kowan Sings a Song at TED to Beat Stage Fright

Oh Wow! For all of you struggling with Stage Fright and fear of public speaking, please watch Joe Kowan give an 8 minute TED Talk on how he beat stage fright.  Joe shares that he wrote a song to express the inner feelings of stage fright as a way of dealing with it. Those of… Read more

The Alchemy of Public Speaking: Turning Performance Anxiety into Presence

We can alchemically transform performance anxiety into presence in our physical body.  Alchemy is a term for turning a less valuable substance into a more valuable one. The human body is a laboratory for transformation of consciousness. Performance anxiety is a distressful reaction to energy trying to flow through the body when we become the… Read more

What can we Learn from Michael Bay’s Stage Fright?

Very accomplished people experience stage fright and fear of public speaking! Witness Michael Bay, director of Transformers, who froze and walked off the stage at the 2014 Samsung Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. My mission is to help heal the world of stage fright and fear of public speaking so that people can shine… Read more

Great Storytelling from the Heart of Boyd Varty Shares Stories of Africa and Mandela

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… Read more

Revealing Your Self – How to be Open and Transparent for Public Speaking

Recently, I have had several clients and students in public speaking classes who quit or tried to quit classes because I asked them to tell stories from their personal or professional lives.  I could not figure out what was causing people to stop their progress in public speaking when they were doing so well in… Read more