“Authenticity is a practice” says Dr. Brene Brown in a conversation with Oprah. You have to choose it every day. This applies not only in one’s personal life, but in business as well. In business, authenticity generates authority. When we speak from our own inner authority, others sense our power. But it takes courage to speak…
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Performing arts training, of necessity, includes methods to develop relaxation, concentration and presence. Years ago, in acting school, I learned to do a voice and body exercise warm-up before auditioning or performing. While it did not completely get rid of my performance anxiety, it did help calm me. When I became a teacher of public speaking,…
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People are often incredulous when I share my story about being trained an actress and yet having such fear of public speaking. But acting is a skill based on saying the words of a character, not usually your own words. In acting there is no need to reveal your own thinking, whereas in public speaking,…
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Learning by doing is how we learn! Seems so simple. Yet old fashioned teaching methods have teachers, instructors and professors lecturing on and on and on and students tuning out. The flipped classroom concept allows students to watch short instructional videos outside of the classroom and then to practice skills in class while a teacher…
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This is the absolute bottom line of what to do to transform your public speaking tension and performance anxiety into radiant, authentic presence so that you shine in front of others. Coaching a corporate HR executive from a Fortune 100 company on his anxiety about public speaking, I said something new, something I’ve never said…
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I just read an article on Forbes called “Why Public Speaking Scares and and How to Overcome your Fear” by Susan Adams. This is one of the best articles on fear of speaking I have seen in a long time! I am a presentation and speaking coach in Houston. I have specialized in transforming stage…
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A special contributor to The Tribune Newspapers, writer Richard Asa, contacted me recently. He was writing an article on fear of public speaking at family events, such as weddings and funerals. I shared some ideas that I thought might be valuable. Public speaking when the public is family can produce anxiety for some people. Many of…
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This weekend I attended a workshop on Sound, Color & Vibration taught by Elias Demohan and Rafael Demohan. Elias has been the most significant spiritual teacher in my life. I have not seen him for many years as he now lives in Calgary, Canada. The workshop was for me mostly a review of methods for…
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Pearls are created by irritation and discomfort. An oyster is irritated by a grain of sand. To thrive and survive, the oyster develops a hard shell around the grain of sand and it becomes a pearl. Through the process of discomfort, the oyster grows a beautiful pearl. Ever think about the phrase pearls of wisdom? …
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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…
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