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…
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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…
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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…
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“Jump right into the middle” and “open the shoot and let the bucking bronco out of the pin” are my mottos for opening talks, speeches and communications to groups. I don’t like to hear speakers mumble phrases like “I am so honored to be here” or “Thanks for inviting me.” No one is listening…
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My Zimmer Method approach to helping people to transform stage fright and fear of public speaking has been evolving since 1984. It began by asking people to stand quietly in front of my acting classes to see if they could just be there at the center of attention. Most people had great difficulty simply…
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Over several years, I developed a pattern for the process that guides people safely and slowly into healing stage fright so they feel free to share their thoughts and feelings in all kinds of situations. Even more remarkably, this process awakens in people a powerful and authentic presence that radiates from them. However, this…
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Stage fright is fear of feeling in front of others. It is the fear of revealing that you are human and that you have human emotions that are not always positive. It is fear of being seen for who you truly are. Becoming the center of attention also triggers feelings of shame – shame…
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Storytelling is the way to capture attention, engage listeners, free your self-expression, persuade listeners and make your ideas stick. I believe that storytelling is the most valuable presentation skill you can learn. My friend Doug Stevenson is a master at teaching storytelling for business purposes. Doug has written a definitive article on how to…
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When you do become the center of attention, there is only one thing to do: try to exit the situation by leaving your body. If you can’t get out of the situation by avoiding the event, then you try to avoid the sensations felt inside. The way to avoid the sensations is to leave…
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The secret to healing stage fright is to focus attention into your fear, into the sensations of tension inside your body. Once you do that, you will find that the experience is not as bad as you expected. Inside yourself, you can relax into the tension and discover a new, safe ground within your…
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