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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The following Article was written by Josh Popichak and published in the June Issue of Steve Harrison’s Book Marketing Update. It is offered here by permission of the author. Have you ever had a nightmare about having to make a speech, or found yourself panicked about speaking to a group in real life? If so,…
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Many thanks to Kathy Reiffenstein who writes the popular Professionally Speaking Blog on Creating Confident, Persuasive Speakers! Kathy wrote a superb review of my book, It’s Your Time to Shine: How to Overcome Fear of Public Speaking, Develop Authentic Presence and Speak from Your Heart. For many valuable ideas on public speaking, visit…
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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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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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Begin to imagine your stage fright as emotional energy or passion that is not flowing freely through your body, and then you can learn to channel that pent-up passion into a genuine connection with your listeners. That may sound impossible, but it is what you can learn through The Zimmer Method. Every symptom of…
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