Meryl Streep just modeled how to use a speech platform as a bully pulpit. Watch her use her acceptance speech for a life time achievement award to speak truth to power. What a beautiful way to lead her community and us as a nation to unity. She embodies gravitas.
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No one knows how Abraham Lincoln sounded. But history has it that his voice was high-pitched and nasal. While it was not pleasant to listen to, his sound was able to cut through the noise of large crowds. It has been said that his voice floated over the crowds which would have made him an…
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I had an experience yesterday that humbled me and made me let go of some old thoughts about my past. As a result, I can no longer kid myself about having not made it as a professional actress. Three of the most successful actors who went to school with me at the University of Houston…
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I have been dreaming about teaching acting for some reason. I taught acting for about 30 years and thought I had had my fill of it. But last week, in a dream, I seemed to be auditioning to teach acting. Strange! Some rather arrogant acting teachers were complaining how hard it is to train beginning actors.…
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Presence happens when you are so deeply relaxed into yourself and accepting of yourself that you feel free to be genuine. The secret to presence is to be fully grounded in your body so that you have a full-body sense of awareness. When you are grounded and present, you experience sensation and awareness in every…
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I studied acting for many years. I thought acting would help me become somebody. I think it did. Much of what I have become and been able to accomplish is due to my acting training and experience. The one thing I learned from acting is how to become something new. To become means to be…
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I found a wonderful blogpost by Kathy Reiffenstein at Professionally Speaking Blog that I simply must share with you! Kathy draws some valuable lessons on speaking from the Broadway production of A Little Night Music. So much of my skill as a speaker and speaking teacher comes from my training as an actress. So it…
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I just saw Meryl Streep accept the Golden Globe Award for best Actress in a Comedy Feature Film. She said she is very clear that she is just the vessel for other’s stories and other women’s lives. But don’t we all know that she has opened herself to be a channel to allow full…
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My webmaster Kenan Branam happens to be a thought leader about the internet and the future of humanity. He is always trying to make sense of the world and how we humans live in it. This cold drizzly Houston morning in December we chatted about a new program I am creating called Your Life…
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