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…
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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…
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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…
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Driving in my car, listening to the radio, I chanced upon a radio show “Here’s the Thing” with Alec Baldwin interviewing Jerry Seinfeld. I have not been a Jerry Seinfeld fan, but oh my I am now! Alec has a gift for drawing out the depth from people. His conversation with Jerry revealed the integrity of expression…
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Once in a while, I have the pleasure of working with someone who is giving a speech at a wedding. If any speech should come from the heart, it would be a wedding toast. Last week a delightful man, I’ll call him Daniel, came for help with giving the speech of his life at his…
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“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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Ron Finley says, “Food is the problem and food is the solution.” He planted food forests all over LA as an act of guerilla activism. Food is his art. Food is a tool for transformation. Food is defiant. Watch his TED Talk: Ron proves that you don’t have to be a perfect speaker to be…
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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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A standing ovation is a spontaneous emotional response from an audience that is moved deeply by a speaker or performer. The only way to earn a standing ovation is to get naked! I don’t mean take off all your clothes, I mean take off all protection and pretense, and be emotional. When a presenter is…
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On August 29, 2012 The Houston Chronical reprinted a Chicago Tribune article on shyness in people who are single and breaking the bashful barrier. The article states that behind shyness is extreme self-consciousness. Shy people constantly worry that others are judging them, and they blame themselves for negative outcomes, so they choose to not do…
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