A commonly held misconception about executive presence is that it is all about dressing for the part. While appearances are important, your presence is more comprehensive than merely the clothes that you wear. Most people won’t be convinced about your leadership until you demonstrate the ability to communicate in a sophisticated and distinguished manner. Executive […]

Executive presence is at play when a person walks into a board room, a staff meeting, or a negotiations session and the room goes quiet. This quiet reception is a sign of respect which is the demonstration of high regard for an individual due to his or her personal qualities and achievements. Executive presence earns […]

Developing executive presence is much like being an actor working to develop a character. The process is basically the same. You must step into the skin of a leader and embody the physical, mental and emotional characteristics so that you behave as an executive. As Constantine Stanislavski, the father of modern acting technique often said, […]

Dorothea Stuart, a communication coach and consultant from UK, is curating a great new public speaking Paper.Li called Speaking Confidently. Dorothea is including articles, blog posts and videos centered around public speaking. Her contributors include the biggest names in the public speaking world like Garr Reynolds at Presentation Zen, Nancy Duarte, Tom Antion, Tony Robbins, […]

Having a gentle confrontation communication skill allows us to feel a sense of power to influence other’s behaviors. This week I share a very valuable confrontation communication skill learned from my personal trainer JV. During my training, two young men were using a body bar too close to the mirrored wall.  JV stopped them without hesitation.  Masterfully, […]

I have been coaching non-native speakers of English to improve their pronunciation for almost four decades.  I was trained by Arthur Lessac in the Lessac Method of Voice and Diction.  Thanks to Arthur’s fine training and method, I can quickly and easily identify the sounds of English that non-native speakers need to learn.  It’s also […]

Learning to pronounce consonant sounds is vital to mastering clear, crisp, intelligible speech. This translates into meaningful spoken communication that is easily understood. Pronouncing consonant sounds clearly makes every word you articulate more precise. This in turn makes your overall message more readily understood by your audience, whether it is a small group or large […]

There is no fast and easy way to reduce or modify an accent. If you are going to learn to reduce your accent, it is going to take considerable time and effort to practice. OK, now I have said it! I don’t mean to discourage you, but I do mean to help you be realistic […]

People from all over the world come to the US because of the freedoms and opportunities we enjoy in our country. Freedom of speech is among our most cherished and valuable rights which draw ambitious and educated people to our nation. Houston, Texas is truly a melting pot for professionals especially in the oil and […]

In terms of public speaking, developing greater authenticity is an important key to unlocking stage fright and fear of public speaking. To transform stage fright and fear of public speaking, you must learn to be comfortable being who you are in front of other people. In public speaking, the tension associated with stage fright comes from […]