Presence is a palpable sense of being all here – physically, mentally, and emotionally. It gives you a masterful command of yourself and it commands the attention of others. Presence is spiritual in nature. It is the embodiment of spirit. Through simple mental and physical practices, you can develop this power. Actors develop presence [...]

  This week I chanced upon a new book about transforming stage fright.  It is called Performing in the Zone by Jon Gorrie.  Jon has written a blog post to tell a story about a man in a Dallas church who was asked to speak by his minister to the very large congregation.  The man [...]

For more information please contact:   Sandra Zimmer The Self-Expression Center  281-293-7070 Main  281-389-4224  Mobile    Founder of Houston’s Self-Expression Center publishes “It’s Your Time to Shine”     While millions of Americans are willing to ham it up on YouTube and share intimate details via social media, the fear of public speaking remains the nation’s [...]

  Human emotional energy either contracts or expands.  When your energy is contracting, you feel negative emotions such as fear and anxiety, anger and sadness.  But when your energy is expanding, you feel positive emotions like excitement, joy, love and power. In this article, I’ll focus on anxiety vs. excitement. Anxiety is the contraction state [...]

  I heard this on the radio today, “Great Leadership begins with the ability to level with people.” That’s another way of saying we must be transparent to be effective as leaders. I just heard Obama criticized for going to Cairo to “apologize” for American behavior. It might just be that he was being transparent [...]

There is something about public speaking, expressing oneself in groups, presenting or performing that triggers many people’s desire to look perfect.  It seems we just can’t give ourselves permission to be imperfect and…. well, human.  When we don’t feel safe to be genuinely who we are in front of others, we tense up the body [...]

Many speakers allow their listeners to ask them questions, but not many ask questions of the audience.  Ellen Finklestein of ellenfinklestein.com writes an excellent article about asking questions of your audience.  I will let you read her article for yourself. At the end of her article she says it is important to plan your questions carefully.  [...]

Learning to speak in front of groups is similar to the caterpillar’s process.  The high intensity of energy that gets stirred inside your body when you become the center of attention requires a meltdown.  You have to melt into the feelings of physical tension and emotional overwhelm that get stirred up inside.  The lovely thing [...]

This week, Andrew Dlugan’s Six Minutes Blog on Public Speaking and Presentation Skills published my guest article “9 Steps to Conquer Nerves and Communicate Clearly in Interviews.”  This article is only published on Six Minutes.  You can read the entire article.  Thanks Andrew for the opportunity to share!

To empower your talks, identify a universal message that you own through experience.   A universal message will energize your presentations with passion for what you are saying.  A contributing factor to stage fright and fear of speaking is the fact that people often leave out their most deeply held beliefs and values from their presentations.  [...]