Essential Elements: Essence Appreciation
Essence Appreciation is a simple expression of an appreciated essential quality of a person provided as positive feedback. In Speaking Circles, listeners are encouraged to provide Essence Appreciation at the end of a speaker’s turn. Essence Appreciation is the...
Essential Elements: Breathing
Breathing in the context of Speaking Circles practice refers to the act of consciously paying attention to one’s breath and of deliberately taking full breaths at various points during an act of public speaking, expression, or silent receptivity. In Speaking Circles,...
Essential Elements: Eye Gaze
Eye Gaze in the specific context of Speaking Circles practice refers to a state of being in soft-focused eye contact with one’s listeners in a way that is personal enough to be human but relaxed enough to be “beyond the level of individual personality.” Prolonged Eye...
Essential Elements: Relational Presence
Relational Presence is the state of experiencing connection with one’s audience without agenda, or even a need for words, in any given moment. It is a foundation for powerful connected communication, where speaker and audience feel as if they are participating in a...
What to Expect at Your First Speaking Circle®
Speaking Circles are the result of my lifelong journey from severe stage fright to absolute ease and joy whenever I stand before a group. A Speaking Circle consists of up to 10 people, often ranging from newcomers with some performance anxiety – or a lot – to...
Speaking Circles®
Learn how to move through stage fright rather than trying to mask it by sharing who you really are.