Let Your Mind Breathe
A few days ago I heard a radio ad for a cable TV service that trumpeted peace of mind as the promise. “And isn’t it all about peace of mind?” were the closing words. In the next two days I heard “peace of mind” twice more, in ads for a...
Attune Your Instrument
I just saw “Whiplash,” the 2014 movie that won a Best Actor Oscar for J.K. Simmons as an abusive jazz music teacher. Beyond the unremitting cruelty, I was struck by the precision of the minute adjustments required by professional musicians to keep their...
The Pleasure of Being Seen
In previous columns I’ve cited brain research that sheds light on the transformational impact of the Relational Presence practice we do at Speaking Circles, an approach that may be considered the lazy person’s guide to dissolving stage fright with groups...
Let Go of Your Face
These words came to me a few weeks ago while observing a newcomer in one of my classes struggling up front to cope with extreme self-consciousness while maintaining a strained smile. When I asked if she was willing to take some coaching she nodded “yes”...
Demystifying the Speaker/Audience Connection
Educator Janet Surrey wrote: “To be in connection with another human being a person needs to see and be seen by the other.” So what does it really mean to “see” the other? In Speaking Circles we do this through practicing a warmly attuned gaze...
Speaking Circles®
Learn how to move through stage fright rather than trying to mask it by sharing who you really are.