Articles

Cultivating the Safe Space Within
I can trace the roots of my extreme stress around public speaking--which I didn't solve until I was nearly 50--to growing up in a family that did not provide a safe space to be myself out loud. This started early when my parents followed child rearing advice at the...

Luminous Listening: Oxygen for the Psyche
When I started treating people with stage fright 25 years ago I didn't set out to teach the finely-calibrated vibration of receptivity that turns out to be the kryptonite to public speaking anxiety. Back then there was little subtlety in my own listening. But I soon...

Relational Presence Improves Speaker Ease Through Healing Attachment
Summary -- Speaking Circles® are well-known for both attenuating stage fright and fostering speaker-audience rapport, both of which allow for authentic, effective communication. During a Speaking Circle, the speaker receives unconditional positive regard from their...

Speaker Confidence and Audience Trust: The Oxytocin of Relational Presence
Summary -- The Speaking Circle® approach to public speaking is famous for curing stage fright, as well as creating a feeling in the audience of speaker trustworthiness. Founder Lee Glickstein developed the method intuitively back in the 1980s as he worked to overcome...

The Effect of Eye Contact on Speaker Confidence and Audience Rapport
Summary -- Speaking Circles® are famous for curing stage fright, as well as developing speakers who can share their message powerfully and without a script. Founder Lee Glickstein developed the method intuitively back in the 1980s as he worked to overcome the...

Stage Fright Cured: Why Effortless Soft-Focus Attention Works
Summary -- Speaking Circles® are famous for curing stage fright, as well as developing speakers who can share their message without a script. Founder Lee Glickstein developed the method intuitively back in the 1980s as he worked to overcome the performance anxiety he...

The Synergy of Passion and Presence
Recently I provided a public speaking class for a program within Terra Linda High School focused on "developing socially responsible, ecologically literate, and economically aware leaders for the next generation." The experience proved to be a turning point in my own...

Luminous Listening: The art of shedding light with your presence
Luminous listening is the alchemical core of Relational Presence that is the key to authentic compelling public speaking. The practice of approaching "public speaking" as a function of listening more than of speaking has dissolved the performance anxiety of thousands...