Back when I was a jazz singer, trumpeter Stan Shafran gave me some priceless advice. He said, “You’ll rarely feel perfect, physically, on a gig. So the trick is to sing your best with the body you’ve got at that moment, not with the perfect body you wish you had.” My Fractured Foot “Made Me” Read More
Fear of Public Speaking
Public Speaking Tip 17: Savor Your Speech, Giving Every Moment Its Due
We’ve all experienced the fight, flight or freeze response. It’s an automatic (and autonomic!) reaction to perceived danger that can flood our systems with adrenaline for fighting, send us running for the hills, or make us freeze up and stop breathing. It’s obvious that not breathing could make it difficult to deliver a presentation; but the flight part of this reaction can also Read More
Public Speaking Tip 10: For Public Speaking Phobia, Get Help
First, the good news: It’s not true that most people fear public speaking more than death. (Two University of Nebraska communications professors recently confirmed through their research that public speaking is a common fear, not the worst fear.) The bad news is that plenty of people do suffer when it comes to public speaking. Charles diCagno — Director of Public Speaking Center Read More
Public Speaking Tip 9: Embrace the Public Speaking Stress
My mom (shown below in 2006 with eight of her nine grandchildren) used to say that the most important thing about any problem was how you coped with it. As the survivor of a cerebral aneurysm, a three-month coma, uterine cancer, two strokes, and early widowhood, Mom knew what she was talking about. But it turns Read More
For Great Public Speaking: Let the Tears Come
Twice this week, I’ve “made” my clients cry. One man was recalling his childhood struggle to speak out. A female client was trying to talk about cancer. They were both primed to cry, and at the moment when they might have pulled back, I urged them forward, into tears. I hate feeling vulnerable, and hate Read More