How to speak up at a town meeting

Have you ever spoken at a town meeting? Half of our town showed up for our annual meeting last night. The big issue: Whether or not to approve the paving of a woodland path that would extend the hard surface bikeway that goes from our town into Boston. I usually...

Being Comfortable Isn’t Playing It Safe

I’m bewildered by comments I hear explaining why getting rid of speaking fear could be a bad thing. While I appreciate the effort to normalize the fear of speaking, some of these ideas don’t make sense to me at all. For instance, I read a comment by a speaking...

Be the Speaker Nobody Tunes Out

You and I both know how difficult it can be to listen to a speaker who has one dynamic in their speaking style. —The person who’s constantly at 11, with a loud voice and big gestures, who makes you feel like you’re being screamed at. —The upspeak speaker, ending every...

How to Keep from Running Out of Breath when you Speak

Why do I run out of breath when I speak? Has it ever happened to you, running out of breath when you speak? If there’s one thing you need any time you’re speaking, it’s your breath. But it’s incredibly common for speakers to run out of breath mid-sentence! It’s...

4 Steps to Gaining Visibility (So You Can Change the World)

We live in exciting times. Huge opportunities and challenges seem to come up every day, and we each have so much expertise, wisdom, talent, and help to contribute. But we can rise to the moment only if we are able to share our messages, experiences, and offerings. In...