Not everyone reacts the same and there is no universal fix. Don’t try to use all these fixes at once. Pick out items from this list and try them out until you find the right combination for you. Visualization strategies that can be used anytime Concentrate on how good you are at public speaking. Pretend...

How often do you step back and re-examine your goals, your passion, your methodoly, your marketing, WITH NEW EYES? I know I do it on a continual basis, daily and yet I also realize that I NEED NEW TOOLS AND IDEAS to more thoroughly examine what needs to be updated, changed or thrown out and re-evluated. Here...

I found this information extremely useful.  It has made a difference in my approach to reaching the clients who want me and will pay for my services.  (the following has been edited for this blog) Identifying Your Ideal Client Profile By Nancy Michaels Not everyone is an ideal client. Stop accepting...

Features and benefits are being bandied about.  And as important as they are, they need to be constantly in front of the consumer to do work their magic.  It is said that a buyer needs seven times to have a product in front of them before they buy.  How do you make sure there are repeat peformances...

SPEAKING COACHES HELP ENTREPRENEURS GET THEIR MESSAGE ACROSS - BUSINESS - INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE  By Hillary Chura Published: Thursday, January 11, 2007 NEW YORK — Whether to appear more confident, better organized or to stop the “ums,” entrepreneurs are realizing good voice and...

How about  a change of perspective?  My Acting Coach would say you need to get their attention, shock them and change their perspective. And although this clip doesn’t shock, I found it reminded me that I’m playing it safe and moved me to remember that in America we avoid the big emotions. ...

I am always questioning how connected am I with my purpose to make a difference in the world through my art and my desire to make money is.  How concerned am I with making sure the right questions are in bold letters across the human sky? It is a constant questioning, a constant struggle, a daily...

How foolish are you?  How successfull do you want to be in communicating your passion? I have been seeing a large number public speaking clients lately and if there is one salient feature amongst all of them, it is the inability to embrace foolishness. The fear of  looking foolish has a great number...

It is not the critic that counts.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marked by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm and great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause,...

Breath From our first breath to our last,  breathing is an instrinsic part of that each and every part of our lives.  The breath is both instinctive and expressive, it is a vital part of our physical functioning as a human being, but it is also an essential part of our emotive capacity to express...

TONGUE TWISTERS FOR ACTORS (and Speakers) Good speech is an essential part of being a good actor.  Exercising your mouth with difficult tongue twisters keeps your mouth fit for purpose. Here are TEN new tongue twisters to work on at home.  Do each tongue twister EIGHT times, getting quicker with each...

Just what it says above.  A fellow blogger inspired me to merge his observations with my work.  As an acting coach, in every class I make sure every person gets up and works, sometimes with one other, sometimes by themselves, sometimes with the whole class, but always in front of an audience, always...

Here’s an assignment I give to some of my actors. Choose a large department store (preferrable Nordstroms) and faint in the men’s or women’s clothing department (the opposite of your sex). It’s easy – you just slowly fold your body down to the ground. The purpose – because you’re...

What is the purpose of art?  BIG discussion and many different beliefs are out there.  Here’s mine.  Art must  contribute to making a real difference in the world.  Mia Farrow is fasting for 21 days starting Monday April 27th.  I think of this as performance art.  It is time we all became...

How do you prepare yourself to tell the world about your gift as an artist, as an entrepreneur?   As an Acting Coach and Public Speaking Coach I deal with artists and presenters of all sorts who want to effectively communicate their gift.  What is your gift?  Can you put it in a sentence?  Are you...

I wrote my first blog post and sent it off to Lisa to read. A few minutes later my phone rang and Lisa said: “Barbara, you’re amazing, tell your story instead!” I realized what I had written was very little about myself. She wanted me to share my story with all of you.  How could...