Some times I love to hear just the voice, the simplest voice, tell a story. No embellishment so that my mind can create castles out of words. Sometimes I love a voice to play characters. Lynn Redgrave reading Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart is extraordinary. And on stage, when I can see the whole person, I love to see the story—not acted out, exactly, but “shown.” Miranda Hope told her story at our Charlottesville TEDx Open Mic and we asked her. ..Read on

In moments of pure delight, our bodies know what to do. Notice the absolute freedom of movement in this photo by Telma Terra.

In this series about freeing us from habits that might cloud our presence, we talked last week about habits of gesture: hands and arms. This week, we look at habits in our bodies—how we stand. We’ll get to how we use the space and move, next week.

The most common habits of the body involve swaying back and forth or to and fro on our feet. Other habits include…Read on.

Look at this photo of Deborah Lawrence about to start her TEDx Talk. She is, what we call in the movement technique, Nia, “RAW:” Relaxed, Alert, Waiting. She is free from this place to speak as her full self.

In order to get to this place of RAW, I help people strip away the habits and anxieties that cloud our presence. By “habit” I mean, any behavior that has a constant cadence, feels stuck in a repetitive, rhythmic pattern, is restrictive. The most exciting communication is fresh, jagged, unexpected, alive. Habits tend to appear or amplify when we feel the spot-light upon us. Habits might show up in gestures, how we hold ourselves and move, and how we use our voice. In the next few weeks, we will delve into each of these areas and play with a few ...Read on.

Do communicators really need to warm up their bodies and voices? Along with breathing, warming up is a place where I feel my clients question my methods. I understand! First, we look and sound really silly. So that’s not normal in an office. Second, nobody else does it, right? And we give talks, lead meetings, have Zoom calls all day long. Without warming up! So why do it?

When we communicate using our bodies, we do it better when our bodies are warmed up. Full stop. Think of an athlete. Would any athlete ever consider running onto the pitch, field, or court without warming up? Would any musician, ever, anywhere, not warm up? Would a singer, dancer, or actor step onto the stage or into the recording studio without warming up? Absolutely not. Why? Because their bodies are the vessels they depend upon to do their activity. And if that body is not ready, warm, practiced, present, there is no way that person can perform well. And guess what, your body is the vessel for your communication. Your posture, your breathe, your voice, your expression, all shift when you warm up. You become more alive, more present, more calm, your voice will be more resonant. Your presence will be more captivating. You will have more impact.

Why wouldn’t we give ourselves that advantage?

Read on for a link to a 3 minute video with a warmup you can do anywhere—in your car, at your desk, in a bathroom stall, anywhere.