Overcoming Your Fear of Public Speaking

“Lynn was the first person to illuminate for me the idea of training the voice to be a powerful and versatile instrument of character.” — Academy Award nominee Edward Norton

Performance anxiety arises from fear of being seen and being heard in situations that feel critical. This course, in a deeply supportive atmosphere, offers bodywork exercises that enables one to retrain those responses, get deeply grounded in your nervous system, and relax and breathe under the most difficult of situations.

Bodywork reveals the energy in the muscles of the body and voice that have habitually shut down as a protection response to anxiety. Allowing the breath to move in, allows words to move out, to be spoken, with greater clarity and strength. This “grounding” of your nervous system grants you access to a fuller expression of your voice and yourself in your most difficult situations. And “grounding” gives you the freedom to reclaim “you” and show up in any circumstances.

At first, you will be using simple sound and movement exercises, laying the foundation for more advanced ones. Gradually you will move from sitting to standing and moving, including improvisation which helps reveal authenticity. Continuing to build the power of your voice, we will explore the clarity and beauty of words and mastery of language and especially the elements of poetry.

Your voice holds hidden gifts, passions, and power. We will investigate these gifts, bringing them to your bodywork as you learn to create a greater connection to yourself and your world. As you progress, all the ease and confidence in situations, from personal to professional, can become available to you, including the most difficult confrontations, interviews, board meetings, and discussions. You will hold the power of self and voice, richness, and beauty.