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Zen Wisdom and Confident Speaking

by Doreen Downing | Apr 12, 2021 | Authentic Speaking, Confident public speaking, Fear of Speaking, Fearless Public Speaking, Find Your Voice Blog, Inspiration to speak in public, Leadership and Public Speaking, Mindfulness and speaking, Personal Relationships and Speaking, Presence and public speaking, Public Speaking Anxiety, Public Speaking at Work, Public Speaking Coaching, Public Speaking Tips, Self Talk, Speaking to Groups, Storytelling

Story of Zen Master The following Zen wisdom and confident speaking story, a favorite of mine, points to what I believe are the 3 secrets to confident speaking. A student came to Master Ichu and said, “Please write for me something of great wisdom.” Master Ichu picked...

How My Book on Speaking Got Its Title

by Doreen Downing | Apr 6, 2021 | 7 Steps to Fearless Speaking, Essential Speaking Book, Fear of Speaking, Public Speaking Tips

My book on speaking, Essential Speaking: The 7-Step Guide to Finding Your Real Voice grew out of a class I had been teaching in San Francisco. In early 2000, I opened the catalog of courses offered at the Learning Annex where I was a teacher, and my eye caught the...

Can You Say “No”?

by Doreen Downing | Mar 29, 2021 | Fear of Speaking, Fearless Public Speaking, Find Your Voice Blog, Inspiration to speak in public, Mindfulness and speaking, Personal Relationships and Speaking, Public Speaking Anxiety, Public Speaking Coaching, Public Speaking Tips, Self Talk

I want to share a note I received from one of my clients who participated in my 12-week Online Coaching program.

A Note of Encouragement…

by Doreen Downing | Mar 22, 2021 | Authentic Speaking, Confident public speaking, Essential Speaking, Fear of Speaking, Fearless Public Speaking, Mindfulness and speaking, Public Speaking Anxiety, Public Speaking Tips

...If You Dread Speaking In Public I wrote this a while back in a bout of inspiration. Or maybe it was exasperation. It’s unedited, but I wanted to share it with you anyway. If you dread speaking in public... remember this: You aren’t going to dieYou aren’t going to...

It Went BETTER Than He Could Have Imagined

by Doreen Downing | Mar 15, 2021 | Authentic Speaking, Confident public speaking, Essential Speaking, Fear of Speaking, Fearless Public Speaking, Inspiration to speak in public, Leadership and Public Speaking, Mindfulness and speaking, Personal Relationships and Speaking, Presence and public speaking, Public Speaking Anxiety, Public Speaking at Work, Public Speaking Coaching, Public Speaking Tips, Speaking to Groups

A client I worked with shared the good news about his success speaking at a conference (pre-pandemic). If you have struggled with speaking anxiety, read my client’s story below to see what is possible when it comes to dealing with extreme anxiety. I bet you will find...

Do you have this damaging habit?

by Doreen Downing | Feb 22, 2021 | Confident public speaking, Essential Speaking, Events & Programs, Find Your Voice Blog, Public Speaking Anxiety

The Habit of Not The other day I was reading a book by poet, Mark Nepo, called The Book of Awakening. There was a unique idea that I really liked… and I knew I wanted to share it with you as soon as I read it. It adds light and insight into why you might hold...

From Terror to Complete Confidence

by Doreen Downing | Feb 3, 2021 | Essential Speaking, Fear of Speaking, Find Your Voice Blog, Public Speaking Anxiety, Public Speaking Coaching

Together you and I can uncover what might have happened in the past that still causes you to avoid the public eye.

Why I Couldn’t Face My Fear Until I Was 40

by Doreen Downing | Jan 18, 2021 | Uncategorized

Fear at 40 Why did I wait until I was 40 to face my fear of speaking? I can name reasons, but here’s the truth… I was afraid to face my fear. Even though I had my Phd. in Psychology and was helping people with their fears I was able to avoid my own inner terror. I...

My future hung on my answer, and I froze

by Doreen Downing | Dec 21, 2020 | Authentic Speaking, Essential Speaking, Fear of Speaking, Find Your Voice Blog, Public Speaking Anxiety, Public Speaking Coaching, Public Speaking Tips

One Question and One Answer My professional future as a psychologist hung on my answer to a question, and I froze. I was sitting at a table in front of six examiners. For over an hour they had been asking me questions to determine if they would grant me...

“I don’t know why I’m so afraid”

by Doreen Downing | Nov 23, 2020 | Authentic Speaking, Confident public speaking, Essential Speaking, Events & Programs, Fear of Speaking, Fearless Public Speaking, Find Your Voice Blog, Inspiration to speak in public, Leadership and Public Speaking, Mindfulness and speaking, Personal Relationships and Speaking, Presence and public speaking, Public Speaking Anxiety, Public Speaking Coaching, Public Speaking Tips, Self Talk, Speaking to Groups

Recently, someone emailed me for advice on how to handle his fear of public speaking. I thought I’d share my response to him with you because it contains valuable tips on how you can handle your fear of speaking. Here is the response I wrote to him: The very first...