Blog - presence and presentation mastery by Eleni Kelakos

Company Growth

To Be A Better Leader, Be A Better Speaker

Ashok, a mid-level manager and new presence and presentation coaching client, shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “The problem,” he said, “is that in order to be promoted at my company, I need to be able to speak confidently in front of larger and larger groups. But even though I keep being offered opportunities to do it, I turn them down because I’m just so uncomfortable speaking in public. Last week, my boss suggested I give a presentation at a conference that’s coming up, to gain some visibility and credibility. But I found a way to squirm out of it, like

December 21, 2024 No Comments

Exciting Presentations

For Presentation Mastery, Sharpen The Saw

When I was cast in a production of Claire Booth Luce’s play The Women at the San Diego Repertory Theater, I learned a lesson that has stuck with me ever since. Our cast of about 20 incredible women was guided by the visionary director Anne Bogart. Over the month-long rehearsal period, we fine-tuned every movement and choice to bring the script to life in alignment with Anne’s creative vision. By opening night, our performances were consistent and solid. But as often happens in life and on stage, things started to shift once the guiding force—Anne—left to direct another play in

December 13, 2024 No Comments

Audience Connection

Create Your Last Lecture

Ron had a remarkable story. After buying and selling several successful businesses, he transitioned into consulting, eager to share the lessons he’d learned. However, his desire to create a signature keynote presentation left him stuck. “I can’t seem to pin down a specific topic,” Ron admitted during our first meeting. To help him break free, I asked a simple but profound question:“If you could only speak publicly one more time in your life, who would you want to speak to, and what’s the message you’d want to relay?” Without hesitation, Ron replied, “I’d want to speak to visionary business owners

December 6, 2024 No Comments

Interview Coaching

Job Interviews: Make a Positive First Impression

First Impressions Matter: Lessons from Two Job Seekers Making a strong first impression is critical, especially when you’re aiming for a leadership role. Let me introduce you to “Carl” and “Sandra,” two job seekers who taught me a lot about the power of presence and preparation. Carl: A Missed Opportunity Carl, a mid-level tech manager, reached out to me for help navigating job interviews. His frustration was clear: “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” he wrote. “I’ve been trying for over a year to move on to a position of higher leadership, and I have great qualifications. But I

November 15, 2024 No Comments

Audience Connection

5 Practices for Presence & Presentation Mastery

When it comes to presentations, how skilled are you at giving them? How activated and consistent is your Charismatic Presence, the magnetic life-force that draws people into you? No matter where you are in your journey as a speaker or communicator, you’re never truly “done.” There’s always room for improvement, and peak performers know that mastery is a lifelong pursuit. They understand the importance of stepping into discomfort again and again to grow beyond their current skill set. Think Like An Actor And Move Towards Mastery Adopting an actor’s mindset can be invaluable for your journey toward mastering presence and

October 25, 2024 No Comments

Audience Connection

Giving an Introduction? Get it Right!

Have you ever found yourself tasked with introducing a speaker or dignitary before they step onto the stage to deliver a speech or receive an award? The pressure to “get it right” in these situations can be overwhelming when all eyes are on you. It is especially nerve-wracking when you are faced with names or phrases that are difficult to pronounce—something many of us can relate to. Take Vice President Kamala Harris, for example. Despite her nieces demonstrating how to pronounce her name during the Democratic National Convention—“Kama” like “comma” and “La” like “La La La”—mispronunciations still occur. It’s a

October 11, 2024 No Comments

Audience Connection

Kick Off Your Presentations With a Bang!

The Importance of a Strong Opening In a business pitch workshop I recently conducted, I observed a common challenge faced by many presenters: capturing the audience’s attention right from the start. David, one of the participants, struggled with this while presenting his product—a clever device that prevents electrical cords from tangling. Despite its simplicity and potential value, David’s delivery fell flat. His lengthy introduction and lack of focus lost the audience’s interest almost immediately. I decided to step in. “David,” I said, “there’s a way to make your point simply, quickly, and compellingly. Let me demonstrate.” I grabbed a tangled

September 27, 2024 No Comments

Public Speaking

The Art of Saying No

Have you ever found yourself agreeing to a favor or request when you really wanted to say no? Maybe it’s accepting an invitation for coffee with an acquaintance you don’t particularly get along with, volunteering to chaperone a school outing when you’d rather not, or taking on an additional project that will overload your already heavy workload. I know I have! Many of us struggle with this dilemma, often saying yes to things that don’t align with our true feelings or even our capacity. Award-winning professor and researcher Vanessa Patrick sheds light on why this happens in her insightful book,

September 13, 2024 No Comments

Audience Connection

Presentation Tip: Managing The Moment Before

Recently, I had the opportunity to watch Sing Sing, a film that tells the inspiring story of inmates at the famed Sing Sing prison who participated in a transformative program called Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA). This powerful film, enacted predominantly by actual RTA participants, centers around a character named Divine G, played by the incredible Colman Domingo. Divine G is an inmate wrongfully convicted of a crime, but he discovers a renewed sense of purpose through his involvement in a theater group alongside other incarcerated men. The film’s portrayal of how the essential elements of acting—trusting oneself and others,

August 30, 2024 No Comments