How to Wear Your Invisible Crown: Boost Your Confidence and Command the Room

Eleni KelakosConfidence Building, Leadership, Professional Development, Public Speaking

How to boost confidence and presence! When I was fifteen, I was cast as Queen Aggravain—the scheming, overbearing, and gloriously dramatic mother of Prince Dauntless—in my high school’s production of Once Upon a Mattress. It was my first time playing royalty. I was thrilled, intimidated, and completely unsure how to be a queen. But my director, Ora Lichtenstein, had other plans. “By the time I’m done with you,” she declared in her commanding South African accent, “you will walk, sit, stand, gesture, and speak like royalty!” Turning Into a Queen Our first rehearsal began with Ora handing me a book.“Imagine …

Public Speaking Training in the Age of AI: Why It Still Matters

Eleni KelakosAI, Charismatic Presence, Communication Skills, Leadership, Presentation Skills, Presentation Tips, Public Presence, Public Speaking

Is public speaking training even necessary anymore? “You know what I’ve been hearing a lot lately?” Eleni, now that AI can help people write presentations, is public speaking training even necessary anymore? My short answer? Absolutely. AI Can Give You Words—But Not Presence AI is brilliant at spitting out words. But words alone don’t win hearts, spark action, or make someone leave thinking, “That talk changed me.” That kind of impact comes from presence—from you showing up genuine, grounded, and human. Your voice. Your quirks. Your energy. Your humanity. Or, as I like to say, your yumminess. Training Isn’t About …

Maximize Your Physical Presence: Why How You Stand Changes Everything

Eleni KelakosBody Language, Confident Speakers, Executive Presence, Leadership, Professional Speakers, Professional Tips, Public Presence, Public Speaking Tips

Maximize Your Physical Presence: I was taking a walk a few days ago when a neighbor stopped me with a compliment that made my day: “I was just thinking about you—actually, I was trying to stand like you do! Your posture is always so good!” Her comment brought me back to a packed NYC dance studio years ago, where I first learned a life-changing lesson about posture, space, and confidence. When You Shrink, So Does Your Impact Back in my 20s, while training to become a professional actor, I squeezed my six-foot frame into a dance class crowded with leotard-clad …

Charismatic Presence and a Hunt For Morels

Eleni KelakosCharismatic Presence, Confident Speakers, Leadership, Personal Growth, Public Speaking, Speaking, Storytelling

Charismatic Presence: A few nights ago, my friend Carrie Hensel sent a short text that instantly rearranged my plans: “I did a story about Morel mushroom hunting on CBS Detroit. It comes out tonight at 6pm. Come to Fraser’s Pub to watch it with me and some other pals.” When Carrie texts, people show up. And that’s exactly what a dozen of us did—gathered around a pub TV, drinks in hand, to watch her TV feature. But we weren’t just there for mushrooms. We were there because Carrie has that rare, magnetic quality I call Charismatic Presence. In fact, Charismatic …

Boost Engagement in Virtual Presentations

Eleni KelakosAudience Connection, Audience Engagement, Communication, Communication Skills, Leadership, Public Speaking, Remote Work, Virtual Presentations, Zoom Meetings

How to Get Your Zoom Audience to Turn On Their Cameras. Virtual presentation engagement tips. Have you ever delivered a virtual training, webinar, or talk and been met with… silence and blank screens? It’s disheartening. You log on, bring your energy, and instead of smiling faces, you’re greeted by a wall of muted, camera-off rectangles. It feels like speaking into a void. This lack of visibility is common in presentation-style webinars, where large audiences naturally default to hiding. But when it happens in smaller, interactive Zoom meetings or workshops, it’s not only awkward—it can be downright painful for presenters who …

The Power of Genuine Human Connection | Presence & Compassion in Action

Eleni KelakosCommunication Skills, Emotional Intelligence, Empathy, Human Connection, Leadership, Personal Growth, Public Presence, Public Speaking

Genuine human connection… I knew something was wrong the moment she crumpled into the plastic airport lounge chair across from me. Her eyes were red and swollen. A crumpled tissue trembled in her hand. But the real giveaway was the crisply folded American flag in a clear plastic case that rested on her lap like a sacred relic. Every now and then, she’d hug it like it was alive. Without knowing the full story, I could feel it: deep, aching grief. I told myself to give her space. Let her be. Don’t interfere. But then, she ended a phone call …

Listen and Really Hear

Eleni KelakosLeadership, Leadership Listening Skills, Listen to Learn, Listening Skills, Professional Tips

I rushed into a restaurant, flustered and overwhelmed, caught in the whirlwind of a hectic day, week, and month. As I approached the host stand, I quickly mentioned that I was meeting a friend for lunch. The host glanced at his seating chart and replied, “We haven’t seated any parties of one. It looks like you’re the first to arrive; why don’t I have your waitress show you to a table?” Without processing his words, I instinctively responded, “I’ll go look for my friend,” and bolted into the dining room, scanning for her familiar face. But after a quick look …

Harness The Pre-Performance Power of Music

Eleni KelakosLeadership, Peak Performance, Performance Techniques, Power of Music, Speaking

Have you ever heard a song that instantly transported you back to a specific time, place, and feeling? That happened to me the other day while listening to a classic rock station in my car. Suddenly, Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” blasted through the speakers: “Hey hey mama, said the way you move, gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove…” In an instant, I was no longer behind the wheel—I was a twelve-year-old kid again, gleefully slamming wooden spoons like drumsticks onto chair cushions in my childhood home. The years between then and now simply vanished. Music has that kind …

Like Peas & Carrots, Speaking & Leading Go Together

Eleni KelakosCoaching, Communication, High Level, Leadership, Speaking

One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is, “Do high-level leaders really need to be great speakers?” As a presence, presentation, and performance coach with over two decades of experience working with senior executives, my answer is a resounding, “Yes!” Like peas and carrots, speaking and leading go hand in hand. If you want to lead your team at the highest level, you must bring an equally high level of poise, presence, and performance to your communications. That said, the better question might be: “Are high-level leaders always great speakers?” My answer? “No.” The Reality of Leadership and Communication …