5 Ways to Beat Zoom Performance Anxiety (ZPA)

Eleni KelakosExecutive leadership coaching, Peak Performance, presentation skills training, public speaking training, speech coaching

As a presentation skills coach and trainer, I’ve spent almost twenty years helping clients manage presentation performance anxiety.  But it’s only been since Covid-19 reared it’s extremely ugly head that I’ve needed to help my clients manage what I’m calling  Zoom Performance Anxiety, or ZPA (and oh, how I wish I could have found a way to make ZAP work instead of ZPA)!  Several presentation coaching and executive presence leadership coaching clients, both new and old, have confessed to a surprising and off-putting fear of speaking while using online platforms like Zoom.  They typically experience Zoom Performance Anxiety when they …

Paint Your Speaker Vision in Living Color

Eleni Kelakospresentation skills training, public speaking training, speech coaching

Imagine going to an archery range that had no targets. You’d be standing around with your bow and arrow, scratching your head and wondering “Uh, where do I point this thing?” Or you might be firing off arrows willy-nilly in all manner of directions, which isn’t exactly productive. Without a target, you have nothing to aim at. That’s the reasoning behind writing and using a Speaker Vision.  By vision I mean a clear, specific, and compelling picture of how you want to see yourself as a speaker at a specific point in time in the future (e.g. six months or …

To Boost Public Speaking Confidence, Take Time to Take a Bow

Eleni KelakosExecutive leadership coaching, Peak Performance, presentation skills training, public speaking training, speech coaching, Women in Leadership

Claudia had spent weeks working with me to prepare a high-level presentation for a prestigious conference that would showcase her considerable expertise.  The effort she’d put into developing and internalizing the presentation was almost as mighty as the effort she’d put into managing the anxiety she’d had about giving it.   I was confident that she was ready, and that her performance would make us both proud. On the day Claudia gave her presentation, she shot me a brief text:  “Went great! More when I see you next week.”  Claudia’s brief text sounded triumphant. Which was why I was so taken …

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5 ways to Rock the Podium During Conference Season

eleni-adminExecutive leadership coaching, presentation skills training, public speaking training, speech coaching

5 Ways to Rock the Podium. During Conference Season When Spring comes rolling around, I always expect a rash of calls from folks who are slated to deliver presentations at the regional and national conferences that proliferate at this time of year. Some people come to me with a high degree of preparation. Others, well… let’s just say they do what most people tend to do: Wait until the absolute last minute and throw something together in a panic. As a presence and presentation expert who specializes in helping people create and finesse high-level keynotes or breakouts, I’ve heard all …

Make the Most of Your Microphone

eleni-adminPeak Performance, presentation skills training, public speaking training, speech coaching

The first time I stepped up to a microphone, I was eleven years old. I had bravely signed up to sing a song called Froggy Went a Courtin’ all by myself in the talent show at summer camp. The microphone loomed like a leggy, silver bug, and as I stepped up to it I felt very, very small–until I sang my first note into its shiny face. I couldn’t have been more surprised–or more thrilled–at how very, very big my voice sounded as it bounded out of the loudspeakers. Ever since, I’ve had a deep respect and appreciation for microphones. …