Emily Zacharias
Enjoy
your opportunity to speak
learn to listen
and connect
Classes
In a series of classes, students begin to inhabit a new way of speaking. They explore the influence that active listening has on their speaking. Exercises that mimic impromptu, extemporaneous, and formal speaking allow students to learn by doing. This experiential learning changes reflexes, and students lose the burden of performance. Enjoying the speaking becomes possible. Getting there is fun.
Coaching
We will work with your own text while simulating your speaking conditions. Attuning your ear to the spoken word rather than written language, tapping into your signature best self, and learning to score your text for better clarity—these are just some of the approaches that will help you enjoy your opportunity to speak.
About me
I’ve been a professional actor and singer on the New York stage since 1980. My performance coaching began over a dozen years ago while I was a Teaching Artist in the Narrative Medicine program at St. Barnabas Medical Center. I developed this approach to public speaking based on my own experience.
The idea came when I was introducing the film maker Michael Moore at an event in the NY area. He was 35 minutes late, and I was nervous in the wings listening to the rustling audience. In one clarifying moment, I realized that my job was to calm and assure the audience of his certain, albeit very late, arrival. It wasn’t about me; it was about them. I became aware of losing my anxiety as I was taking care of theirs. I felt liberated and eager to connect. That pivot from passive player to active engagement is at the heart of Enjoy Speaking.
Recommendations
“In just a few sessions, Emily led me from being a nervous, rather subdued speaker to being a presenter with fervor, humor and interactive energy. She is an amazing teacher; her own energy is artful and lively, and her positive energy is infectious. I actually enjoy my presentations now!”
Tricia Tunstall, Ph.D, 2013 ASCAP Award for outstanding music book of the year, and international speaker on El Sistema Programs
“Emily’s class markedly increased my comfort with speaking and presentation. She begins with a philosophy that totally dismantles the idea that public speaking is something to be feared. As a seasoned actor, she models confidence and comfort with the spoken word. Each class made me feel more confident that the last.”
MaryPat Porinchak, Clinical Nurse at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
“In addition to taking Emily’s class, I have coached with Emily on specific speeches. Both have proved very helpful in improving my skills and comfort. Emily is insightful and supportive with constructive comments and interesting techniques.”
Eve Michel, Vice President of Development and Chief Architect Metropolitan Transit Association Capital Construction Group
“Emily’s help was transformative. In one coaching session, she changed me from a nervous and self-conscious reader of my memoir into a person who thoroughly inhabited the story I was sharing with the audience. To my astonishment, I found that I enjoyed every moment of it. In another session, Emily helped me, for the first time in my life, to truly connect with an audience in a powerful way.”
Dr. Jan Jacobson, therapist and author
“I was concerned about holding the attention of my audience during a 90-minute online lecture. Emily gave me the tools to make my presentation a success. By helping me understand the difference between the written and spoken word, I cultivated an approach which helped my listeners synthesize my message, while allowing me to enjoy delivering it.”
Eli Goldstein, AIA, PP, LEED AP, Managing Partner, The Goldstein Partnership