Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking with Coach Lisa Wentz

Does a root canal scare you less than public speaking? If so, you’re not alone. While any number of books, Web sites, and other resources claim to offer help, few deliver. That’s why today's special guest, Lisa Wentz, wrote Grace Under Pressure: A Master Class in Public Speaking. 

Lisa Wentz has spent the past decade dedicating her life to helping professional and amateur public speakers overcome blocks, develop their voices and craft their delivery. Her background includes extensive study in psychology and ten years of professional acting training and live performance.

It’s this comprehensive training that allows Wentz to address the full spectrum of issues that drive the fear of public speaking in a way that few others can. Her program not only gives readers the training to sound (and look) better, but the tools to address what lies at the root of the fear that keeps them from speaking with confidence. For Wentz, that means cultivating your singular voice so that you become “fearlessly authentic.”

Wentz has helped even the most anxious speakers take to the stage with grace and poise. The founder of the San Francisco Voice Center, her background is unique even among the top public speaking experts. Wentz is the only professional in California and one of few in the U.S. to hold both a degree in the Alexander Technique—the premier teaching model for all modern voice work—and a master’s degree in Voice and Speech Studies. She earned the latter at the world-renowned Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She also has a degree in psychology and ten years of professional acting training and live performance behind her, including studying with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts Shakespeare program in London.