Connect with Brian LaFontaine→ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brian-lafontaine→ Instagram: instagram.com/blafontaineymhs→ Website: brianlafontaine.comIn this episode, actor turned public speaking coach Brian LaFontaine shares the truth about confidence, presence, and dropping the exhausting need to perform.We talk about transitioning careers after 30 years in acting, how to bring the real you on stage, and what happens when fear, ego, and identity get tangled up in your work.What this episode is about→ How to shift careers after a long season of identity dressing→ Bringing the offstage version of yourself onstage→ Why audiences connect to authenticity more than perfection→ How to help clients who are terrified of visibility→ Releasing the pressure to be the smartest person in the room→ Coaching people who never practice between sessions→ How rejection builds resilience and trust in your craft→ Learning to speak in a way that people can actually hear→ Why trying to sound like everyone else kills your impact→ Using your strengths to build your business from the ground upWho this helps→ Coaches working with clients who struggle to show up as themselves→ Anyone building a speaking or communications based businessKey takeaways→ Your audience wants you, not the polished performance version of you.→ You cannot fake presence.→ Confidence comes from talking about what you already know.→ Speaking is personal work, not just professional work.→ Silence is not danger, silence is power.→ People buy from energy, not scripts.→ You cannot coach someone who refuses to practice outside the session.→ Rejection is not a stop sign, it is training.→ If you want to stand out, stop blending in.→ Your first strength is the one you should build your business on.Quotables→ “Be unapologetically you.”→ “Don’t change who you are the moment you start talking.”→ “You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room.”→ “Most people are terrified to let themselves be seen.”→ “Blending in is for makeup, not for speaking.”Practical tools and frameworks→ Start with what you know to build your speaking confidence→ Practice being the same person onstage and offstage→ Let clients rehearse imperfectly so they can find their real voice→ Ask clients where they feel most confident and build from that→ Use simple, human language in place of rigid corporate scriptingBooks mentioned→ Superfudge by Judy Blume→ The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay StanierHosted by Jordan Ring→ I’m Jordan, ghostwriter, book coach, and developmental editor.→ Let’s turn your coaching insights into a book that builds trust and grows your business.→ Connect with me at jmring.com#Coaching #PublicSpeaking #Authenticity #Leadership #Communication #Coachability #StagePresence #Confidence #PersonalGrowth