Play the Part

From the moment a professional stands behind a podium or at the head of a conference table you sense that speaker’s authority, passion, knowledge, confidence – or lack thereof. Immediately, you create a narrative, a story. It’s not a story about shape or size, gender or height. It’s about how that speaker lives in his body and occupies his role – how powerfully he can Play The Part.

Actors master techniques that enable them to move audiences. For you the workplace is your stage and the competition can be fierce. How can you learn the skills needed to connect with clients, colleagues, and managers with clarity and composure? How can you master communication excellence and embody the story you want to convey?

PLAY THE PART introduces professionals of all levels – from aspiring managers to CEOs – to the body as an instrument. Delving into the concept of embodiment, the book explores such things as how pace, posture, gestures, walks, and facial expression impact not only your emotions but those of your audience. Offering over one-hundred easy and playful exercises, you will discover how making the slightest physical adjustments can profoundly impact your leadership presence.

• We all know our emotions impact our bodies, but do you know that by just changing your body you can impact your emotions?
• Thoughts become manifest. Are your thoughts as habitual as your hand gestures, and are they serving you now?
• As the world becomes increasing virtual how do we connect across time zones and cultures?
• Why is the design of a presentation as important as its overall content?
• Why leadership presence is a skill not a mystery, and how to get it.

Endorsements

“I can honestly say that this book changed my life. After reading Play the Part, by Gina Barnett, I have a newfound awareness of and appreciation for my body—what it’s capable of, the energy and power it’s holding, how it has helped me cope with negative past experiences, and how I have unintentionally been silencing, and therefore limiting, it… ” [Read more »]

Ladybug, Amazon Reviewer

“In my field of design and innovation, it’s the human connections that build momentum for great ideas. Gina Barnett teaches us how to bring our full selves into every conversation, from connecting to our family and friends to telling one’s most personal story at TED.”

David Kelly, Founder, chairman, and managing partner of the design firm IDEO and a professor at Stanford University

“Gina is an incredible coach who’ll increase your impact when presenting whether in an executive setting or any professional interactions. She has more than 30 years of practical experience. This book will give you the opportunity to experience Gina’s talent. She cannot be everywhere and touch everyone so I strongly suggest you read her book!”

Greg Behar, CEO, Nestle Science and Health

“Gina is a maestro of public speaking! She helped me prepare for my TED talk, and I am forever grateful to her for giving me the technical and emotional training I needed to take the stage.”

Susan Cain, Author of bestselling book “Quiet.”

“Gina taught me how to connect to the power of my truth and convey it through storytelling. When I step on stage to share my message, the intimacy and courage I feel is all because of Gina, her generosity, her knowledge. Play the Part is rare gift for anyone with a message to convey.”

Geena Rocero, LGBT Activist, Model

“Play the Part is an essential guide for anyone who is interested in elevating their communication style to achieve maximum effectiveness. It teaches how crucial every part of your body is to your communication effectiveness, and all the ways that your intended message can unconsciously be hampered. Play the Part armed me with career propelling tools that helped me become more self aware AND, more importantly, bodily aware. I now feel that I can not only be heard but seen as authentically and powerfully as I hope to be. “

Lucinda Martinez, SVP Multichannel Marketing, HBO

Corporate coach Gina Barnett shares some helpful speaking tips: