Public Speaking Book Offers Helpful Philosophy of Life

Be Seen Now, Inspiring Insights into Being a Fearless Speaker by Lee Glickstein; Preocity Press; (c) 2024; ISBN 9798990-946064; 310 pages; $24.95.

By Shayna Kaufmann, Ph.D.

SAN DIEGO — Be Seen Now by Lee Glickstein presents as a guide to becoming a “fearless speaker” but what it offers is something much deeper. Rather than focusing on polish or performance, Glickstein’s approach is rooted in mindful, authentic presence. He reminds us that connecting with others has less to do with what we say, and more to do with how we are as we say it.

I originally picked up the book hoping to find a few practical speaking tips to support my growing professional speaking. But what I found instead was something that felt both familiar and profound. With decades of Zen practice behind me, the essence of Glickstein’s message—showing up with presence—felt like coming home. Only this time, applied to the stage.

This isn’t your typical public speaking manual. Yes, it’s about speaking with confidence, but the heart of it is what Glickstein calls Relational Presence: being fully with another human being while you speak. This concept, the foundation of his Speaking Circles work, emphasizes how we are when we communicate and the sense of safety and belonging we create for others. And honestly, I couldn’t agree more—there’s nothing more powerful than real, human connection.

Relational Presence invites us to drop the performance and just be—to breathe, to pause, to make eye contact from a place of stillness. To speak with someone, not at them. In that space, the pressure to get it “right” softens, and we’re left with something far more generous: being seen exactly as we are.

That alone is medicine. But the book also offers small, thoughtful tips that I found surprisingly useful. Phrases like “Let go of your face” (stop forcing or holding expression) and the reframe of anxiety as excitement are easy to remember and genuinely helpful.

I also appreciated that he spoke to how Relational Presence can work on Zoom, as many of us work and speak from virtual spaces. His suggestions for cultivating presence through a screen felt incredibly relevant. As someone who leads a weekly women’s meditation group on Zoom, I know how powerful it is when we show up with softness and authenticity—even across a digital divide.

The book is filled with wonderful quotes from some of my personally favorite teachers of wisdom: Thich Nhat Hanh, Eckhart Tolle, Parker Palmer, Hermann Hesse, Martin Buber, Victor Frankl and more, as well as from his Speaking Circles participants. Though some were redundant, the quotes were still a wonderful part of the book.

Even though the book is aimed at people looking to overcome public speaking anxiety, its teachings go far beyond the stage. It’s really about how we show up in any interaction. Whether we’re speaking to a room, a partner, or a friend, the invitation is the same: to bring our full presence and speak from the inside out. That’s something I teach in my own work with midlife women—and something I try to live myself.

If I had one critique, it’s that the book sometimes reads a little like an extended ad for Speaking Circles. The stories and testimonials are moving, but they occasionally felt a bit repetitive. Still, if one of Glickstein’s goals was to inspire readers to explore Speaking Circles, it worked—I found myself curious, and honestly, a little tempted.

Ultimately, Be Seen Now is a heartfelt, soulful read. Glickstein writes with humility and warmth. He doesn’t present himself as an expert with all the answers, but as someone who’s walked through the fire of speaking anxiety and found something deeply human on the other side.

This book reminded me that we don’t need to be polished or perfect to connect. We just need to be here, be present, in order to be seen.

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Shayna Kaufmann, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, is an author, blogger, and freelance writer based in San Diego.