Centre Stage

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

How the world's best actors communicate with gravitas - and how you can, too.

Every time you deliver a speech, give a presentation, or simply tell a good story, you are taking centre stage. Here, one of the world’s leading voice coaches introduces the simple exercises that great actors use to hold people’s attention – and reveals how anyone speaking in public can use them.

Drawing on 25 years working at London’s National Theatre, Jeannette Nelson explains:

  • How to warm up your voice and body before a big speech.
  • How focusing on your breathing can improve your clarity and pace.
  • How to divide a script into individual ‘thoughts’ so it flows more naturally.
  • How to adapt your delivery to suit any environment, be it a 1,000-seater auditorium or an intimate Zoom meeting.

Along the way, she recounts stories from leading actors that pull back the curtain on how they learnt to own the room, and how you can too. If all the world’s a stage, this book will turn you into its lead actor.


'The theatre stars' voice guru' Daily Mail

©2024 Jeannette Nelson (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

I owe Jeannette a huge debt of thanks. She was recommended as the best in the business, and has worked with me for years on my one-man shows. Her knowledge is astonishing and her approach so gentle and effective.
Derren Brown
Jeannette makes the world of voice production endlessly fascinating and endlessly fun. It’s not just her encyclopaedic knowledge of the mechanics – it’s the clarity with which she expresses her ideas and the simplicity and ease with which she gets results. There is no one better.
Rory Kinnear
Jeannette taught me so much . . . By the time I came to perform I felt I had enormous flexibility in my voice and could persuade anyone to do anything!
Sophie Okonedo
I have been lucky enough to work with Jeannette Nelson – and have felt hugely enabled as an actor by her precise insight into the infinite challenge of communicating a text on stage.
Ralph Fiennes
Jeannette Nelson’s revelatory relationship to language is, quite simply, life-changing . . . Her meticulous, empowering approach is irresistible and inspiring.
Simon Godwin
Jeannette Nelson is, for me, the foremost practitioner in her field. Her ability to nurture and empower through truth, rigour, intelligence and wit is one of the great unsung bedrocks of our world-leading theatre. This insightful and overdue book is an illumination of her unique craft.
Rufus Norris, Artistic Director, National Theatre
Jeannette has been a huge influence on my directing practice. The opportunity to witness her practice, wisdom and humanity in the rehearsal room as a young director was both inspiring and mind-expanding . . . For Jeannette to share her experiences and industry-wide respected intellect more widely is a true gift for us all.
Indhu Rubasingham, Artistic Director Designate, National Theatre

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