About Me
Hi, I'm Berit - Difficult Conversation Maven, Public Speaking Coach, and body language + emotional intelligence trainer. Let's face it - no matter how we try to ignore them...emotions ARE everywhere!
This is why I train entrepreneurs & super-driven professionals with situational anxiety to get into the driver's seat of their emotions, speak freely without freaking out, and feel prepared to make the next bold move, one difficult conversation & presentation at a time.
As a young child, whenever I was disobedient or did something reckless, my late grandmother would say to me “YOU'RE BOLD!” I didn’t know exactly what that word meant, but I remember knowing in my heart and feeling in my body that this was a very bad thing.
My grandmother was sweet and one of my favorite people, yet messages about how we "should behave” are passed down generationally to men and to women - just as this one was to her. While today I feel proud rather than ashamed of being bold, these messages can inform our every move.
Sometimes, we need some training to unlearn them and that I what led me to create Emotive Agility Training as I was training to become an athlete of my own emotions.
Berit Elizabeth
Break Free from Anxiety &
Become an Athelete of Your Emotions
One Difficult Conversation at a Time.
Hello, world!
If you've ever been labelled "too emotional,"
or, in certain situations you feel like you have no voice,
or, you shut down when you’re speaking in front of others, even though you've got incredible ideas to share -
it’s likely Emotive Agility Training can help you, but maybe not in the way you would imagine.
To clarify, this is is NOT a manifesto on how you need to make an internal shift to be more brave, courageous or change your mindset to make bold decisions.
What I WILL train you to do is to stop suffering in those critical moments when you’re in the middle of making a bold move and you need to perform at your best.
Bold Moves Include:
Interviews
Performance Reviews
Investor Pitches
Setting Boundaries
Asking for More Money
Giving a Ted Talk
Break-up Conversations
Necessary Confrontations
You know those moments when IN SPITE OF HAVING MADE THE DECISION in your MIND to make a bold move....
your voice cracks, your face gets hot, you shake, your sweat glands betray you
and your body conveys your anxiety instead of your inner truth?
Believe me, I've been there and these are the moves that we tend to dread (or avoid) but when they go well,
it makes the difference in your career or relationship.
With Emotive Agility Training, you'll gain a new set of tools to match your external bold moves to your internal motives so you can trust yourself to show up with authenticity and confidence. When we work together, you'll be training your body + your physical responses during challenging situations, just like an athlete trains for game day by running drills.
To discuss what it would look like for YOU to start training today to become an Athlete of Your Emotions click below and find a time to connect.
My Story
My personal philosophy (and the science of body language) goes like this: When the body physically makes bold moves, the heart and the mind follow.
My earliest inspiration comes from psycho-phyisical approach to theater by a true innovator of actor training, the late director, Jerzy Grotowski. I’ve travelled multiple continents to research and work with those who studied under him, including Richard Schechner, who created the acting technique, rasaboxes, which inspired my Emotive Agility framework. You can read more my experiences in said boxes here.
Having personally grown up with a bad case of “Eager to Please” and a recurring case of “Not Good Enough," I learned first hand how much our emotional expressions impact our confidence when I chronically lost my voice. After having vocal surgery I discovered by accident my power to shift my emotions from the outside in. More on that story here.
I’ve been peeling away layers of conditioning my whole life while seeking the courage to speak my own truth. In 2017 gave a Tedx Talk about the most terrifying conversation of my life and how I used Emotive Agility to prepare for that conversation. You find more about that here.
I could care less about lie detection when it comes to reading body language. I became a certified body language trainer to be able to guide my clients to move in ways that feel congruent with who they are.
While running my own personal training company throughout grad school I realized that we have muscle patterns for anxiety and we can retrain emotional patterns that no longer serve us, just as we recondition physical habits that cause us pain.
My Manifesto
With over 10 years of experience in sales, fitness, education and finance, I've trained hundreds of entrepreneurs and professionals to access their emotional intelligence and put it into action so they can perform well during difficult conversations and presentations. Clients include sales and customer service teams at start up companies, early childhood educators and health care administrators, MBA students, and staff at colleges such as Williams College and the Wharton School of Business.
It’s not "fake it until you make it."
It’s shape it until you become it.
Being bold is not only about feeling powerful and confident; It’s about being free to FEEL and EXPRESS all of your emotions: the anger, the love, the grief, the joy, the disgust, and surprise that each contribute to the next move in your life. Once you can fully express your emotions you gain the power to recognize them and manage their intensity.
No matter what road you decide to take, your body is your vehicle. If you're ready to be bold, now's the time to drive.
For continuous tips on how to use body language strategies, emotional intelligence and theater exercises to become an Athlete of Your Emotions - find me on social below.
More About Me
Degrees & Certifications:
Masters of Arts in Psychology + Performance Studies - New York University
Bachelor of Humanities and Arts in Social Psychology + Theatrical Directing - Carnegie Mellon University
Emotional Intelligence Assessment - Certified in The Mayer Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test
Personal Fitness Trainer - Certified by National Association of Strength & Conditioning
Body Language Trainer - Certified by The Science of People
What's Your Next Bold Move?
Click below to discuss how you can start training today to become an Athlete of Your Emotions.
