About Ellie Smith
I teach professional women how to regulate their body so they can speak, lead and communicate with grounded authority under pressure.
Leadership communication starts in the nervous system. But when our voices shake and our legs tremble, rarely are we told that the nervous system is the place to look.
Instead, we’re told to practice more, tweak our scripts so they’re perfect, project our voices until we’re told we sound too aggressive, and (my personal favourite) – to power pose like we’re Superman.
And when none of that works? We blame ourselves. We do more of the same and wonder why it isn’t sticking. We put it down to just not being “good enough” and tell ourselves we’re just not cut out for this.
THE WORK
I’ve been teaching communication and public speaking for years. Alongside that, I’ve also taught breath-led, beginner-friendly yoga. What became clear to me very quickly was this:
Many highly capable men and women struggle with public speaking anxiety. They are knowledgeable. They are experienced. They know exactly what they’re talking about.
But when they stand up to present, lead a meeting or speak under pressure, something shifts. The women I work with aren’t struggling because they lack ability. Far from it. They’re phenomenal people.
They’re struggling because their nervous systems are overloaded.
They hold their breath when they’re stressed. Their shoulders lift under pressure. Their voice changes. It doesn’t sound like them when attention is on them. Their body reacts before their mind has time to intervene. I get it. I’ve been there. Sometimes, this still happens for me.
These symptoms, among others, show up in meetings. In interviews. When presenting at conferences. On stage giving keynote speeches. Pitching to clients. In leadership conversations. And no amount of mindset work overrides a dysregulated nervous system.
Watching one of my incredibly intelligent students, one day, struggle with all this during his class presentation, I felt so incredibly broken-hearted for him. It was on that day, which you can read about here, the origins of the Steady Speaker Method began to emerge,
It was the moment I understood that my two areas of expertise – yoga and communication – were never separate.
They were designed to work together.
THE STEADY SPEAKER METHOD
The Steady Speaker Method combines:
- Nervous system awareness
- Breath-led regulation
- Applied leadership communication training
Instead of focusing on confidence or content alone, we train regulation. Because when your nervous system feels steady, your voice becomes clearer, the words come more easily to you. You sound more like yourself.
And when your voice becomes steadier, when your legs stop trembling, when your palms remain sweat-free – that’s exactly when your leadership becomes stronger. That’s when people lean in to listen.
MY BACKGROUND
My work is rooted in:
• Years of teaching beginner-friendly yoga
• Breath-led training
• Nervous system education
• Embodied communication practice
I specialize in translating physiological regulation into real-world communication. No performance tricks. No quick hacks. No motivational hype.
Trainable, repeatable skills that last.
BUT WAIT…YOGA?
I was in my mid-twenties when someone recommended it to me as a tool for weight management. I tried it, hated it, and felt incredibly sore the next day. As a result, I ended up tossing the CD (remember those?) that included two 90-minute advanced practices onto my bookshelf never to be played again.
I lost balance with every Warrior Pose, I moved through sun salutations with the grace of a startled groundhog, and my body released a deep-seated rage every time Chair Pose came around. Eventually, I slumped into self-pitying puddle of despair on the carpet.
People often ask how I got started with yoga, and how to stick with it.
You can find more of my thoughts on how to stick with it here.
I was in my mid-twenties when someone recommended it to me as a tool for weight management. I tried it, hated it, and felt incredibly sore the next day. As a result, I ended up tossing the CD (remember those?) that included two 90-minute advanced practices onto my bookshelf never to be played again.
I then subscribed to a fitness program which subsequently had me jumping around my living room feeling like a total wally.
I lost balance with every lunge, I star-jumped with the grace of a startled groundhog, and my body released a deep-seated rage every time I held weights (or water bottles in my case) over my head for what seemed like unnecessary lengths of time. Eventually, I slumped into self-pitying puddle of despair on the carpet.
Yogas Citta Vrtti Nirodaha
Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1.2
But all was not lost.
Searching YouTube in desperation, an intriguing video with about 1000 views popped up.
The teacher had an amazing smile, provided numerous modifications, and laughed every time she wobbled out of a pose, reminding us that this was normal. I laughed with her and wobbled out of every pose. She told us to come back the following Monday for a new video. It was still challenging, I still felt like a ground hog, and there was still frustration present – but this time, I knew this was OK.
It gets better with practice.
And that was it. I was hooked. Yoga began to work its magic and now I am certified to teach Hatha, Yin, and Trauma-informed yoga. So, if you saw the word “yoga” and immediately thought “NOPE! Not for me” – I am living, breathing proof that it is for EVERYBODY.
And you never have to don skin-tight leggings or even step on a yoga mat for it to help you improve your public speaking presence. Though, I can’t promise that eventually you might feel the call to do just that. Yoga can be like that!
But all was not lost.
This program also had some online yoga classes. Firstly, the classes didn’t involve any jumping and there were no weights to be held over anyone’s head.
Secondly, though I didn’t understand a word of what the teacher said, I felt a sense of accomplishment. The seed was planted.
But, these classes were way too advanced for me. I huffed and puffed my way toward one injury after another. That sense of liberation everyone was banging on about had evaded me entirely, it seemed.
Searching YouTube in desperation, an intriguing video with about 1000 views popped up.
The teacher had an amazing smile, provided numerous modifications, and laughed every time she wobbled out of a pose, reminding us that this was normal. I laughed with her and wobbled out of every pose. She told us to come back the following Monday for a new video. It was still challenging, I still felt like a wally, and there was still frustration present – but this time, I knew this was OK.
It gets better with practice.
And that was it. I was hooked. Yoga began to work its magic and now I am certified to teach Hatha, Yin, and Trauma-informed yoga.
That magic, for me, takes the shape of more self-confidence, better breathing, a deeper connection with my body, but moreover an unshakable trust in myself, in that part of me that cannot be reached, let alone damaged, by anyone else.
WHO I WORK WITH
Well, that brings me to you.
I work with professional women who:
• Lead teams
• Deliver pitches or presentations
• Run businesses
• Step onto stages or in front of interview panels
• Or simply want to stop shrinking in rooms they know they’ve earned the right to be in
Some start with yoga foundations. Others come directly for speaking support. Both build from the same core principle: Regulation first. Expression second.
In addition to working with individuals, I deliver communication training rooted in nervous system regulation for teams and organizations.
So, now what?
Well, that brings me to you.
I have seen and experienced how yoga can be really confusing and overwhelming. I have been put off yoga numerous times, and I have seen the same happen to others. And if you’re one of them, I get it. Yoga classes can sometimes leave you feeling defeated.
I am committed to helping people like you get started on your yoga journey so that you can reap its benefits without feeling too frustrated or lost along the way.
I believe that in order for yoga to really work for you, you must set strong and steady foundations firmly in place.
Without that, you’re on the road to confusion, disappointment, frustration, and perhaps even injury. This is where I come in. I have been through all these things too many times and yet been gently guided onto a better path.
It is necessary to build strong and steady foundations for a safe and sustainable practice that helps you move forward in yoga with clarity and confidence.
And yes, there needs to be that much alliteration for that concept to stick.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Leadership communication isn’t about being louder. It’s not about talking over people or dominating the room. It’s about being steady.
When you regulate your nervous system, you think more clearly, speak more deliberately, recover more quickly from the effects of pressure, stop avoiding opportunities, and lead without forcing artificial confidence.
That shift changes more than just the presentations you give. It changes how you show up everywhere.
A FINAL WORD:
Your body’s response is not the obstacle to confident communication. It’s the gateway.
It has always been responding intelligently. We just haven’t been taught how to work with it.
When you learn to work with your body instead of against it, your leadership becomes steadier, clearer and more powerful.