“I Want To Start A Movement To Create A Connection WITH Your Audience” With Nikól Peterman of ZenRedNYC
The movement would be to create a connection WITH your audience. Place your attention on what you SHARE with them. If everyone came to their audience with the intention to CONNECT, this would create a ripple effect that would change so much. Not only would the performers, speakers, and professionals feel better doing it, but their audience would love receiving it! I call this Powerful Presence, and it could radically change how we deal with conflict, differences, and communication.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Nikól Peterman of ZenRedNYC, Global Empowerment Coach for Creatives.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I had a 20 year career as a professional musical theater performer and choreographer. While I had great success including national tours, commercials, and even kicking eye high as a NYC Rockette, I found I hit a ceiling. I was really struggling with constantly comparing myself to others, wanting to be perfect, and feeling like no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t stand out enough to be where I wanted to be. I felt I couldn’t compete. I was basing my worth over whether I booked a show or not, and it took quite a toll on me.
And then in 2013, my life burned to the ground. In one year’s time, I went through a devastating divorce, was robbed twice, lost a dear friend to a heart attack, and was in in two car accidents. I began to question who I was at the most basic level, and for the first time in my life, I asked for help.
And it came. I began to share my vulnerability and all that had been trapped inside me, and something magical happened….I had always thought you only show so much, that’s it’s more important to have it “all together”, and I thought if I shared these deeper parts of me I would be rejected. I was SO wrong! Not only did it bring people closer, but I watched it open up a special and magical space that allowed others to do the same.
In this time, I found Zen, and finally had tools to deal with my mind. I now had tools to take me from disconnection to flow and ease. It was radical. And it was transforming my performance and how I showed up.
In 2014, I had this feeling of possibility and was afraid it would all dissipate. I was 38 and figuring out for the first time what it meant to create my own life. I had met my ex at 18.
So, I hired a coach, and she got me back in touch with my childhood love, writing. ZenRedNYC was actually born out of a blog! So, I’m writing this blog and meanwhile, I have a complete resurgence in my performance career. Suddenly directors and choreographers are coming TO me, people who had never noticed me before. But what was most magical was how I FELT….in my performance, I felt fearless, I felt like I could make mistakes, and if I didn’t book a job or callback, it didn’t destroy me anymore. This was a complete change from before the divorce.
And I thought….this wasn’t taught to me in my BFA in musical theatre, or by any of my other teachers. This was new.
So, my coach says, “you need to monetize the blog”, and through an exploratory process with her, I decided I wanted to do what she was doing, but I wanted to teach about this magical space between you and your audience. I wanted to teach about how to be fearless in your performance and create a powerful connection with your audience that allows you to feel amazing, confident, and thriving in your unique voice.
So, I became a fully certified ICF coach, and opened the doors to ZenRedNYC in 2015, and now I help creative professionals across the globe to receive the acclaim they desire and create fearlessly.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your company?
I’ve had the absolute joy of interviewing some real icons in the past four years for my large online events. One of the biggest highlights was interviewing Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday friend Tim Storey. A world renowned motivational speaker, he shared with me a picture of him as a child on a pony. In this photo, he was young, carefree, and so happy on that pony. Tim shared that following our interview he was going to be boarding a plane to Ghana to speak to 30,000 people. It felt overwhelming, but coming back to this photo of his childhood glee, was helping him to ground not only in his message, but why he was flying to Ghana in the first place.
I really saw in that moment that we all struggle with the same fears, regardless of our audience size and regardless of how many times we have been on stage. Tim gave me his full attention on that interview and I realized how placing my attention on what we shared, melted away any feelings of comparison. I shared with him a picture of me in my sequined tutu as a five year old, and all we saw in that moment was human to human. It was deeply inspiring! And a real moment of recognizing how much I love to interview.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Starting my own company was a real test of my former belief of “I’m not tech savvy”. I had a LOT to learn, and actually found I wasn’t as special with the computer as I thought:) However, I did have some moments! I was getting ready for a webinar, and had everything all set to go…I was really excited to teach the material, and decided to take a short nap before the start. Except I didn’t set an alarm…I woke up in an absolute panic 15 minutes AFTER the webinar was supposed to start! I frantically log on, and was so flustered, I logged in three times, and was echoing like crazy. Somehow I pushed through the whole thing, and watched people get off the call one by one. I called my accountability buddy in absolute embarrassment and horror after and they said, “just do a mea culpa to your audience. They will love you for it.” So, I sent out an email the next day with the subject line, “I slept through my own webinar”. The response was incredible. SO many emailed back, and laughed with me, sharing their own stories of embarrassment. I did a live encore, and made it into a joke. Lesson learned? Share your mistakes! It’s human, and humor is a glorious bond that brings us closer together.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I really don’t know anyone else doing what I’m doing the WAY I am doing it. What makes ZenRedNYC stand out is the 20 years of professional experience on stages across the world coupled with Zen tools.
I’m really approaching performance from a place of relationship building. There are so many misconceptions about what performance actually is, and it’s usually from people that don’t have the real professional background to support it.
I am constantly meeting people that speak about my presence, about my energy, and this is what I teach my clients. Too often we get stuck in thinking we have to have power OVER our audience, or they have power OVER us….but, the key is actually to build a relationship WITH them. There’s a lot of dysfunction in how people show up to their audience, whether they are seeking approval, or have deeply narcissistic tendencies. I’m blowing this apart to really debunk the myths, simplify the process, and offer real tools that work in real time.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
I was just teaching about this to my Fearless Academy clients, which is a special program to help professional artists to live their calling, build their following and create fearlessly.
This is so much about energy. Who are you surrounding yourself with? Are they truly collaborating and partnering with you? Or are they sucking the life out of your projects and work, and expecting you to do all the work? I really help my clients with techniques to lay healthy boundaries and then tools on how to call in and work with incredible collaborators who inspire and energize them.
We can so easily waste so much energy on situations that the best answer is to disengage and walk away. By tapping into their own power, they can clearly identify who is willing to partner and who is not.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
So true! I always say, “we are stronger together”. I would not be where I am without all the amazing teachers, coaches, and mentors who have held out their hand and held me while I healed and began to build a whole new life.
I really have to bow in gratitude to my first life coach, Julie. She connected me back to writing, which I had loved so much as a child, but had put in the closet as an adult. I would write poetry for family and friends as gifts, but really didn’t possess the courage to do more, so I placed all my attention on my acting, singing and dancing. Growing up, my mother always said to me, “you should write a book”….in 2013, I went on a yoga retreat in Guatemala to heal and find some peace in the midst of so much turmoil. I had just been robbed, and was devastated from the divorce. I had a one to one with a Mayan shaman, and he said to me, “you will write a book on healing”. This went through me, and I knew he was right.
Beginning to write my blog in 2014 was getting back in touch with the child who loved the paper and pencil, creating stories, and sharing these. The seed was placed with my mother, came alive with the shaman, and then bloomed into a flower with my coach. I never pictured myself as an entrepreneur, and yet when I realized I wanted to be a coach, it all made so much sense. My first coach had such an impact on my life, I wanted to pass this on to others who were doubting their own voices.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
In Zen, we have the Bodhisattva Vow, which is essentially a vow to liberate all sentient beings. When I launched my practice, I made a vow to use my life to help others to relate to each other. I think Art has a very profound place in our society. It can create massive change, allowing the audience to access their emotions in a way nothing else does. When an audience access their emotions and realizes they are not alone, then we can overcome differences and build harmony. Imagine a world where what we create actually brings us closer together, instead of tearing us apart…..so I use my glbal platform to teach HOW to create this space. We actually have far more in common than differences.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
In 2013, my Zen teacher said to me, “you are in the same room you were always in, but now the lights are on.”
This had a profound effect on me, because before my divorce, for the first 37 years of my life, I really was asleep. I had no tools to actually tap into what I was actually feeling, and would distract myself with endless TV, destructive habits, and surrounding myself with noise. In the face of my divorce, getting help and learning how to share my vulnerability, my life radically changed.
For the first time I was embracing silence, I was learning how to draw healthy boundaries, and I was bringing to the surface so much I had pushed down for years.
I wanted to survive, I wanted to heal, and I knew that meant I needed to stay awake.
When my teacher said that to me, I knew I had forgotten how to turn the lights OFF. I didn’t even know where the light switch was anymore, and thank goodness. I was given a second chance to create a far different life, and I’m so grateful. Now I’m connected to my purpose, to work I love, and have the love of my life.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1. Profit usually comes in year three. See the first two years as an investment
2. Get a stand up desk. Sitting for longer hours, even if you are working on writing, can be damaging to your body. (I did do this in my third year and it’s been a game changer!)
3. Allow yourself time to hone your messaging. It’s ok to be confused in the beginning
4. Schedule in recharge time just as you schedule in work time.
5. Intimacy with your business numbers is crucial. Know them, revisit them regularly, and say on top of them.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
The movement would be to create a connection WITH your audience. Place your attention on what you SHARE with them. If everyone came to their audience with the intention to CONNECT, this would create a ripple effect that would change so much. Not only would the performers, speakers, and professionals feel better doing it, but their audience would love receiving it!
I call this Powerful Presence, and it could radically change how we deal with conflict, differences, and communication.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
I’m on FB and IG @zenrednyc. Also on Linked In as Nikol Peterman. Look forward to connecting! Thank you!