How Presence and Breath Impact Teaching – Interview with Scott Miller, Teacher & Founder of mVm Miller Voice Method®
With over 40 years of experience as a coach, trainer, and teacher, Scott Miller is no stranger to the unique challenges that teaching provides. He considers teaching an art form–experimenting with teaching practices alongside decades of students in myriad industries, and mentoring teachers to hone their own teaching skills and styles.
In this interview, we dive into Scott’s path as a teacher, and what the mVm Miller Voice Method® has taught him about the relationship between excellent teaching, breath, presence, and curiosity.
Scott Miller: Teaching, Presence, and Breath
Q: What inspired you to become a teacher?
SM: Teaching was something I naturally gravitated toward. I started coaching adult tennis players when I was around 12 or 13 years old. I knew, intuitively, that to become better at something, the next level of studentship is teaching. In order to teach something well, not only doing it well helps, you have to know it inside and out.
If you want to teach well, you have to figure out every single angle that might come up—and every type of learning style as well. Otherwise the tendency for the teacher is to unconsciously teach only from their own preferred learning style.
Whenever I really liked something, my next thought would be, “How can I teach this?” or “Let me get someone to mentor me as a teacher so I can learn it better!” That’s actually how the mVm Miller Voice Method® started—with having great teachers mentor me as a teacher for years.
Then I had permission and confidence to start experimenting with other things that they weren't teaching me.
Q: When did you first realize breath is connected to presence?
SM: I was interested in how breath and presence could get in the way of expression—or not. That’s what sent me into voice work in the first place.
It started when I was watching actors struggle to perform, presenters struggle to present, and speakers struggle to speak. I kept noticing this one common issue: they weren’t breathing with any sense of flow. They were routinely speaking from a hold in their breath cycle. And I thought: “Why is this not being pointed out?”
Occasionally, a teacher would say, “Breathe,” but what does that even mean?
There are multiple components to a breath: the need, the inhale, the exhale, and the transition between inhale into exhale and exhale into inhale. Which part of the cycle was inhibiting a flow state or at the epicenter of that blockage?
I still didn't understand why breath wasn't being addressed more. Then, I started diving deeper into this, experimenting in my classes. And I saw huge shifts and changes in actors.
I became more fascinated with the concept of presence, reading spiritual and ancient books to interrogate what these words actually mean: authenticity, presence, transparency, and breathing.
The Impact of Breath on Teaching Performance
Q: How does breathing affect a teacher’s ability to connect with students?
SM: Breath is the foundation of presence. If you’re breathing freely–in a flow cycle of breath–you tend to be much more receptive to taking in new information. You’re open. You’re actually listening to your students on multiple levels.
On the flip side, holding breath inherently does what it says. You hold on to ideas, you hold on to expectations. But invariably, nothing ever happens the way you think it’s going to happen.
“Instead of bracing for whatever happens while we’re teaching, it’s easier to flow if we’re breathing.”
It’s really an invitation. That’s what being in flow with breath does—it’s an invitation. It's saying, “What you do is actually going to impact me.”
How Teachers Can Cultivate Presence in the Classroom
Q: How does presence impact teaching and student engagement?
SM: You can feel it immediately when a teacher is not present and focused in the classroom.
If you are the “all knowing teacher”, sharing your knowledge with your students, all you’re asking is for them to listen to your knowledge; that’s not very exciting. Think of a time when you’ve had to listen to someone tell you their knowledge–it gets old fast.
We can see when someone is pushing their own agenda. We can feel where they’re not really authentically curious. And we all disengage.
So, how do you get to a real authentic level of curiosity in the classroom as a teacher? We, as humans, are only authentically curious when we don’t know something, so this is a paradox for the teacher. How can we teach from a place of not-knowing when we need to know to teach?
Fortunately, knowledge isn’t static–it’s ever evolving. No matter how much you know, there is always more to learn–authentic curiosity is always right there for the taking if you are available and present for the idea that you will learn something new.
A present teacher enables curiosity. And curiosity is the invitation that sustains student engagement.
Q: What can teachers do when they feel like they’ve lost presence in the classroom?
SM: It’s a combination of noticing breathing and staying curious—without judgment. If you realize, “How did I end up here? What is happening in the present moment that's encouraging me to not be impacted?”
A high degree of transparency and reporting to the student is helpful. I’ll say, “Sorry, I wasn't listening to you at all right just now. Can you repeat that?” or “Let me reset.”
Do a "Do-Over." In my family, we do “do-overs,” and I use them in my classes, too. When I feel myself go on auto-pilot or lose presence, I use the “do-over” as an opportunity to practice re-engaging with presence in real time as a way of habit building–building the muscle of presence while acknowledging and noting the difference between the somatic sensation of being present and not being present.
The Impact of Presence on Student Focus and Engagement
Q: If students aren’t paying attention, can a teacher’s presence influence engagement?
SM: Reverse engineering it a little bit: what is it about when someone's in a flow state that makes them so charismatic and attractive? I don't think it's the flow state itself, but rather what the flow state signals.
When someone is present, we don’t feel them withholding information. They’re not operating “with-holding.” Look at the construct of that word phrase: with holding. They are operating in flow without holding. We perceive the holding (or lack thereof) on a somatic level in their breath. As humans, when we sense withholding, it feels subconsciously dangerous. What is hidden distracts the listener.
If a teacher is holding tension or pushing an agenda, students can sense it and part of their attention may shift to survival mode:
What don't I know?
What are they hiding?
What's really going on?
When that happens, the subject matter gets lost—they can’t focus exclusively on the lesson because they’re trying to figure out whether they are safe.
“When I watch someone in flow, it becomes mesmerizing because it feels transparent. It feels like they're hiding nothing. It feels like I can deal with the information that's out in front of me now. I can reject it, be scared of it, or love it—but I can see it—and that raises my level of safety profoundly, even if the information is challenging.”
Final Thoughts on Teaching, Breath, and Presence
Presence is a practice. And like any practice, it starts with noticing your breath and staying curious.
Again, to be authentically curious, you have to legitimately not know something. In our day-to-day life, we only become curious about something we don't know. If you reverse engineer curiosity, it becomes a requisite element of presence.
Want to Cultivate a Teaching Presence?
The mVm Miller Voice Method® offers practical, science-backed training to help teachers, speakers, professionals, and actors embody presence, breath, curiosity, and connection.
👉 Learn more about mVm training programs here https://www.millervoicemethod.com/presence-training
📥 Download our free mVm E-book “30 Days of Daily Presence Practice” here to start exploring physical tools that help you stay present, express yourself, and stay connected in stressful situations.
FAQs on Teaching Presence & Breath
Q1: What is Teaching Presence, and Why Does It Matter?
A: Teaching Presence is the unique energetic quality and tone you bring with you into the classroom. By honing an authentic and appropriately transparent teaching presence, you keep students more engaged in your subject matter and develop a positive rapport with them.
Q2: How Can Teachers Stay Present in the Classroom?
A: Staying present starts with your breath. Notice your breathing and stay curious—without judgment. A high degree of transparency and reporting to the student is helpful. I’ll say, “Well, I wasn't listening to you at all right now. Can you repeat that?” or “Let me reset.”
Q3: What Role Does Breathing Play in Teaching Presence?
A: Breath is the foundation of presence. If you’re breathing freely, in a flow cycle of breath, you’re receptive to taking in new information. You’re present. This flowing breath cycle is also an invitation to your students to engage. It says, “What you do impacts me.”