Voice is important. It sounds obvious, but somehow that message just does not sink in these days. No matter where I look there appear to be incredible difficulties in working with the deep and complicated area of voice, hindered by the disparate fields of the vocal, body and ‘communication’ professions, none of which consciously address voice for leaders.
Think about how much work you or those around you have done on your voice? The answer is most often, little, possibly because it is hard to know where to start. One corporate communication book offered this advice on speaking too softly: ‘Only women have problems with voice’ it read, with the startling advice to ‘use a microphone’! This is misleading and to my mind just simply, wrong. Women are not the only ones with problems and using a microphone is a band aid solution with no long-term benefit and a hell of a lot of risk at play..
And people resist voice training. As humans we have a set of paradigms that leads us to believe we are stuck with the voice we have. We don’t believe it can be changed and we talk about the voice as having a mind of its own. It does not.
‘My voice shakes’, I hear people say. But in reality the voice doesn’t shake. It is the tensions of the body that act on the larynx that makes it shake. The poor old voice becomes a scapegoat for a plethora of inadequacies. We treat it like a separate entity that is given to us as it stands and over which we have no control, but voice experts know that ‘voice is a choice!’ and I know it to be true.
My interest in voice, of course, is not just an interest. It has been a passion since I was a child and with degrees, masters, a PhD and professional practice for decades, none of that passion has dwindled to this day. Through my education and experience I have been steeped in the tradition of operatic voice, but my overriding passion is to extend the understanding of voice to a bigger audience, many of whom had never had the opportunity to understand either its use or importance – particularly in the corporate world.
Despite living thousands of years ago, the ancients ‘got it’. They got that voice is about freeing the body and interestingly they got that speaking and singing are related but have different needs and the process of change which is a long a constant process.
I’d love to help you bring Gravitas into your leadership communication, don’t miss out on the Gravitas Masterclass and Confident Leader Retreat coming up!
EARLY BIRD RATE WILL END NEXT WEEK
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THE GRAVITAS 1 DAY MASTERCLASS!
MELBOURNE 8th SEPTEMBER 2023
Have the presence for presentations, media, meetings and difficult
situations. Feel and be more confident, open and authentic, knowing the
hidden secrets to your body and voice.
JOIN ME AT THE CONFIDENT LEADER RETREAT!
31st AUGUST – 2nd SEPTEMBER 2023
This retreat provides an outstanding executive development opportunity
tailored for an intimate group who wishes to experience transformational
growth. Numbers are strictly limited to allow for individual attention.
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