I. Thou shalt not hide from the audience but shall open to them, share with them, and pull your hair back so that it is not obscuring your expressive face and eyes.

II. Thou shalt not…Read on.

“It’s about connection with others.  And it’s also about staying connected with  yourself. As to why you’re doing this.  Why are you writing? Why are you drawing? What are your motivations?  And try to keep attentive to that. And so, by extension, you need to listen to yourself and you need to listen to others.” —Liza Donnelly. When I work with clients on speaking out and having a voice, I usually mean it literally. In this wonderful video, New Yorker cartoonist, Liza Donnelly, reminds us that self-expression is both vital and infinitely creative. Liza draws as she speaks, so we witness…Read on.

Last week I wrote about how to find your natural voice vs. an affected, pushed, or “put on,” voice. Today, I’ve made, as promised, a very silly video illustrating exactly what I mean. Be prepared to see…Read on.

Some times I love to hear just the voice, the simplest voice, tell a story. No embellishment so that my mind can create castles out of words. Sometimes I love a voice to play characters. Lynn Redgrave reading Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart is extraordinary. And on stage, when I can see the whole person, I love to see the story—not acted out, exactly, but “shown.” Miranda Hope told her story at our Charlottesville TEDx Open Mic and we asked her. ..Read on

In case you missed this live show last week, here is a link to my interview with the warm, wise, and wonderful Lynsie McKeown on her Voice America radio show, Women Thriving Unapologetically. In which we talk about…Read on.

Um…So! I wanted to talk about, you know, like filler words, like “like.” And, “um.”

Filler words are really OK! We all use filler words when we are speaking unless we are reading from a text or have memorized a monologue. The problem arises when they dominate our speech. We might find ourselves using filler words more frequently when we are nervous, when we have not prepared, and out of habit.

Filler words can be actual words or just sounds that we use to fill a space when we might otherwise be thinking or breathing or just silent.

Common sounds: um, uh.

Common words: like, so, anyway, yeah, you know.

When we use words to fill the space, they are void of their meaning and definition. “Like” does not mean, “to have affection for,” or “is similar to.” “You know,” is not making a statement about someone’s knowledge.

Filler words I most often hear are:

“So,” to start any story, statement, speech, or answer. “So” is often the first words out of someone’s mouth.

“Like” is a word I hear taking over our language. We hear it as a filler word sprinkled liberally throughout sentences.

First, we become aware: Are we using filler words frequently? Then, we practice…Read on.

ACCENT vs. AFFECTATION or ( TRENDY VOCAL PATTERNS)

Accents are wonderful—we all have them! Accents are determined by country, region, culture, family, and even generation. Accents only cause a problem if the audience cannot understand our communication. So, if there is a possibility that even one person might lose our meaning due to our accents, make sure every word is heard and understood by enunciating clearly.

Affectation, on the other hand, is determined by trend.

We’re looking at the two I hear most often:

Vocal fry and up-speaking.

Vocal-fry is fine(ish). I don’t like it because I know how it impacts the vocal folds over the long-term. Not good.

As a teen, I heard it mostly in surfer and skier dudes. Now I hear it mostly in young women.

I want us all to have choice about how we use our voices, so if vocal-fry is a vocal quality you choose, go for it. But look into the physical impact.

If we find ourselves falling into vocal-fry unwittingly and want to stop, the first thing to do is…Read on.

Rachel Bagby frees our voices. Our deepest expression. Through singing. For and with each other.

Doesn’t that sound wonderful? To free our voices? Our physical voices and our voices in the world.

This week we look at overall sound and placement of the voice in the body.

SOUND or NATURAL VOICE

Sometimes we fall into the habit of either pushing our voices down into a “chest voice” or finding we stay in a high “head voice.” Both are fine and we want to have them in our repertoire of vocal variety. And, we want to notice if we are stuck in one place or the other. It’s the stuckness that is a habit that restricts expression and connection to our natural voice…Read on.

Look at this photo of Deborah Lawrence about to start her TEDx Talk. She is, what we call in the movement technique, Nia, “RAW:” Relaxed, Alert, Waiting. She is free from this place to speak as her full self.

In order to get to this place of RAW, I help people strip away the habits and anxieties that cloud our presence. By “habit” I mean, any behavior that has a constant cadence, feels stuck in a repetitive, rhythmic pattern, is restrictive. The most exciting communication is fresh, jagged, unexpected, alive. Habits tend to appear or amplify when we feel the spot-light upon us. Habits might show up in gestures, how we hold ourselves and move, and how we use our voice. In the next few weeks, we will delve into each of these areas and play with a few ...Read on.

It needs to be said: there is a vast spectrum that includes being silent, being heard, having a voice, contributing, listening, supporting, amplifying, interacting, expressing, and dominating. More often than not, I have to remind my clients that speaking up is not dominating. We all deserve time, space, self-expression, and a voice. To be heard. All of us. And when any of us stifle our expression, we all suffer. Voice can mean simply speaking up, being bold, having a say, asking a question, supporting other people and ideas, contributing. And speaking up also includes other modes of expression: writing, painting, performance, photography, dance.

Read more about having a voice…

If you find yourself in our house some evening, you might hear someone intone the name, “Alexander” in a deep and sonorous voice. There is no verbal response, though every person within earshot will suddenly appear to grow, as if being pulled upward towards the ceiling by an invisible thread. Actors, musicians, writers, video gamers, singers, spoken-word artists, painters, YouTubers, surgeons, athletes, anyone who finds themselves doing a repetitive physical action can benefit from the Alexander Method. Not just for posture, but for an open voice, free of tension.

This week, imagine there is a tiny thread just behind the tippy top of your head in the small indentation. Sense that this thread lifts, tilting the head slightly forward, lowering the chin, releasing the muscles in the front of the neck. The whole, subtle movement feels like falling upward, the spine finds space between the vertebrae, the lungs fill easily, and we feel like our limbs can move freely, dangling from the shoulder girdle and hips.

This week: “Alexaaaaaanderrrr.”

Who was this Alexander and how did he find this powerful tool?

Do communicators really need to warm up their bodies and voices? Along with breathing, warming up is a place where I feel my clients question my methods. I understand! First, we look and sound really silly. So that’s not normal in an office. Second, nobody else does it, right? And we give talks, lead meetings, have Zoom calls all day long. Without warming up! So why do it?

When we communicate using our bodies, we do it better when our bodies are warmed up. Full stop. Think of an athlete. Would any athlete ever consider running onto the pitch, field, or court without warming up? Would any musician, ever, anywhere, not warm up? Would a singer, dancer, or actor step onto the stage or into the recording studio without warming up? Absolutely not. Why? Because their bodies are the vessels they depend upon to do their activity. And if that body is not ready, warm, practiced, present, there is no way that person can perform well. And guess what, your body is the vessel for your communication. Your posture, your breathe, your voice, your expression, all shift when you warm up. You become more alive, more present, more calm, your voice will be more resonant. Your presence will be more captivating. You will have more impact.

Why wouldn’t we give ourselves that advantage?

Read on for a link to a 3 minute video with a warmup you can do anywhere—in your car, at your desk, in a bathroom stall, anywhere.

Last week, I asked you to simply listen to the voices of announcers on the radio. Just listen for the sounds of the voices.

This week, I want you to listen deeper. What can you tell about the person from their voice? Think about emotion, connection, present or reading?

This week, as you drive, or cook or even watch the news (you might have to close your eyes), listen to the voices of the hosts, guests, reporters, interviewers. Just listen. Notice. Next week we will do more with this.