Kate's Voice

Everyone has a gift to bring to the world.  We are all unique with unique talents and perspectives.  We are part of the whole, and as such, we are all important.  This is what I believe, and it influences my work with voices.  I am not interested in helping people develop a sound that is a cookie cutter of someone else, even if that someone else is a magnificent orator or singer.  I look for individual strengths and character, and encourage my clients to create a voice that is authentically theirs so that they can bring their gifts to the world.  However, voices are created, so if you can create any voice you want, how do you create…or rather reveal one that is authentically yours?

Authenticity in intention:
Intention is an aim that guides action.  There are many possible intentions for getting up in front of an audience or for having a conversation.  However, being genuine means that your intention is clear and you are aware of it, expressing your message in complete alignment with that intention. Getting clear about intention is an exercise in and of itself, but one well worth taking on.

Connection to your content:
You have to be aware of what you are saying or singing.  What are you talking about?  What is the story?  How do you feel about it?  Pay attention to expressive words and phrases.  One way to do this is to use emotional recall to connect with your feelings.  This connection is not acting.  It is a connection to your own memories and very real feelings that may be in the past, but are nonetheless a part of you. You can call on them to express genuine feelings today.

Speech level speaking and singing.
Last time, I wrote about singing like you speak and speaking like you sing.  Unless you have a completely affected speaking or singing voice, this approach will help you develop a genuine delivery that is comfortable.  As for affectations, it is even possible to be genuine with an affectation if you are in alignment with your intention.  People who imitate others well usually do so with the intention to entertain or have fun.

You don’t need to be someone else in order to be you.  The world needs what you have to offer and will hear it best if you say it in your own very special, unique voice.

Elsewhere online:

Denise Graveline has a related post called “Finding Your Voice as a Speaker.”

Erin Reel is a guest on Rachelle Gardner’s blog and addresses the topic from a writer’s perspective, “Finding Your Authentic Voice.”

And from Decker, Faith in Your Voice.

And here’s an interesting pole on authenticity.  Where do you stand?

At an early age, I became obsessed with the need to be understood. Not unusual for a self-focused kid, and some would say it is often the driving force of a middle child (my mom always called me the Ham in the Sandwich..with good reason!). I am sure that this obsession with being heard and understood eventually allowed me to be a performer and a public speaker and to feel very much at ease in front of others. (Are you kidding? They couldn’t keep me OFF of the stage!) It also led me to explore communication in general. This blog will often focus on what makes us better communicators. And this short post is focused on just that.

In general, the key to effective communication is clearly knowing your intention and how that intention aligns with your listener, your content, and your delivery method. So let’s take the first part of this formula today: Intention.

I have talked about intention a great deal on this blog.  I first learned about intention as a powerful force through studying yoga.  Much research has been done on intention and it has led us to conclude that it is real and influential.  But what is it and what does it do?  Research at Princeton on intention suggests that  ” All the evidence points toward intention acting as initiating an excitation in the “core” of the individual that simultaneously affects consciousness via the unconscious mind.” This happens in the core/mind of the audience as well as the speaker!  “If Jahn & Dunne are right there is a much greater intimacy and intercourse between ourselves and our surroundings than we currently appreciate or would be able to predict based upon conventional scientific theory.”

Spending time every day to be clear about your intention in your communication is powerful. Here’s a process that can get you started:

• Create a life purpose statement and a work purpose statement. A purpose statement is a brief description of what you do and why you do it.
• Keep these statements in your notebook, date book, laptop, and on your desk- places where you will be able to read them throughout the day as you prepare talks, sales pitches, or discussions.
• Spend two or three minutes every morning consciously reviewing them and how they may apply to the day ahead.
• At the end of the day, spend a couple minutes reviewing them again, and see if you stayed on track.
• If not, make notes on what happened and how you might do things differently the next time.
• If you found that you were on track, plan to get more detailed with your intentions the next day.

Creating a statement of intention for each project or product you represent, and for any important conversations you plan to have will insure that you are more and more aware of what you are saying and how you are saying it. That in turn will reflect in your voice and increase your vocal impact, which will increase your chances of being understood, and of being very clear about who you are and what you want to accomplish. Good stuff!!

What do you know about intention that you can share with us?