Why Our Voices are So Important

As you and I know, we come into the world with our first "instrument" - a voice! It is an amazing gift, for it is the only musical instrument in the world that can be "played," so to speak, producing both sound and words. Even better, the sounds our voices can make are incredible, vast and amazing: speaking, yodeling, singing, humming, hollering, imitating a host of non-speech sounds - to name a few.

Our voices are our very first communicators with the world; a baby cannot reach up, get up and crawl, point to what it needs, etc. at birth. S/he lets us know by the various sounds of her/his little (or loud) voice exactly what is wanted, needed, desired - as well as their opposites. Parents often say, "We're learning what the different cries mean." Listening carefully, folks figure out which sounds mean what to each child. During this pre-verbal stage, little ones don't yet have symbolic containers of meaning (words), but they do have a powerful instrument of expression - their Voice!

So, even before there are words, the sound of your (and my) voice is a primary and powerful communicator! How our voices are responded to by others during this developmental stage of "trust and mistrust" has an enormous and dynamic impact on our psyches and bodies - perhaps, for the rest of our lives. During our earliest formation, templates are being formed: hard and soft wiring is developing in the brain; unconscious and conscious decisions are being made. At the core of who we are becoming is Self experience and Self expression. All of this gets channeled into the magnificence (or suppression) of our voice(s).

And so we grow into adulthood, using whatever "voice(s)" we have been trying out or using throughout our growing-up years. We bring along vocal patterns we've picked up along the way - mimicking or echoing others as we discover our own unique sound. We speak boldly or softly depending on how we feel and think about others, and ourselves for experiences we've had (constructive and destructive) influence the way in which we speak inside with ourselves and to others on the outside. Everything can show up in our voices - even that which we would rather hide or keep private!

Our volume (loud, medium, soft), range and pitches used, speed and cadence of words spoken, tone quality (warm, rich, shrill, harsh, bright, dull, etc.), our enunciation or lack thereof, and our energy - all indicate who we are at any given moment in time. Vocal indicators speak volumes about us: we funnel a great deal of information about ourselves into and out of our speaking voice(s) - whether or not we realize it. We use our voices continually to "reach" out to the world, just like at the "get-go" when we are born, or to express the extent to which we are reluctant to do so.

Voices of joy, brilliance, spirit, soul, profound thinking, feeling and emotion, can be heard clearly. Their impact on us, the listener, is profound. Listeners can actually "be moved" physically (goose-bumps) and psychologically/spiritually (spirits soar), by the sound of someone's voice - let alone by the content of what they are saying. And when we are "moved," we are being energetically contacted by someone's essence reflected in their voice.

Goal of Voice Coaching

As I voice coach speakers, my aim is to assist individuals to locate and facilitate speaking from the best and brightest in them: we're looking for that which sparkles or moves gently, etc. from the soul. In the world of creating compelling speaking, nothing is more attractive (attractor factor) than hearing a person speak from their authentic self as it becomes manifested in their voice! Another way to say this: when inspired individuals speak from their True Self and the depths of who they are, it is profound - even magical!

Consider:

• Compelling examples that are desirable: when Placido Domingo speaks or sings, I am transfixed; when Karen Cappello, extraordinary Mentor Coach, speaks from her soul, my "being" is moved and my spirit soars. Both voices are compelling!
• Compelling examples that are undesirable: the memory of my mother shrieking at us; the voice of a colleague that sounds dead and deadening (barely suppressed rage and envied joy?). Both voices, of course, compel "exiting".

It is also important to remember that voices can be silenced early on. Parts of the Self that need and want to speak can get shut down and buried for "safe-keeping". Other parts can be killed-off even though we still hear sounds uttered. Sometimes these voices need to come back to life, brightened or softened. The sound of the voice - including words uttered - speaks volumes about what has happened and how life has been experienced.

Good News for YOU!
Amazing shifts in your Self and in your Speaking Voice can take place as you: (1) learn to listen inside to the many voices speaking within your Self; (2) hear new things being voiced; (3) respond differently (with curiosity, interest and compassion) to what is being said; (4) appropriately tell others in the external world what is going on in you (thoughts, feelings, experiencing); and (5) develop new skill-sets for authentic and compelling speaking. Working from the inside out through focusing on your voice gives unique access to creating "wished-for" change.

Find Your Voice ® is devoted to this kind of unique Vocal and Self development in YOU! It is a process that cultivates authenticity and a program that develops awareness and speaking skill. It involves practice, sequential skill-building, and gaining awareness.

Questions that come to mind:

• Is your True Self showing up in the sound of your voice or is your "Persona-Self" (false or incomplete Self) reaching my ear?
• Are you aware of the impact of your voice on others?
• Have you been to the 'vocal gym' and worked out so you have great breath support and terrific new speaking habits?"
• Is your voice warm, rich, bright, or clear, expressed in your natural range?
• Do you speak too fast and hurry unnecessarily, mistaking this for enthusiasm?
• Do you really stay in touch with your listener? How do you know if you do?
• Do you know how to warm your voice up and practice before presentations?

Call for your free 30 minute voice assessment/consultation 314-432-2549. E-mail Nicki at: findyourvoice@earthlink.net.