This is a follow up to my last blog, where I talked about why both the body (physical technique) and the self (inner person) are part of using your voice. Both of these things have energy, and both energies can combine to give you a well produced and authentic voice. So, where do we start?
Getting your self into your voice
First of all, decide what makes you “tick”, on the inside. Then you need to be able to allow some of that into your vocal expression. This requires a bit of courage, especially with people you don’t know well. Now, I’m not suggesting you wear your heart on your sleeve all the time, just that you convey something of your true self when you use your voice. Consider the following:
- Who am I really? My likes, dislikes, hopes and fears?
- What are the unique things about me?
- How do I currently express the “real me”
- What keeps me stuck with expressing myself in my voice?
You may not know the answers immediately, but these things are worth thinking about.
Being stuck
If you find yourself stuck with expressing your self, it can be due to a number of things e.g. anxiety, believing that nobody will be interested or feeling like a fraud. These things are often part of our subconscious “programming” the “shoulds” we have gathered from our experiences and interactions with others over the years. Some parts of our programming are helpful (“don’t run into the road”) and some or not. If we can let go of the bits that keep us stuck, we are more likely to be in touch with our real self and to express it.
Masks
We’re all familiar with these at the moment aren’t we? I don’t mean physical masks though. Think about social masks, the ones we wear in different situations. Do we really need them? Could we instead behave in a way appropriate to a situation, and still allow something of our real self to come through? I believe we could. It needs a decision to let people see who we really are, within the context of the situation. We can then communicate with integrity and people will recognise our character and values.
Taking on a character
I’m thinking here of those who need to take on a character in performance e.g. acting or singing. Can the true self be expressed then? I believe that in a way it can. The actor or singer will find things that resonate with themselves when preparing a character or song. They will then use these to create a truth for their performance. This requires technique, skill and mental discipline. Without this truth their performance will not be believable or draw an emotional response from the audience.
Hear your self, voice your self
I have trained for the last 14 months as a life coach, in order to help voice users to do exactly this. If you would like to find out more about how this coaching could help you to express yourself more fully in speech or in song please do get in touch for a chat. I hope that this short article has provided some insight into the link between your self and your voice. I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment if you get chance.
