Perfect Poise, Perfect Life
Bring your body into balance and revolutionise your life
By Noel Kingsley
Publisher Hodder Mobius
AVAILABLE HERE
« Overcoming fear | Main | A Voice like Honey - 5 »
A Voice like Honey - 4
Jazz singer, Todd Gordon
'Todd's voice is like honey oozing down the side of the jar.' .... Ajay Close
A new client in the Alexander Technique has asked me to help her with her speaking voice. She wants to have more gravitas, clarity and strength when speaking in meetings. Great, I thought. This can be such fun and very rewarding.
Next to our posture, there is no greater way of making a good impression. Admittedly clothes and grooming say a lot too, but if we're all hunched or stooped, it doesn't matter what clothes we wear as they'll never look like they did in the shop display. And it's not the clothes we particularly notice about someone anyway, as according to research, 80% of their first impression of you is made by how you've walked in an stood! Then when you open your mouth they get an even bigger impression.
A good speaking voice can be hugely persuasive, help you be charismatic, win deals, bring you the new executive job and make people drool at your feet as your sexy syllables drop from your lips like flower petals from a blooming rose. A good voice can be mesmeric, but it rarely exists by accident. It's affected by our upbringing, people around us of influence, our sense of confidence and also by training. F.M. Alexander was an actor who developed vocal problems in late the 19th century and when voice specialists and doctors failed to help him, he decided to find out for himself what the problem was; he eventually evolved the technique we know today, having improved not only his whole poise, but his voice too. Now in the 21st century, actors and singers around the world use the Alexander Technique to help them get the most from their voice.
Our voice is inextricably linked up to our posture and how we 'hold ourselves'. By getting rid of postural tensions, we can have a dramatic effect on our breathing and the sound of our voice. A short course in the Alexander Technique can make such a difference by freeing us up, and helping us achieve our full height and stature, all without any perceived effort. Everything in our body functions better when we regain the natural poise we had as young children.
However, there are many things we can also do that will contribute to the quality of our voice. If you're interested this, you might like to notice how other people speak; listen to their huskiness or resonance, their modulation of pitch, their expression, accent, diction, their tensions or relaxed freedom when speaking. I have written about voice in a previous post 'A voice like honey' ,referring to Barry White and a number of other names we may know who have wonderful voices. Would you like to evolve a lovely speaking voice? Would you like to make people stop and listen to your every word? It doesn't take a lot of effort. Indeed the process of speaking may take less effort than you're currently accustomed to and can be a lot of fun.
Over the next few blog posts I'm going to give a few tips and little exercises we can experiment with. If you give just a little time to this, then also notice how you're speaking in general conversation, on the phone and in meetings, you will find that you can make subtle differences that can help you improve your speaking voice. After all, you're in control of your voice as it's 'you' and your whole physique that produces it. Experiment, do the little exercises and 'play' with the way you sound. While doing so, try to free your neck free from unnecessary tension and allow yourself to stand at your full height and stature. Try making less effort than usual.
You can have a voice like honey if you choose.
To see all the posts in this series 'A Voice Like Honey' click Here.
