My Voice Lessons
The heightened influence of audio in our culture prompted me to take a series of speaking lessons this fall, and with strong teaching, I am learning to hone my voice. The most important lesson I’ve gleaned while working with real speeches by famous people as well as my own writings is to rely on my unique personality, motivations, desires, and inflections in speech — and not try to be anyone but me. It reminded me of a friend’s pep talk to me before I gave a short speech in college. “What are they going to do? Tell you you’re wrong?” she’d said. That freed me to be myself. Lesson relearned.
I’ve started to apply two other tips from my teacher as well. I focus on who I’m talking to about a given issue, picturing myself conversing with an understanding friend. Then, I think about what I want my friend and any larger audience to remember and/or do with the info I’m sharing. There’s usually a big challenge to push past. I remind myself that I am offering a solution with every line I say. I liken it to being a light figure in a compelling story.
After learning these speaking principles over a month’s time, I needed to step away from practice for a bit. When I came back together with my teacher, I wondered what I had retained. He had me read a piece I had written, then deliver the ideas extemporaneously. I took a few deep breaths, then started in. I felt energized as I spoke. After I finished, he said these were my best deliveries yet. I was amazed at how much I imbibed and applied from our sessions. What helped too was choosing a piece with many sensory elements, including seeing, hearing, and feeling. As I was speaking, I was reliving my role in an impromptu choir and bringing my audience in the room with me. My teacher felt that way, too! It’s all encouraged me to keep developing my speaking voice — and to use my voice in new and meaningful ways.
Every day we have opportunities to exercise our voices. We have one now in these midterm elections. We should bring our full selves and relevant goals to each occasion — and through our voices, work to impart meaning.
On that note, I invite you to check out the audiobook of my first novel, The Moral Tango. Voice actor, composer, and soloist Rebecca Minor does an amazing job of capturing the characters’ inimitable voices. You can purchase her inspirational album here.