Voice Dynamic Newsletter Anthony Finds His 'Real' Voice |
Greetings, Last month I told you about Anthony and his dilemma. Should he buy Voicing It! considering he had tried every other book, program, cd course, etc., and nothing had worked? Well, Anthony made the investment and it is working. He phoned me on Saturday, questioning if he had found his optimum voice; and, after 'sending him to the corner', I knew that he had discovered his richer, warmer, resonant sound. How did I know? Because I could hear his voice vibrating in his chest -- literally over the phone. Everyone vibrates in the neck region when they speak. That vibration is normal and caused by the vocal cords. (People who exhibit excessive nasality, for example, will vibrate quite heavily in their nasal passages.) Most people, however, are not experiencing vibrations in their chest cavity when they speak because they are powering their voice without the benefit of that resonator. Only when you... 1.) breathe with the support of your diaphragm; and, 2.) speak within your optimum range, will you vibrate in your chest cavity which accounts for the rich, warm, resonant sound found among those who have had training. While there are a few 'naturals,' most people honesty don't know about their 'real' voice because they imitate their loved ones, who themselves are not good role models when it comes to the speaking voice. Many years ago, I met a young man at a conference where I was speaking. He walked up to me afterwards, extended his hand, and said, "Hello my name is David," and before he could finish, I interjected, "Burghardt." I had never met this person before but his voice was so similar to the magnificent voice of Jack Burghardt that I knew David had to be his son. The late Jack Burghardt had been a TV anchorman, a deputy mayor, a member of parliament, an Anglican minister, and a man known for his beautiful, resonant, deep voice. Jack had told me that he had never had voice training but that he had sounded similar to his own father, a German immigrant, who had died when he was a young teenager. Jack's son David sounded very similar to Jack because we tend to imitate our same-sex parent if we have a loving relationship with that parent in our early developmental years. After getting to know David, I discovered a young man who idolized his father. Think you are using your 'real' voice? Check for the vibration. That vibration (or lack of it) will tell you whether it is happening (or not)! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Have a wonderful week. We are off to Chicago on Friday for our 2-Day Workshop aboard the Abegweit. There are still a few seats left if you would like to join us. |