Happy World Voice Day – Sunday, April 16
World Voice Day started with a group of passionate enthusiasts with a core belief that “A functioning Voice is highly significant to quality of life.” I agree with them wholeheartedly.
I believe in the power of Voice and have worked for the past twenty-seven years teaching Voice, studying it and seeing the benefits for myself and others.
I’ve committed my working life to helping people find their Voice through practical vocal training as a teacher and actor, as a writer and director, and as a consultant trainer helping people in their workplace find a greater understanding of the communication process and in more recent times as an advocate and mediator. In the process I continue to discovered my own Voice.
To me Voice is about empowerment. If you have a Voice you can speak up for yourself, contribute to the common good and have autonomy. To have your Voice taken away – to be Voiceless – is synonymous with oppression, disempowerment and even abuse.
Like many others I’ve had challenging personal situations to navigate at times; feeling trapped, helpless, disempowered and even distraught. Yet I always believed I deserved to have a Voice. My commitment to that helped me through some long and personal battles to maintain and realise my own Voice,
I am incredibly grateful for an insightful lady who, in my late teens and early twenties saw my potential. She encouraged me to do Voice work. She also pushed me forward as a performer. I’d go so far as to say she pursued me – calling my mother and tracking me across the country. I am forever grateful she saw something in me and believed it needed to come out. She called it a gift. I now see her commitment and belief as a gift in itself. I have been able to lean on and develop my Voice through dark days that came.
My belief in Voice saw me come out the other side of awful personal situations. It also helped me navigate sometimes hostile and uninformed legal system and to do it well.
Now I continue to work on Voice in its many forms. Two nights a week I teach the physicality of Voice, using practical exercises from my acting background. I am a mediator and lawyer and weekly find myself in court; advocating for those who have temporarily set their own Voice aside and entrusted me to speak for them. I provide corporate communication training and leadership development to those who want to improve their Voice and advance their influence. These activities are not siloed. They all hold the same value. It’s all about helping people find their Voice in whatever form that takes.
Voice is my passion. Finding it is an ongoing process for me and for those I support; but it is one well worth pursuing.
SPECIAL OFFER FOR WORLD VOICE DAY
AVAILABLE UNTIL 30 JUNE 2017
To celebrate you Finding Your Voice I put together a short vocal warm up for you to try!
It should take you about 10 - 15 minutes. Vocal Exercises
Alignment - Spinal Curl against the wall.
Using the wall as your guide, check the position of your heels, hips, back, shoulders and head against a wall. Slowly roll down the wall, curling around your tucked in head. Focus on one vertebrae at a time as you roll down the wall and ensure that each one touches the wall. Once you reach your tailbone allow the weight of your arms and head to release the tension from your spine and sigh out all of the remaining air from your lungs. Slowly roll back up the wall ensuring each vertebra touches the wall. REPEAT 3 TIMES Recheck your position against the wall – heels, hips, shoulders, back and head. Note any changes and then breathe deeply and walk away from the wall.
2. Repeat this exercise with 4 fingers between the teeth and ensure you are speaking on the breath; place gentle pauses at the top and bottom of the breath.
HAH HEE HAH HOO HEE HAH HOO HOO HAH HEE
3. Breath control - Slowly release the air on the consonant sound until the end of the breathe. Time each one. TIP: try this in front of a mirror ensuring your shoulders don’t rise up and down as you do it.
s s s s s s
f f f f f
v v v v v v
Clarity - Have fun & play with the voice, make sure each vowel sound floats out on the breath.
LAH Lu LER La Le LAY Li LEE LI TAH Tu TER Ta Te TAY Ti TEE TI DAH Du DER Da De DAY Di DEE DI NAH Nu NER Na Ne NAY Ni NEE NI PAH Pu PER Pa Pe PAY Pi PEE PI BAH Bu BER Ba Be BAY Bi BEE BI MAH Mu MER Ma Me MAY Mi MEE MI KAH Ku KER Ka Ke KAY Ki KEE KI GAH Gu GER Ga Ge GAY Gi GEE GI VAH Vu VER Va Ve VAY Vi VEE VI ZAH Zu ZER Za Ze ZAY Zi ZEE ZI THAH Thu ThER Tha THe ThAY THi THEE THI
If you have any questions make sure you contact me before the 30th June 2017 kayte@voicelawyers.com to join a voice workshop or for a complimentary 30 min one on one consultation via skype.
