The Why of the True your Voice Speech Process

Countless hours, and dollars, are spent on communication.  We need to be heard and understood.  This is true in human personal relations and in professional life.  In fact, all of our relationships are built upon communication, it is at the core of belonging and it is essential to survival.
In professional life, we label communication in many ways be it sales, marketing, project development, or management.  It can take the form of communication within a department, to a board of directors, to clients, or to the market at large.  We understand the importance of communication skills to the extent that is the most sought-after skill in hiring practices over all industries but, we don’t seem to understand how it works.
Human beings communicate on different levels many of which supersede language.  In particular, it is now believed that when we encounter a person we immediately take stock of what we see, and how they sound, in order to determine whether we should give them authority.  What we are looking for is congruency.  Does the person before us align with the voice that we hear?  The voice is just another face we are presenting but it goes deeper than the visual cortex as it triggers what makes us feel safe.  
The goal is to be really heard.  To deliver your messaging in a way that actually connects with your audience.
The problem is that many people simply ignore their voice.  They may think about volume or projection, they may have criticisms about their vocal quality, accents, and/or may actually dislike their voices but they do not see the voice as a changeable factor.  Too many people think they are stuck with the voice they have.  
But what if the voice is more adaptive and responsive to training that people think?  What if truly powerful voices are built, not born?  The brain is constantly adapting to support your activity.  The places where you spend thought and resources are the same places where the brain creates connective tracks for you.  When it comes to your voice, which happens to be housed in your primary airway, the brain needs to know you are dedicated to the safe operation of the system.  If you enter voice and speech from the healthiest function of the voice, the brain will allow some truly amazing results in your overall communication.
That is the drive behind the True your Voice Process.   I use the structure of the vocal physiology and your basic neurology to help you hack the system to create empowered speech and presentation.
The process begins with assessing your voice function, building from there to ensure voice health, voice-body alignment, and empowered voice use.  The next step is clarity.  We work on diction, articulation, pitch, and cadence to make sure that your language use is equal to your message.  This may include accent adjustment for both native and non-native speakers of English as is necessary for clarity.  Throughout the process, we integrate content so you are building skills each session that are improving your speech whether it be general communication in your personal and professional life or that keynote speech you need to nail.
The intention is to streamline the process of building vocal craft so that anyone can do it whether they believe in their vocal talents or not.  The methodology uses the body’s own functional biases and the brain’s tendencies to hack your voice for enhanced communication.  Every step of the way you will learn, practice and process the tools so that eventually you can do this for yourself.  This part is crucial.  There should be nothing mysterious about how your voice works and what it needs to function well.
All that is required is a willingness to interact with your body, an open mind, and a sense of play. 
This is how I work with speaking voices and why I do it this way.  If you any questions and/or comments as always please feel free to leave a comment here or email me at gina@growvoice.com.
Gina Razón is the principal voice specialist at GROW Voice LLC, a full-service voice and speech studio in Boston’s Back Bay.  She has over 16 years of experience both as a teacher of voice and speech, and a voraciously curious voice user.  Gina has worked professionally as a classical singer for over a decade and more recently as a professional public speaker.  For more information on the studio or to book Gina visit www.growvoice.com.