Perform: Your Attention Please
We've spent this week talking about communicating through masks. By now, I hope you are coming around to the fact that the mask itself is really not a big issue. Today, we will engage with how you get your listeners…
Articulate: Finding Clarity
I was recently chatting with a woman who is back to work as a server in a restaurant. She expressed the concern that people couldn't understand her and were asking her to repeat herself often. This is a valid concern.…
Acquisition: Break Through
Today I want to discuss some mechanics for speaking well through a mask. The good news: Ongoing studies indicate that there is no real difference in the sound of one's voice through a mask or without one. This said the…
Disrupt: Statistical Models
COVID-19 has turned all sorts of people into armchair epidemiologists and statisticians. There are many reasons for this which are not really within my purview here. What matters in voice and speech is how we address moment-to-moment reality in communication.…
Observe: Temporary States
Depending on where you live, there may be a shift in living and working. Here in MA, things are slowly opening up and the reality of being out in the world is a different temporary state than staying at home.…
Variance: What Happens in Vagus (repost)
This is an oldie but goodie from 2018. The topic came up again recently so I thought a revisit would be useful. About 20 years ago, I participated in a blood drive. The process itself was uneventful. Afterward, I was…
Variance: MIA
Good Morning, Everyone! If you are even a semi-regular reader you probably noticed that there has been no blog for a week. The fact is, I just had to stop and take a break. In an act of unceremonious, radical…
Variance: Present Presentation
One of my favorite podcasters, Akilah S. Richards recently used the phrase that she wanted to be present (adj), rather than present (v). I haven't been able to shake it because it resolves an issue for me. What is it…
Variance: Difference
"Difference is not Disorder." I'm not sure where exactly I first heard this concept but it quickly became fundamental in my teaching. The point is this: If a sound fails to match your expectation for that sound, that doesn't mean…
Variance: Overriding Events
I am very angry today. Anger is an interesting emotion. It is an overriding event in the brain. It causes the amygdala to flood the body with hormones. The hormones provoke the flight/fight/freeze response. You can feel anger as an…
