Where Is Your Focus? Communicating with Impact

I will never forget my first day at my performing arts high school when the teacher asked us to hang upside down from the waist with our eyes closed while imagining a bucket of colored paint (a color of our choosing) being poured over our body for relaxation purposes--naturally, you say! This was one of the many bizarre warm-up exercises we did in acting class. I had some fantastic voice teachers. I remember one man by the name of Michael. He swept out of the school too fast, but left me with an incredible learning opportunity. He taught us about vocal resonance and color. He had such a rich voice. I remember him having outstanding breath support which gave his voice all these overtones from the various vocal registers. Sometimes I think about him when I am explaining the mechanics of the voice to my clients. There are so many elements to focus on when speaking. Think of James Earl Jones in the Bell Atlantic Yellow Page advertisements from years past. That kind of voice may come with natural talent, but you can be sure the added training goes a long way. One of the easiest ways of using your voice well is to focus on intonation, volume, and word length to emphasize key words. To be added to Lanartco's Communication Performance Tip of the Week, please connect to this link or send your email address to info@lanartco.com.