***Make the Right Change for 2009

By Nancy Daniels The Official Guide to Public Speaking
The official guide to Public Speaking

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A new year is always full of promise. It is a time when many make resolutions; and, it is a time when most people look ahead with new hope for themselves and for others. Discovering your ‘real’ voice can be part of that resolution, part of that hope, because once you make the change, you will discover more benefits in your professional life, as well as your personal life, than you could ever imagine.

Imagine reducing the stress in your life.
Imagine controlling your nervousness in public speaking.
Imagine having more voice by the end of the day.
Imagine sleeping better at night.
Imagine being able to increase your volume without shouting.
Imagine lowering your blood pressure.
Imagine talking and not having people ask you to repeat yourself.
Imagine others wanting to hear you speak.

Imagine enjoying the sound of your speaking voice on your voicemail!

Now I’m sure you are wondering what sleep, blood pressure, and stress have to do with finding your ‘real’ voice. Everything.

Good voice training involves allowing your chest to become your major amplifier. In doing so, you take the pressure off your vocal cords and throat resulting in a richer, warmer, more mature-sounding speaking voice. And, once your chest becomes your primary sounding board, you will be able to increase your volume without shouting which is a blessing for anyone who experiences vocal abuse and anyone else listening to you. (I know some professional speakers who could benefit from that one factor alone!)

Because of the techniques we use to allow the chest to power the voice, you will also notice a reduction in the overall stress in your life.

I’ve had clients tell me that they sleep better, they feel better, their blood pressure is lower, they can workout longer; and, just today, a woman phoned me to say that because of her new voice, she has been ‘freed from the shackles that were bonding her to her nervousness.’ What powerful words!

Imagine being able to experience all these benefits and more just by finding your ‘real’ voice. All of this is possible if you break some old habits and establish some new ones. Even more good news is that you needn’t ‘practice’ scores of exercises in order to instill the new techniques. Suffice it to say that using your ‘real’ voice every time you open your mouth to speak is your homework. Do that over several weeks or months and the new voice takes over. And more good news? It gets better with age! When I’m 85, I may look it, but I will never sound it.

If 2009 is the year to improve your life, why not start by finding your ‘real’ voice and discovering the many, many benefits to follow!