“A calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so it is very important for good health.” Dalai Lama
We are all still working through a pandemic, and in order to minimize stress and be present and effective with my clients, I am creating calm and balance every morning of every day.
I start each day with an hour of meditation, which creates a calm and centered mind and frees my breath, which supports my voice. Then, I do a daily 10-minute vocal warmup of articulation, breathing, and projection exercises so I’m ready to communicate effectively and meet my clients’ vocal needs.
The human voice is a powerful instrument for communicating both professionally and personally. In these stressful times, it’s natural and easy for anxiety to creep into our voice, making our pitch rise higher and making us speak too fast. Both can make you lose track of what you’re saying, or worse, forget everything.
To stay present in the moment and communicate with a calm, confident, believable, and engaging voice, here are other ways to create calm and balance in your life and still sound confident, persuasive, and engaging.
Daily participation in your favorite exercise, whether it is going to the gym, playing with your children, swimming, dancing, walking, yoga, bicycling, walking, any of these types of activities helps to awaken your breathing.
Visualization Techniques, “Visualization Techniques for Affirming Desired Results: A Step-by-Step Guide” by Jack Canfield, is a good one. Visualization activates your creative subconscious, programs your brain, generates internal motivation and activates the law of attraction.
Self-hypnosis techniques to manage stress. Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, conducts groundbreaking research on the roots of compassion, happiness, and altruism.
Daily breathing exercises, I can recommend, “Breathing: the master key to Self Healing” by Dr. Andrew Weil. In it he says, “If I were to limit my advice on healthier living to one piece of advice, it would be simply learning how to breathe correctly.”
A calm mind can give you the “power of the voice” to communicate forcefully, confidently, and persuasively during times of great stress.
Doing well in life requires outstanding communication skills, no matter the field, and excellent vocal skills are the foundation for outstanding communication, and an important first step to achieving both is consulting a professional speech or voice coach. It is the best investment you will make in your professional and personal life.
