Where’s your favorite reading nook? Let us know on the blog.
I prop up my pillows in bed, put a cup of tea on the nightstand, and pull out my favorite book at that moment. Lady the cat lays by my side. She purrs.
I anticipate this time…one of the best times of the day.
I read fiction, like currently The Last Time I Was Me, by Oregon writer, Cathy Lamb http://cathylamb.org/, business books, inspirational material, memoirs. Aaaah, I’m in my bliss!
I’ve learned so much from reading and writing books. Books enlighten, inspire, drive and expose me. Books comfort me.
Yet, you can’t learn everything from a book.
Sometimes you can’t learn anything from a book.
Some things you must participate in, and experience physically, to grow. To understand. To incorporate.
Working with the voice and emotions on stage is one of those things.
The next voice Lab is July 7th – get ready and come on down to Multnomah Village!
Leo’s working hard to do something he’s never done before. He’s just turned one, and he doesn’t know how to walk (yet).
There are no really useful books or videos on how to walk. It’s something he has to figure out on his own. But instead of waiting on the couch until the day he’s ready to proudly strut across the room, he’s there, on the floor, every day, trying it out.
He’s already discovered a hundred ways that don’t work, and stumbled countless times.
But he persists.
I don’t know about you, but this is precisely the way I learned how to walk as well.
In fact, it’s the way I learned how to do just about everything important. By doing it.
Laura Handke is a pro at what she does. I came away more confident and excited. Thank You, Laura. –Kym G-C.
Honor your inner voice enough to express it outwardly. The people who need to hear what you have to say will thank you.
If you found this post helpful, please spread the love and pass it along to a friend!
Authentic Performance Voice Lab Friday July 7th 4:00 – 6:00 at Sacred Money Studios & Prosperity Pie Shoppe! Speak about your passion with passion and inspire people to work with you.
Who among us hasn’t had worry keep us up at night? It could be a presentation the next day for the sale of a lifetime, an argument with a loved one, a pending surgery date…even an exciting trip laced with concerns about oversleeping and missing the shuttle to the airport, or how the dog will do in boarding.
Worrying is just…human. We all do it from time to time.
The problem comes when frequent fearful thoughts impact the quality of our life and/or we let fear stop us from moving ahead with whatever our authentic self wants to express or create in the world next.
I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened. –Mark Twain
I’ve been conscientiously monitoring and changing the quality of my thoughts for over 15 years, but that doesn’t mean I’m free of the worry bug. My insecurities, doubts and fears hit from time to time just like they do everyone on the planet, (except for perhaps the Dalai Lama…?) I’ve just developed tools to deal with them, like: 1) Breathe. 2) Find Your Three Things – the topic of free authentic expression video tip #5.
Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared. –Eddie Rickenbacker
We’re all good at certain things. The training evaluations I’ve handed out and compiled over the years provide me with written feedback, “proof” if you will, that I’m a good teacher. I’m able to explain a skill or concept in a way that makes sense to people and inspires them, especially with the dynamic give and take of voice training.
You will not, however, find me taking apart and putting back together a motorcycle engine (I’ll leave that to my cousin Brian) or offering to play harmonica in anyone’s band (I know exactly one song and I don’t play Oh! Susanna all that well anyway.)
What I could do (aside from giving you an amazing voice lesson) – like right now, if anyone were to ask – is show you how to make a meatloaf, twice baked potatoes, broccoli with homemade cheese sauce, and a cucumber salad. That is a meal I can easily make without referring to any recipes or notes.
Maybe your authentic self wants to learn to cook. Or play a musical instrument. Or learn a new dance or sport. Or quit your job and do something different. But it feels just a little scary. That’s where your three things come into play. Watch the video, allow yours to come, and write them down. They will become very good friends.
Courage is fear that has said its prayers. –Dorothy Bernard
Excitement is fear in a sequined dress. –Patricia J. Hutchings
If you found this post helpful, please spread the love and pass it along to a friend!
Voice Lab Friday June 16th 4:00 – 6:00 at Sacred Money Studios & Prosperity Pie Shop! Speak about your passion with passion and inspire people to work with you.
The header image on this blog post is called “Transmutation: called from the ashes.” What gorgeous art! Acrylic, pouring medium and ink. You can reach the artist at stephanie@wildsoulartistries.com.
People come to me for voice lessons and speaker coaching for a variety of reasons. Each person’s voice is as unique and varied as the reasons they want to improve their vocal quality or stage presence. Regardless of the person or the reason, it’s always a pleasure, privilege, and joy to do this work – for both teacher and student! (I’m a lucky gal!)
Lately, I’ve noticed the focus has been body language on stage.
We all grew up in different families and cultures with different body language. I’m thinking right now of an impassioned Italian woman in the kitchen, making a point to the family she’s about to feed. Can you see her? Good. Now picture a Buddhist monk in a Tibetan Monastery.
Now picture the Italian mama feeding the monk a plate of pasta… Just kidding.
The point is, regardless of our backgrounds, when we get up to publicly speak, it can feel like we’re not even in our body anymore. We want to act like we’re a normal human being, but our bodies are acting anything but human. The palpitating heart feels like an egg beater, the wooden-like legs feel stuck, and – by the way – when did arms start to feel like cardboard?
All of this can be changed with focused practice.
I’ll be circling back to this topic in the coming weeks.
For now, remember to breathe, deeply, from the belly.
Get up and talk in front of people, in a friendly environment, as often as you can. If you’re at a wedding or graduation reception and toasts are invited, stand up and make a toast.
Speaking of toasts, Toastmasters (https://www.toastmasters.org/) is the most renowned speaker and leadership organization in the world. I’ve been a member for over two years now and can’t recommend it highly enough.
And for those of you in Portland, the next Authentic Performance Voice Lab is Friday June 16th. Come join us!
Laura Handke is a pro at what she does. I came away more confident and excited. Thank You Laura. –Kym G-C.
Honor your inner voice enough to express it outwardly. The people who need to hear what you have to say will thank you.
If you found this post helpful, please spread the love and pass it along to a friend!
Listen to Your Inner Voice/Intuitive Nature (IVIN)
Portland Peeps: Voice Lab Starts This Friday in Multnomah Village! Details below.
Everyone has what I call an Inner Voice/Intuitive Nature or IVIN. Some might call the IVIN that little voice in the back of my head, some a gut feeling, some women’s intuition, some God. Whatever you want to call it, it’s your best friend in connecting with the six degrees to your dreams and your authentic nature. Have you ever been driving somewhere and a feeling told you to turn left instead of right – regardless of what your navigation device or internet directions told you – or that if you went around the block, you’d find a parking space? That’s your IVIN at work.
Here’s a good example. While launching my Wishweavers business in Salem, Oregon, I worked one or two days a week to supplement income at a lovely gift and antique shop close to my home. I was the only person in the store one day when a young man walked in. He seemed cagey, excitable, and the hair on my body stood on end in his presence. He stayed in the store looking haphazardly at things until all the other customers in the store had left. He then engaged me in conversation. A voice inside my head seemed to scream, “He’s going to steal your purse!” He spoke mostly in monolog about a number of things, and I became more and more uncomfortable with each word he said.
Finally, he said he wanted to buy an antique kerosene lamp to ship to his grandmother who collected them on the east coast, and asked me if we had a box in which to ship it. I later learned this is one of the oldest tricks in the book for stealing from a retail store. I hesitated for a moment before going into the back room, that voice still in my head. I looked down at my purse behind the counter, made direct eye contact with the guy, and left the purse there rather than taking it with me into the back, not wanting to offend him should he turn out to be a legitimate paying customer.
I’d never moved as hastily as I did grabbing that box. The man was standing by the front door as I came out, easily less than three seconds later. He said, “I need to go to my car to get my wallet,” walked out the door and bolted down the sidewalk. I quickly glanced behind the counter. My purse was still there, but when I looked inside it, my billfold was missing. I raced out the door and he was already long gone.
I searched, notified the owners of the other businesses in the strip mall, called the police, filed a report—the usual things people do when they’ve been robbed. The thief had left a plastic soda pop bottle on the counter, which was dusted for fingerprints to no avail. My billfold was later found in a hobby shop not far from the store, completely intact except for the one dollar bill and change (I told you I needed to supplement my income!) I had in it. The billfold was also dusted for fingerprints and none were found on it, either.
The message from my IVIN was absolutely clear, yet I didn’t heed it out of fear of offending someone. I learned a big lesson that day! Listen to your IVIN! It won’t lead you astray, even if you can’t always interpret the message right away. I didn’t even need to interpret that one; the words and accompanying feelings which came were so strong, I simply knew this person’s intention was to steal from me. Not that he had a gun and was going to demand I empty the cash register to rob the store, but that he intended to steal from me personally.
Our IVIN helps us connect with our authentic nature and realize our dreams just like it alerts us to potential danger. Pay attention, listen, and take action based on this guidance.
How can you listen more deeply to your IVIN this week? Let us know on the blog!
Don’t underestimate your inner voice. It rarely speaks to you as the cartoons portray it—a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. That would be easy. In reality, our inner voice is usually very quiet. It gets drowned out by the noise of life or ignored in the rush. But it will take care of you, guide, help you. Listen. –Moments for Myself, a calendar by Blessings Unlimited.
Authentic Performance Voice Lab
Learn to:
Harness the power of your breath to reduce performance anxiety
Speak with power and confidence for maximum audience impact
Be heard strongly and clearly at the back of the room
Connect with and touch your audience so they remember you
Loosen up, relax and be your genuine self on stage
June 2nd, Friday! 4:00 – 6:00 pm
7814 SW Capitol Highway, in the heart of Multnomah Village * 503-207-6664
Portland Peeps: Voice Lab (Free!) Starts June 2 in Multnomah Village. Details below.
The master mind process (what I call wish-weaving) is second nature to me by now, and has been so critical to my forward movement in life, I wrote a book about it. Occasionally, I step in to help someone else start their group, and you’ll find tips on creating and sustaining your own Wishweavers Circle scattered throughout my blog.
One thing I haven’t focused on, however, is what to avoidwhen you’re involved in such a group. These three common pitfalls are pertinent whether you have an established group, or are new to one.
1. Forget your history. Wipe the slate clean.
When that precious group time arrives, whether it’s once a week, twice monthly, quarterly…remember this is your time to move forward, ahead, past perceived blocks and obstacles. Pay no attention to what happened up until that moment and open yourself to new possibilities.
Picture your history as a chalkboard. Maybe it’s cluttered with “I had knee surgery,” “I failed as a business owner,” “My husband left me for another man,” or “I hate to run.” Pull out your blackboard eraser and wipe the slate clean. Any time you feel the urge to explain yourself, to get people to understand you, remember the eraser. Your history has been wiped clean. You’re now a clean slate, open to receiving new ideas and new possibilities.
2. Say “no” to nothing. Nod “yes” to everything and jot it down.
Your special circle opportunity is focused and has a time limit. With every breath and word you expend explaining why you already tried something and it didn’t work, or you “can’t” do something because of…the knee surgery, you failed in the past, your husband left you, you hate to run…you deprive yourself of the time, space and energy for new ideas that can and will work. Open yourself up for those possibilities. The rest…fuhgettaboutit!
3. Refrain from coaching each other.
It’s hard enough to wipe our own slates clean, so we can truly listen and receive. We certainly can’t do it for another! Instead, breathe deeply and allow helpful ideas for your partners to come. Instead of telling another what you think they “should do,” listen within, and see the highest version and vision of that partner, that perhaps she can’t see for herself right then.
We all need this from time to time. I know I do. What a great feeling it is when someone says, “Thank you for seeing that in me. Thank you for your support and encouragement. You made a real difference in my life.”
Authentic Performance Voice Lab
Learn to:
Harness the power of your breath to reduce performance anxiety
Speak with power and confidence for maximum audience impact
Be heard strongly and clearly at the back of the room
Connect with and touch your audience so they remember you
Loosen up, relax and be your genuine self on stage
June 2nd, Friday! 4:00 – 6:00 pm
7814 SW Capitol Highway, in the heart of Multnomah Village * 503-207-6664
Eliza Bone’ knows how to bring the right people together on her television program, The Emerging Pearl. I was honored to be invited as a guest expert on this particular topic: Be Visible! Learn to Step into Your Courage & Power.
Eliza says, “More often than not, women contend with social anxiety, avoid having their photograph taken, are terrified of Facebook Live, and so many other aspects of being visible. Let’s explore the reasons that prevent women from being front and center, including fear, low self-esteem, poor body image, lack of self-confidence. We’ll share easy, effective strategies to inspire women to come out of hiding and step into a confident, strong and assertive role.”
As you read in a previous post, we stepped out of our comfort zone and had fun!
If you found this post helpful, please spread the love and pass it along to a friend!
If the idea of speaking in public about your business or non-profit leaves you wanting to crawl under the covers and hide all day, e-mail me at laurahanj@comcast.net to learn more about Authentic Performance for Speakers: Speaking with Impact! Speak about your passion with passion and inspire people to work with you.
