Introduction

Clients wishing to improve their vocal gravitas and presence are often very surprised when we begin by examining their physical tension and posture.

Unless we are born with a physical disability we all begin life with perfect posture ⁠— aligned, balanced and open.

All you have to do to see this, is look at a toddler as they stand unaided for the first time.

Perfect posture!

As a result of this natural, perfect posture they can breathe and produce voice ⁠— fully, openly and freely.

Once again, all you have to do is listen to the voice produced by a baby.

"Your natural body, before it becomes warped and distorted by life, is an amazingly aligned, powerful and efficient embodiment of you and your presence."
- Patsy Rodenburg, theatre director, voice coach and author

What to expect in this lesson? 

As we go through life we take on stress, tension and poor postural habits that take the body out of its natural state.

This, in turn, affects our breathing.

And ultimately it impacts on our voice.

So working on building an awareness of our body's posture and tension is the most efficient way to work on your voice.

Both our posture and the tension in our bodies can result in a pushed, strained sound as opposed to what we're looking for: a sound that is free from friction for the speaker (you!) and easeful, engaging and compelling for the listener (your team, stakeholders, directors, delegates, attendees, clients, prospects or the public at large).

The body is similar to a sponge.

Over time it absorbs physical tensions which we just live with and it becomes the norm.

But what might have become normal in your body is often not a good thing for your voice.

When the body is free of restrictive tension, the skeleton framework or spine is allowed to find its natural alignment.

As a result many of the tensions simply fall away, your breathing will improve and the voice will function without any restriction.

Tension and poor posture are the enemies of our work of mastering gravitas and vocal presence. We will explore all about that in this lesson.

Let's get started!