The way how we think or feel about our own voice will hugely affect how free and open our
voice is. Our thoughts and emotions about our own voice can add tension to already existing
physical tension in our voice and bodies. In this short video, I will share how my clients
are able to overcome their negative thoughts and feelings about their voice and voice issues.
My name is Katarina, I am the founder of Vocal Freedom System for the Speaking Voice,
where I help people reduce tension, strain or even
pain when speaking and get them back to speaking with a strong voice that lasts.
And in this video, I want to show you an example of how my clients are dealing with negative
thoughts and emotions about their own voice. This is actually the very first thing that I recommend
to all of my clients: explore how you think and feel about your own voice and find ways to think
about it in a more positive, constructive or curious way. And I know this is a challenge for
many of them if not all of them, because they are dealing with tension-related voice issues.
I am going to share a story of one of my clients but his example is a very common
scenario for many people. This particular client had a diagnosis of MTD and he was experiencing
throat tightness and pain every single day. He writes: “In the past, I would wake up,
and if I was to talk in that first half an hour, I would feel my voice clench up. So I thought to
myself “better not talk, or else”. And of course, if he talked, his voice would clench up and hurt.
So, we discussed this and other thoughts about speaking and his voice and how
they may potentially add more tightness and increase his perception of pain. I suggested
that he learns about how people perceive pain, how to interpret his sensations,
wherever they may be and how to explore these sensations with a curious mind.
I want to stress that just learning about how we perceive pain in our bodies and
voice can actually decrease the perception of pain. Also,
decreasing or removing fear and worries about our voice, can lead to less tension.
My client did what I suggested and this is what he wrote a few days later:
“With even just a small mindset shift, even just going from 'better not talk...'
to 'hey let's see how it goes!' has been substantial! Your encouragement
to get playful with this process goes a long way to reframe the problem from a
downward spiral into something with a light at the end of the tunnel”.
I am very proud of his progress because retraining the brain from a life-or-death outlook on his
voice to a more light-hearted attitude, which honestly can be counterintuitive for many people,
can for sure reduce stress and develop a more relaxed thought process towards the voice.
He ended his message with these words:
“It's a work in progress, but I've already felt the difference.”
To sum up, don’t underestimate the relationship with your own voice. If you are waking up every
morning with worries about speaking or thoughts about disliking your voice,
you may be unintentionally adding tension to the body and voice. Find activities
and exercises that set up the emotional environment that supports tension-free voice.
Do you want to be part of our group coaching program where I teach you
how to get rid of tension from the voice for good, and get you back to speaking
on a daily basis with a strong voice that lasts all day long WITHOUT worrying about
the voice AND WITHOUT spending valuable time on vocal exercises that do not work? If so,
click the link below to learn more about our program and apply to work with me.
If you found this video helpful, click the like button and subscribe to my channel to stay in
touch. Check out my other videos right here below. I hope to see you soon. Bye.