Emma Nesta, Transformational Voice Coach and International Coaching Federation accredited Life Coach is collaborating with Gen A Consultancy to bring the 5 Steps to Vocal Power programme to business owners and leaders.
Let's face it, if you are a business owner or a leader you want people to listen to your messages. Thoughts, beliefs, and values can shape the way others feel and respond to you. Our online communities are brimming with articles, social media posts & opinionated comments that spark up thought, and shape our viewpoints & actions. The latest trends create frenzies and debates across the globe daily.
Our words are power. The way we say them is powerful.
Qualities of great leadership communication include confidence, articulation, strength, agility, inspiration, transparency & clarity. When a leader speaks to a room, they are engaging, assertive and authentic. Leaders convey messages of the brand & set the tone. Leaders create culture, and vision, and bring people together.
Listeners are eager to feel the empathy of their leaders, they want to feel heard & understood. Business owners understand their consumers and clients ensuring they provide a fulfilling service and understand why.
Responsibility can leave leaders feeling under pressure & stressed to show up & perform to a required standard. I was surprised to learn of global data taken by Positive.org in 2022 found 41% of senior leaders were stressed and 36% are exhausted. 70% of senior leaders are feeling burned out and 69% of executives are considering leaving due to their wellbeing.
How does this relate to why a business owner or leader should have a vocal coach?
I have been coaching people to understand, nurture & love their voices for 20 years. I have coached 1000s of people. Singers and Speakers alike. Business owners, leaders and entrepreneurs representing countries all around the globe.
What do all these people have in common? They want to speak with power & create an impact on their social platforms & live events. They love sharing their messages, talents, and visions with audiences & want to serve their communities by sharing knowledge. They crave a space to learn, and try out new ways to vocalise & express themselves. They want to transform on screen & stage while showing up authentically and real. They are excited about new opportunities.
Many of my clients initially assume, as a vocal coach I repeat arduous tongue twisters & encourage the finest vocabulary. (Not completely wrong here but we do delve deeper, the well-being benefits are just as important in vocal transformation).
Last year, I met with an international business owner. His charity was gaining momentum & traction in the USA and the UK. He wanted to share stories capturing the great work of his business & the people it supports. When I first met him online, he was sitting in front of his backdrop of national flag & certificates on the wall. He was dressed in smart attire sitting extremely upright & eager to learn. He was so nervous. Leadership was not a new concept, passion & talent was clear, overcoming his concerns about his accent, consistently speaking on camera, and uploading it to his new audience was. He wanted to be understood.
Well-being & self-evaluated success flourished during our time together. He created and recorded his brand story, attracted new followers, and retained interest online.
He completed the 5 Steps to Vocal Power.
1. Preparation Our muscles need warming up when we are using our #voices. Just like warming up for sport we must understand the mechanical and biological tool that enables us to create sound. Affirmations, intentions & goal setting to focus our minds, physical stretches to expand our body, facial yoga to stretch and release tension. Tension creeps into our body, especially when we are holding onto unconscious limiting beliefs that hold us back from full self-expression.
2. Respiration Breathing is our greatest gift. When we change our breathing, we change our lives. #Breathwork, deep breathing, SOVT & diaphragmatic exercises form part of my clients daily practice regime. Our intercostal muscles and core support system is developed to support posture & optimum breath control, balancing air pressure to the vocal folds. This practice also provides the speaker with the tools to remain calm and centred.
3. Phonation Creating sound is the fun part! Imagine vocal sound as a tonal palette of colours and textures to paint and create a picture and landscape, every time we #speak. Through a variety of exercise, we explore range, resonance & placement to create a dynamic, rich vocal delivery. We home in on some acting skills here too!
4. Articulation The fun continues, as we explore & create a signature sound! Exercises to articulate vowels & consonants. Accent softening or enhancing. Pitch, Pace & Tone. Muscle memory is developed through repetition of exercise, so this stage is really important. The structure of the message is also explored here. This forms a part of the signature sound. The words used and the impact they will have.
5. Visualisation Our audiences feel our energy before they hear us. Through various visualisation techniques, we can overcome #performanceanxiety, prepare our delivery, capture the emotion we want to convey and attract audiences who will truly benefit from the message. A variety of visualisation techniques & resources are used in this stage. Practising body language & adding in the final choreographed touches.
When these 5 stages are practiced consistently, they become part of a #leaders regime, their vocal delivery and performance #transforms. The reward is always felt on stage, on camera & outside of the arena. Engaged, curious audiences where messages are genuinely felt, heard, and understood. Recording time becomes streamlined & confident meaning less time recording & re-recording!
One of my clients was really taken aback by how much time they saved by recording a month’s worth of content in one day (Pretty uplifting hey!) Enhanced relationships and confident interactions. Increased awareness of self and impact on others.
So, with all this in mind, let us ask ourselves again, should business owners and leaders get a vocal coach?
Engaging & interactive vocal coaching sessions provide the tools to prepare & deliver powerful, confident presentations and speaking engagements.
Book a discovery call with Emma Lou Nesta to explore how the 5 Steps to Vocal Power will support your leadership and business goals by visiting our website at https://www.genaconsultancy.com/contact
To your success!