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Working
with the voice as a holistic system:
the Voice and Communication Pentagon
Our voice is our identity.
It is both our deepest, inner self, and a means through which we engage
with the world and from which others form an impression of us. The
ancient Greeks said that “as men’s life is, so is their
talk” – our voices seem to echo precisely everything that
we are. This is presumably what prompted Socrates to say, “Speak,
that I may see you,” and prompted the title of Boone’s
book, ‘Is your voice telling on you?’.
Our voice is also an expression of our power.
Through our voice, we can claim our place in the world. The energy and
sound of our voices can have both positive and negative intention and
impact, as can our words. The voice and the person are indivisible. As
Stengel and Strauch say, ““work on the voice, whether
conscious or subconscious, is always also work on the self”.
Andrews writes: “No problem exists in a discrete form. Any
problem that affects the ability to communicate creates social and
emotional difficulties. Similarly, social and emotional problems can
themselves create or exacerbate communication disorders.”
Effective
development of voice and communication skills therefore needs to take
account of both the physical dimension of voice (how the body produces
the sound most efficiently and healthily), and the personal dimension
(the inner landscape of the person, and their social and relationship
context).
It can be useful to think of voice and
communication with
a five-part model that can be represented by a pentagon.
- First of all, it is important to realize
that although we use the word ‘voice’ a lot, actually,
there is no such thing as a voice. There is no physical object we can
point to and say, ‘there it is, that’s my voice’.
More likely, when we talk about someone’s voice, we are referring
to the acoustic phenomenon, the sound that our listening brains
interpret as voice and, of course, language. So, the first point on the
pentagon is called VOCAL SOUND.
If we want to have any influence on our vocal sound, we cannot change
it directly; we have to look to other points on the model. Vocal sound
is an acoustic event in the physical world, and is produced through
physical means.
- So, the next point on the pentagon is the BODY. The physical process can be
simplified into three components: the breath mechanism (which is
governed by many muscle systems, and influenced by posture and how we
move and hold ourselves); the vibrating mechanism (the vocal cords, the
structures that surround them, and the muscles that act most directly
on them); and the ‘sound shaping’ element (the structures
and muscles that influence timbre, resonance, and articulation, the
conversion of the raw sound signal into words). Our biological
inheritance, our genetic make-up plays a role in the sounds we can
make, but is the least significant element. A great voice is not so
much about the accident of genetic inheritance, but how we use what we
have. An important part of all vocal training happens at this physical
level. There are sound anatomical principles that govern the healthy
and free production of vocal sound. It is useful to be able to
distinguish these sound and logical methods from the mass of
mis-information and incomplete understandings that abound in the voice
training world! Any good voice trainer should be able to describe
exactly and precise detail the physical basis of what is happening, and
why something works. Effective physical technique can also enhance the
delivery of what we want to say or sing.
- Knowing about the physical basis of producing vocal
sound is not sufficient in itself to have a free, expressive or
interesting voice. Our voices can still let us down however good our
physical technique is; so too, we can sometimes regret the words we
choose in a given moment. This is because what we do with our bodies is
deeply influenced by our EMOTIONS.
Without having to consciously plan, our vocal sound immediately reveals
feeling. A person’s facial expression or how they are ‘in
their bodies’ arises from how they use their muscles – this
indicates something both about their personality and their current
mood. Our emotional selves, and emotional history, are mapped into our
bodies. To master our voice, we must master our bodies; to master our
bodies fully, we must master our emotions.
- Emotions clearly have a physical dimension - they
are always felt in the body, albeit sometimes subtly. Emotions also
always have a cognitive component. With practice, we can track through
our internal process, and discover that there are THOUGHTS that are triggering our
emotional states. For example, it is not difficult to recognize which
thought process will serve me better – ‘Will I speak / sing
well in the next few moments, or will I make a complete fool of
myself?’ or “Whatever happens now, whatever sounds / words
I emit, whatever responses come from others, none of this has to affect
my internal equilibrium.” As well as affecting our emotions, our
thoughts can also directly help or hinder the conscious instructions we
give to our bodies in the physical technique of sound production. How
we think about the situation also governs the words we choose.
- The fifth point on the pentagon represents the
‘ground’ from which our thoughts arise. This is our
personal PARADIGM, which
includes our fundamental view of ourselves, our beliefs about how the
world works and what our place is within it, and priorities. For
example, when I have a secure sense of self, and can meet with courage,
honesty and compassion those parts of myself that once I might not have
wanted to admit existed, then I am likely to engage with others with a
much greater open-mindedness, vitality and confidence - and I will be
able to maintain my equilibrium regardless of how others behave towards
me. I need to have a fundamental trust in the idea that the world is
not a hostile place, or that even if people are out are out to
‘get me’ (or, for that matter, put me on a pedestal), I can
remain psychologically and emotionally intact. My thoughts will reflect
this, as will my emotional state. My body is then, relaxed, vibrant and
fluent. My words are likely to be well chosen, positive, and engaging
for the listener, and my vocal energy will be at its best.
We have taken a journey
anti-clockwise around the pentagon, but there is a reciprocity between
all the different parts of this five-part system. Physical processes,
such as breathing, relaxation and postural alignment techniques, can
help change our emotional and mental state. Physical movement, and
deeper breathing triggers endorphins in the body, lifting our emotional
state, and we find ourselves thinking more positively. Sounds can
influence our inner life (as shown, for example by music therapy, and
the importance of music in all our lives). There is a large body of
scientific evidence that shows how sound (which is a type of vibration)
can also directly affect our bodies. We can shift our paradigm either
by ‘changing our mind’ or by a spontaneous internal
‘realignmnent’ arising from the direct impact of sound.
(Have you ever experienced a complete change in outlook from simply
being receptive to prolonged sound meditation, or a piece of music?).
The Voice and
Communication Pentagon™ illustrates these paths of influence. All
aspects are related to and influence each other. What this means is
that in terms of voice and communication work:
- any feature in one part of the self has its parallel
features in the other four
- an intervention in one aspect can affect, challenge
and support movement in the other four areas
- voicework does not have to be confined just to
‘voice’ or the body, so when we feel stuck in those areas,
there are other areas we can usefully explore and work with;
conversely, communication work does not have to be confined to
‘thinking’ and talking through issues
- for voice and communication work to be effective, we
need to be attentive to which of these five aspects is the best
‘entry point’ for change work at any given moment
- all voice and communication work is about coming
more into our true selves, and then moving 'out' again into voice and
communication.
The core principle underlying all the work of Authentic
Voice is that changes in vocal and communication behaviour imply a
systemic change in behaviour. For all behavioural change to be
authentic, consistent and sustainable (so that we reach 'unconscious
competence'), we must be prepared to be different. In practice, this
means becoming more ourselves, believing in what - and who - we have to
offer, and being willing and able to operate from ever deeper levels of
integrity. When we achieve that, our confidence is at its highest, and
we can learn to master vocal and other skills easily. Such systemic
change work takes time and sustained commitment. Most importantly, we
must be prepared to work on the 'inner game' and personal issues that
inevitably arise in voice and communication work. Working on the
'mechanics' of voice production can provide the scaffolding for this
work, but rarely on its own produces satisfying results. This five-part
model offers an approach that creates significant and lasting change by
working with the whole person - mind, body, emotions, and values.
References
- Andrews,
Moya (2002) Voice
treatment for children and adolescents, Singular,
USA
- Boone, Daniel (1997)
Is your voice
telling on you?, Singular, USA
- Stengel, Ingeburg
and Strauch, Theo (2000) Voice and Self: a handbook of
personal voice development therapy, Free Association Books,
London/NY
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