Wednesday, April 30, 2025

 đŸŽ™ď¸ Weekly Insight #37: Voice, Resilience, and Embodying Intention

"Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it."
— Epictetus

As I move closer to an important moment—an upcoming keynote where I’ll speak not just about voice and presence but through them—this line from Epictetus keeps echoing.

You can’t explain resilience into being.
You can’t describe authenticity into existence.
You have to embody it.

This is true in voice, and it’s true in life.


Mental Mentors

When I think about what it means to embody rather than explain, I find myself reflecting on the mentors who still guide me—not through slogans or formulas, but through lived example.

  • Margaret Harshaw taught that singing is 95% mental—you must will the voice to do what you wish it to do. It’s not about brute force. It’s about deep internal direction.

  • Frank Sinatra showed that when you work deeply with lyrics, embody their meaning, and practice your interpretation, you create something singular—a performance that feels inevitable, natural, and alive.

  • Giovanni Battista Lamperti reminded singers that tone, voice, and breath are inseparable—like children holding hands; if one lets go, the connection breaks.

These aren’t just lessons I’ve memorized.
They’ve become a part of how I breathe, how I begin sound, how I choose to show up.

We don’t carry forward their wisdom by quoting them.
We carry it forward when we live it.




How Voice Reflects Inner Alignment

In vocal work, there’s a natural flow that mirrors the idea of embodiment:

Intention → Breath → Tone → Connect

  • Intention forms first, often invisibly. It’s the thought, the desire, the message. Intention acts like an internal GPS—it sets direction before a single word is spoken.

  • Breath is the first visible (and felt) expression of that intention.

  • Tone arises from breath, shaping sound into meaning.

  • Connection is the final movement—the outward arc where presence meets presence.

Intention organizes breath.
Breath powers tone.
Tone carries connection.

This isn’t just a technique. It’s a way of being.


Voice as a Form of Resilience

Resilience isn’t about bracing harder.
It’s about returning—to breath, to body, to self.

In moments of pressure, the fastest way back to resilience is not through willpower alone.
It’s through awareness of breath.
Through alignment of intention.
Through allowing sound to emerge naturally rather than pushing it.

Voice gives us a direct, living map of how we are showing up—in ourselves and with others.


Moving Toward Embodiment

Next week, I’ll have the opportunity to share these ideas aloud—not as concepts, but as living experience.
Not to explain them, but to embody them.

Until then, I invite you to notice:

  • How you intend before you speak.

  • How your breath carries that intention.

  • How your tone shapes connection.

You don’t have to explain your voice.
You just have to live it.


#DevelopingYourAuthenticVoiceWithElias #VoiceMatters #EmotionalIntelligence #LeadershipPresence #BAandBeyond #MeetInMay #NoBox

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

🎙️ Weekly Insight #36: How You Start Changes Everything

Last week we explored voice as a pillar—something that doesn't just carry your message but carries you. This week, we’re zooming in on the moment that structure begins: the onset.

It’s easy to think of sound as something we just make. But when you really pay attention, you'll notice: the way you start speaking often mirrors the way you show up emotionally. And that's where today’s practice begins.


What Is Onset?

In voice work, onset refers to the start of sound—the “attack,” to borrow a musical term. It’s the moment your breath becomes tone.

There are three commonly discussed onset types:

  • Aspirate onset (soft, breathy):
    A gentle start where breath escapes before sound. Example: â€œhapple” instead of â€œapple.”

  • Glottal onset (hard, percussive):
    A pop of sound created by the vocal folds coming together tightly. Example: saying â€œâ€™Elias” with a vocal catch before the E.

  • Balanced onset (coordinated, clean):
    Breath and tone meet in sync—no extra air, no force. It’s the most sustainable for both speech and singing. In Italian, this is linked to appoggio, meaning support or pillar—a perfect architectural metaphor.


Onset and Emotional Intelligence

These vocal starts reflect and shape more than just sound. They tie directly into the five pillars of emotional intelligence:

  • Self-awareness: Do you notice how you usually begin speaking?

  • Self-regulation: Can you adjust how you start to fit the moment?

  • Motivation: Does your vocal energy reflect your intent?

  • Empathy: Can you soften or center your tone to connect with others?

  • Social skill: Are you adapting your vocal choices as needed?

Your voice begins before the sound—with breath. That intake of air already carries intention. This is especially important in aspirate onsets, which require more airflow.


Symbols as Sound Anchors

Whether we use IPA or familiar spelling cues like "ee" or "oh," the point is the same:

We’re giving ourselves a visual tool to recognize and reproduce sounds we already know—but might not yet know how to describe or train.

These symbols create consistency of concept—a shared framework that helps us stay grounded in exercises and real-world communication.

For example, the IPA symbol [i] (the “ee” sound) appears differently depending on the language:

  • English: “ee” → see, deep

  • German: “ie” → Lieder, Liebe

  • Italian: “i” → vino, milano

  • French: “î” → ĂŽle, rire

That’s the power of IPA: it transcends language-specific spelling. But everyday phonetic cues—what some call “layman’s phonetics” or “practical spellings”—give us a way to engage more easily, especially when teaching or learning across different levels.


Try It: Onset Exercise with Pure Vowels

Let’s work with two pure vowels:

  • [o] as in go â†’ “oh”

  • [i] as in see â†’ “ee”

Now try each vowel with the three types of onset:

  1. Aspirate (add an “h” in front)

    • ho ho ho [ho ho ho]

    • hee hee hee [hi hi hi]
      Think: breathy, light, like Santa or laughter.

  2. Glottal (start with a vocal pop)

    • ’o ’o ’o [ʔo ʔo ʔo]

    • ’e ’e ’e [ʔi ʔi ʔi]
      Think: direct, punchy, sometimes intense.

  3. Balanced (no breathiness or throat catch)

    • o o o [o o o]

    • e e e [i i i]
      Think: smooth, centered, supported.

After each round, pause. Notice how it felt. Did your breath change? Did your intention shift?

Link here: Elias demonstrates the onset exercise.


Why This Matters

These aren’t just vocal tricks. They’re ways to get underneath your habits and start making conscious choices.

When you can name what you’re doing, you can begin to change how you sound, how you connect—and how you carry yourself.

Because the way you start… changes everything that follows.


Next Week: We’ll explore how to stay vocally resilient when the pressure’s on. Whether it’s a big moment, a long day, or a tough conversation, your voice can be a source of strength. I’ll share practical techniques for keeping it clear, steady, and strong.

Until then—listen to how you start.

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

 

🎙️ Weekly Insight #35: When Voice Becomes a Pillar

Last week, we ended with a question: what happens when breath becomes voice?
When the moment is supported—literally—and something deeper comes through?

That’s where I want to begin today.

There’s a quote I’ve been reflecting on as I prepare for my keynote on May 6. It’s from Victor Hugo:

“Les voyelles et les consonnes portent l'esprit humain comme une charpente porte un édifice.”
“Vowels and consonants carry the human spirit like a framework supports a building.”

Voice as framework. Voice as structure. As something that holds.

It’s not just poetic. It’s technical. And it’s true.


What Holds the Voice Up

We often talk about voice in expressive or artistic terms. But underneath the beauty, there’s design.
Just like a building, voice has a foundation and a series of load-bearing elements. One of those essential elements is onset—the very beginning of sound.

In voice pedagogy, onset refers to how sound starts. Think of it like the “attack” in music. The first moment something vibrates into sound. The tone before the tone.

There are three primary types of onset commonly discussed in vocal training:

  1. Aspirate (or soft) onset
    This one begins with air. Imagine putting an ‘H’ in front of a word—like saying â€œhapple” instead of â€œapple.”
    It sounds breathy, even gentle. And while it can be expressive, it uses a lot of air. Sometimes that’s useful for building awareness of breath control, but it can also make the voice feel unfocused or under-supported.

  2. Glottal (or hard) onset
    This comes from the throat—specifically the glottis. It’s a sudden, percussive start. Think of it as a vocal “kickoff.”
    It’s helpful for clarity, especially in languages that begin words with vowels. For example, my name is Elias. Without a clear glottal onset, it can be misheard as Malias. That little catch in the throat makes all the difference.

  3. Balanced onset
    This is the coordinated start we often aim for in both speech and song. It’s where breath pressure and vocal fold closure are in sync—neither breathy nor harsh.
    In Italian, this is described with the word appoggio, which translates to support or pillar. It’s an architectural term—one that fits well here.
    This is what gives a voice clarity, presence, and sustainability.


Bel Canto and the Art of Connection

In classical singing, this balance is central to the bel canto tradition—literally “beautiful singing.” It emphasizes a seamless legato line that connects one vowel to the next.

Now, most of us don’t need to sound like opera singers at work. But understanding how a balanced onset feels gives you more control over how your voice functions in everyday communication.

It’s about knowing the difference between pushing and releasing. Between forcing and allowing. And that awareness gives you options.


Why This Matters Offstage

This brings us to emotional intelligence.

The five pillars—self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill—aren’t just concepts. They show up in how we speak.

  • Self-awareness: Do you know how your voice enters a room?

  • Self-regulation: Can you shift your tone when things get tense?

  • Motivation: Do you bring energy into what you say without sounding forced?

  • Empathy: Can your tone soften to create space for others?

  • Social skill: Do you use your voice with timing and adaptability?

Each of these pillars is supported by breath.
Each is expressed through sound.
Each depends on your ability to start with presence.


Voice Is Never Just Sound

Your voice is not just your sound.
It’s your presence.
It’s your clarity.
It’s your emotional signal.
It’s the structure—the pillar—that helps carry your message across.

Next week, we’ll break this down into something you can practice.

We’ll look at how different onsets feel in the body, and how they affect the way your message lands. We may even include a short video you can follow along with.

Because once you become aware of how you start, you can begin to change everything that follows.






Wednesday, April 9, 2025

🎙️ Weekly Insight #34: The Breath Beneath Resilience

When we talk about resilience, we often picture strength. Endurance. The ability to bounce back.

But if you follow the trail inward—past mindset, past emotion—what you’ll often find at the center of resilience is something simpler: breath.

In moments of stress, our breathing changes. It becomes fast, shallow, often high in the chest. And it’s easy to label this kind of breath as wrong or dysfunctional. But the truth is: it’s intelligent. It’s a survival response.

When something in our environment triggers the fight, flight, or freeze response, our body prepares to act quickly. Breathing speeds up to bring in more oxygen. The breath lifts higher in the chest so we can take in air fast—priming our muscles to move. The diaphragm becomes less active. The shoulders, neck, and upper chest start to help. It’s not broken. It’s biological.

This kind of breath is effective—it serves a purpose.  The issue isn’t that we enter this state. It’s that we sometimes remain there without realizing it.

And when we continue in that high, tight breath pattern long after the moment of stress has passed, it starts to shape more than just the body—it shapes the voice.

And this is where breath begins to affect something else—how we produce sound.

When breath stays high and tension builds, the voice begins to reflect that state. It gets tight. Constricted. Less expressive. And slowly, we lose access to something essential—not just sound, but presence.

Resilience, then, isn’t just the ability to get through something hard. It’s the capacity to return. To re-expand. To re-occupy your body and voice with ease and awareness. And breath is the path back.


Try this:

Pause for a moment.

Place a hand low on your belly—not to push or force anything, but to listen.
Let your belly be soft. Loose.
Notice how the air moves. Feel the belly expand as you breathe in.
And feel yourself gently release and relax on every out-breath.
Let the breath move without control or judgment.
Ask yourself: How does the breath tend to move today?
What rhythm or flow is already there, waiting to be noticed?

If a deeper breath wants to arrive, let it.
If the breath stays shallow for now, that’s okay too.
Your breath knows what it’s doing. You are simply allowing.

On your next inhale, breathe in with a small intention—
A word, a quality, or feeling you’d like to bring forward:
Calm. Strength. Openness. Trust.
Let that intention float quietly in your awareness.

As you exhale, if it feels good to you, let it come with a soft sigh.
Then let your breath settle into its own rhythm again.

Now, try releasing a sound—not a word, just a vowel.
Choose a pure, open one, like:

  • “oh” as in go [/o/]

  • “ah” as in father [/ɑ/]

Let the sound ride the breath. No force. Just release.
Allow your intention to travel through the sound.
Notice how your body wants to support the sound.

That first moment, when breath becomes voice—that’s called the onset.
It’s how we begin to speak. How we meet a vowel.

Next week, we’ll explore what happens when that moment is supported—how it becomes a pillar of strength and sound.


Coming up May 6 at BA & Beyond: I’ll be leading a keynote session on how voice, breath, and emotional awareness can help professionals navigate change with confidence and clarity. Resilience Through Voice: Tools for Navigating Change

Looking forward to sharing tools for calm, connection, and presence—especially when the pressure’s on.


#DevelopingYourAuthenticVoiceWithElias
#DevelopingYourAuthenticVoice
#Resilience
#BreathAndVoice
#EmotionalIntelligence
#BAandBeyond


Wednesday, April 2, 2025

🎙️ Weekly Insight #33: Pitch, Presence, and the Power of Vocal Variation

Your pitch tells people how to feel—sometimes before your words finish.

Most of us use pitch variation without thinking. This week, the goal is to build real-time awareness:
✅ What’s happening in your breath?
✅ Is your tone matching your intention—or reacting to nerves, habit, or fatigue?


🧠 Why Pitch is Your Emotional GPS

  • High pitch â†’ Excitement, urgency, sometimes anxiety

  • Low pitch â†’ Calm, certainty, sometimes boredom

But staying too long at either extreme—too high or too low—makes people tune out.
Pitch movement keeps the listener engaged and guides meaning.


🎯 Refined Drill — Using "Uh-Huh" to Hear Pitch Shifts

Say â€œuh-huh” three ways:

  • Agreement

  • Sarcasm

  • Impatience

Notice: What changes first?
Pitch. Then breath. Then body tension.

That’s your signal—the body reacting before words.


💡 Mini Experiment — Mapping Your Pitch Range

Pick a short phrase—"Today is a good day."

Record it:
✅ Neutral tone
✅ Adding warmth (breath softens, slight pitch drop)
✅ Adding curiosity (pitch lift, brighter tone)

Listen back:

  • What felt right?

  • Where did your breath support—or push?

  • Did the meaning shift, even with the same words?


🔎 Synchronous Awareness = Power

The real shift happens when you notice what you're doing as you're doing it.

Is my pitch rising because there's a sense of urgency, or is that what I intend?
Is it dropping to convey confidence, or am I feeling unsure?

I notice this most when I record myself practicing a German lied (song). Lately, what I feel while singing is aligning more closely with what I hear in playback. It wasn’t always that way.

But repetition taught me something: I can trust sensation—how the breath flows, how the sound lands in the body—more than I thought. When I tune into those signals in real time, I stay connected to what I mean—not just what I’m saying.

And that's the essence of vocal presence.

Try this: Record just a phrase or two.
Don’t judge—just ask: What do I feel? What do I hear? Do they match?
That tiny loop is where trust begins.


🗝 Key Takeaway:

Pitch is your emotional color palette.
Used intentionally, it keeps people with you.
Left on autopilot, it tells a story you may not mean.


📌 Next Week (Insight #34):

We explore resonance—how shifting where your voice vibrates changes how it feels and how it lands.


✅ Hashtags:
#DevelopingYourAuthenticVoice #DYAVWithElias #VocalLeadership #PitchAwareness #StorytellingSkills #CommunicationMatters #VoiceTraining #MindfulSpeaking

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

🎙️ Weekly Insight #32: Breath, Tone, and Intention — The Unseen Connection

We often think communication is about words.
But what people feel is tone—and tone is shaped by breath.

The connection is simple but easy to miss:
✅ Breath drives tone
✅ Tone shapes meaning
✅ Meaning lands—or doesn’t—based on the commands sent (either intentionally or not.)

🎯 Revisit the "Uh-Huh" Drill—Now with Intention

We first explored this in Insight #21, when we talked about vocal range, registers, and tessitura—your voice’s natural, comfortable zone.

If you'd like, please reconnect with that post and watch this short video:
▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFdR9W5SETw

The "Uh-Huh" Drill isn’t just about sound—it helps you find where your voice naturally lives when you’re not performing.

Say â€œuh-huh” casually. That’s often your home base pitch—where the voice feels easiest, most authentic.
Now try â€œuh-huh” as sarcastic, impatient, curious.

What changes first?

✅ Pitch rises or flattens
✅ Breath shifts
✅ Body reacts

It’s not the word—it’s your breath and body driving tone.


🧠 Body Check: What’s Reacting?

  • Nervous or rushed? Breath shortens, chest tightens, pitch rises.

  • Grounded? Breath slows, jaw softens, tone steadies.

Our unconscious patterns show up in the voice before the brain catches them.


🔄 Real-World Awareness Practice — Capture Your Voice in Everyday Moments

One of the best ways to hear your real vocal patterns is to listen when you’re not thinking about it.

✅ Listen to a few of your casual voice messages or record yourself narrating your coffee routine.

Ask:

  • Where does my voice sound easy?

  • Where does breath tighten, pitch rise, or energy drop?

  • Did my tone match my intention—or did habit take over?

This is the work: building awareness of how emotion changes breath, and how breath changes tone.

The goal at first isn’t to fix. It’s to hear.
From there, YOU choose.


📌 Next Week (Insight #33):

We dig into pitch variation—how it adds emotional color and keeps people engaged.


🔑 Key Takeaway

It’s your breath, your body, and your intention working together.
Start by listening—to yourself and to others.
The truth of the message lives there.


✅ Hashtags:
#DevelopingYourAuthenticVoice #DYAVWithElias #VocalLeadership #BreathAwareness #CommunicationMatters #VoicePresence #MindfulSpeaking  #EmotionalIntelligence #MindfulCommunication #VoiceAwareness #LeadershipPresence


Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Weekly Insight #31: The Power of Pauses – Punctuation in Speech

🎙 â€œSilence isn’t empty — it’s where your message lands.”

In Weekly Insight #25, we explored hearing ourselves as others do—learning to listen objectively and refine our vocal delivery.

This week, we go deeper:
What happens between the words is just as powerful as the words themselves.

🎤 Meet Jordan — A Leader Who Found His Voice

When Jordan prepped his TEDx Talk, his first instinct was to fill every second.
Words ran together. Filler crept in. His message blurred.

💡 The breakthrough?
Jordan learned to pause—to let his words land.
He stopped fearing silence… and started using it.

The Result:
✅ The audience leaned in.
✅ Laughed at the right moments.
✅ Carried his message home.


💬 Why Pauses Matter

Think of pauses as vocal punctuation—the commas, periods, and exclamation points your voice needs.

✅ Create Emphasis â€” â€œThis… changes… everything.”
✅ Build Anticipation â€” â€œThe solution is…” [pause]
✅ Signal Confidence â€” You’re not rushing. You own the moment.

And just like breath, pauses reveal intention—they show you’re present, not performing.


🔄 3 Ways to Practice Pausing

1️⃣ Map the Pause
Print your script or outline. Mark natural pause points with slashes “/” or ellipses “…”.

2️⃣ Record & Listen Back
As we explored in Insight #25—record yourself.
Ask: Do these pauses add meaning? Do they feel natural?

3️⃣ Use the Reset
If you stumble—pause, breathe, smile. Reset.
The pause protects your message and your composure.


🎯 Mini Exercise — Try This

Write a 1-minute talk about something you care about.

✅ Add “/” where you want pauses.
✅ Record and listen.
✅ Refine until your pauses carry your message.


🗝 Final Thought:

This connects back to our six-month journey—every exercise, from breath to intention, shapes how you’re heard.

Want to sound more confident?
✅ Say less.
✅ Pause more.

Because sometimes… what you don’t say… speaks loudest.


Every pause carries weight. Just like punctuation, it shapes meaning, adds color, and helps your message land.


#DevelopingYourAuthenticVoice #Leadership #VocalPresence #MindfulCommunication #PublicSpeaking #DYAVWithElias #EmotionalIntelligence #ResonateWithPurpose #ThePowerOfPause


  🎙️ Weekly Insight #37: Voice, Resilience, and Embodying Intention "Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it." — Epictetus As I ...