Weekly Voice Insights #89 — Test What Appears Good
“Test what appears good and hold to what truly is.”— Based on Enchiridion 45
Greek Glossary
- δοκῶ (dokō): to seem, appear
- ἐξετάζω (exetazō): examine, test closely
- κρίνω (krinō): discern, decide
- ἐπιμένω (epiménō): hold fast, remain with what endures
δοκῶ : What Seems True at First
Many ideas appear strong before they meet real use. A course outline can look complete on paper. A speaking exercise can sound promising in theory. Even our opinion of our own voice may be based more on habit than evidence. What seems true at first is often only the starting point.
Listening back can change your perspective. When you hear yourself back, assumptions meet something observable. You may discover qualities in your voice you had overlooked. You may also hear where intention did not fully land. The point is not approval or disapproval, but clearer listening.
The same applies to new opportunities. Public steps such as submitting a talk or offering a short series may seem risky before they are tried, and video can feel the same way. Once attempted, the picture changes. Many limits belong to imagination more than reality.
ἐξετάζω : Put the Idea Under Use
A useful idea becomes clearer when it is placed into real use. A four-week course is understood more fully through teaching than through endless private planning. Live sessions reveal where attention rises, where energy drops, which explanations are immediately understood, and where a participant needs a different entry point.
In one coaching series, a breathing exercise often known as the Farinelli exercise proved especially helpful. The practice uses a measured inhale, a brief suspension, and a controlled release of breath. It can help speakers notice pacing, steadiness, and how breath supports a complete thought rather than a rushed start. The value was not only the exercise itself, but the participant’s ability to connect it with earlier experience in another familiar breathing method, such as box breathing. New tools often become more usable when they relate to something familiar.
Testing also shows where a session can be improved. A lesson may benefit from more reading aloud, a more creative task, or recorded practice between meetings. These adjustments are part of the process of examination. Once an idea is used in real conditions, you learn what to keep and what to change.
κρίνω : Decide What Deserves to Stay
Once something has been tested, judgment is required. Not every exercise belongs in the final course. Not every comment from others deserves equal weight. Good teaching depends on deciding what serves the learner and what distracts from the aim.
This applies directly to speaking. Choose one sentence and listen to how it lands. Is the message clear? Does the key word complete? Does the pace help the listener follow the thought? If not, revise and try again. Judgment becomes practical when tied to specific outcomes.
The same standard can guide larger decisions. Which projects deserve continued energy? Which forms of work reflect your real strengths? Clear decisions become easier when they are based on evidence rather than mood.
ἐπιμένω : Stay With What Proves Worthwhile
Some practices continue to help across many settings. Breath prepared before speaking. A clear intention before the first word. Listening back to your own recording. Repetition of useful skills over time. These methods remain valuable precisely because they keep working.
I can see this clearly in my own work. Singing, teaching, writing, blogging, coaching, and creating new material all draw from the same source: a voice that is genuinely yours and strengthened through use. Progress often comes from sustained return rather than dramatic change.
To hold fast does not mean repeating everything unchanged. It means recognizing what has substance and continuing with it. What endures earns the right to remain. What proves useful through practice deserves clearer commitment. In my own work, I keep returning to the same lesson: breath and intention prepared first, then the work can speak for itself.
Inner Check-In
- What currently seems valuable in your speaking, and how have you tested it?
- When you listen back or reflect on a recent conversation, what deserves to stay?
- Which practice or project has shown enough value to continue developing now?
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#DevelopingYourAuthenticVoice #StoicWisdom #Epictetus #VoiceMatters #Clarity
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