Weekly Voice Insights #95: What We Think We Already Know
Breath, assumption, and bringing voice use into awareness
“You cannot learn what you think you already know — Based on Epictetus, Discourses 2.1
- ἀκούειν (akouein): to hear, to listen attentively
- κρίσις (krisis): judgment, decision
- δοκεῖν (dokein): to suppose, to assume
- ἐξέτασις (exetasis): examination
- ἑτοιμότης (hetoimotēs): readiness, preparedness
We already know how to make sound. This is one reason voice practice can be difficult.
We speak every day. We breathe every day. We make sound without needing to study it. So it is easy to assume that we already understand what the voice is doing.
The resistance may begin there. Why would I need to learn something I already do?
Voice practice begins when we start noticing what is happening underneath the sound.
- Where do I feel the breath in the body?
- Does the breath feel like it rises in the body?
- Do I notice tension in the tongue, jaw, or throat?
- Am I speaking faster than I need to?
When we are speaking, we are usually focused on what we want to say, what someone else said, or what we need to answer. Sound comes out, so we move on. We communicate, but we may not be observing how we are using the voice while we communicate.
But making sound is not the same thing as understanding how we make sound.
ἀκούειν (akouein) — LISTEN WITH WILLINGNESS
Listening begins with a willingness to pause. We listen to another person, and we also listen to ourselves. This type of listening is observational.
- What do I hear?
- What do I feel?
- What changes when I inhale?
Before we respond, we have to stay open long enough to receive what is actually being said.
κρίσις (krisis) — NOTICE THE JUDGMENT
Certainty can arrive too early. It can happen quickly. We think we understand before we have fully listened.
δοκεῖν (dokein) — EXAMINE WHAT YOU ASSUME
We all make assumptions. We have to. We cannot examine everything in every moment. The problem comes when assumption hardens into certainty.
In voice practice, that certainty may sound like:
- I already know how to breathe.
- I already know how to speak.
- I already know what my voice does.
ἐξέτασις (exetasis) — BE WILLING TO EXAMINE
You cannot learn what you refuse to examine.
Before the sound starts, the inhale gives you a small space to notice what is happening.
- Am I rushing?
- Am I reacting?
- Am I listening?
A pause can signal a reset.
ἑτοιμότης (hetoimotēs) — PAUSE BEFORE RESPONSE
The inhale marks the moment before response.
Pause long enough to hear before you decide.
One breath may be enough. But even one breath can interrupt the assumption that we already know what is happening.
Readiness is the moment when the body, breath, and thought are available enough for the voice to enter clearly.
INNER CHECK-IN
- What do I think I already know about my voice?
- Do I know what I sound like to others?
- Where do I feel the breath in my body before I speak?
- Am I speaking faster than necessary?
- Do I notice tension in the tongue, jaw, or throat?
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