Everyone deserves Vocal Confidence by Alix Longman

Music is pure passion.. allowing us to connect instantly with our emotions.. the large social networking platforms support and encourage freedom of expression and also offer independent and unrepresented artists to freely express and share their passion through music and words. If youve had the good fortune and talent to have developed some expertise with any musical instrument, youre already aware youve found a wondrous avenue to express your passion.. For singers, the voice is the instrument through which their passion connects .. For writers.. it is words.. What may be a revelation to some is that the voice does not have to remain exclusive to the realm of accomplished singers only - the one universal instrument everyone deserves freedom to channel their heart, truth and passion through is their voice.. to do so they need to connect to their innate Vocal Confidence. Before any talent with a musical instrument is accomplished, the voice is the first vitally important tool we were all born with to ensure we are heard, understood and acknowledged. When the voice is allowed to be used freely, it literally helps us to survive by allowing us to express how we feel so as to connect with others and develop and maintain confidence and a healthy self esteem. Absolutely everything we deal with in life is affected by how it makes us feel relationships, work, entertainment, achievements, food, fashion, climate, politics, economy, services.. the list is endless. Feelings/emotions are the life-force behind all our passions, choices, decisions.. and most importantly.. our actions. Freedom of expression we are told is a human right.. but all too often that right can become stymied by any number of factors: oppressive governments, impersonal or unethical organisations, emotionally-repressive upbringing or culture, being lied to, ridiculed or undermined, bullying, abuse and intimidation. Any or all of these contribute to sabotaging a persons Vocal Confidence, which in very real terms, severely hampers individual confidence both personally and professionally. Vocal Confidence is vital to everyones well-being for performers and non performers alike. Hence over 20 years ago, concurrent to my performing career, I began to develop what has become a user-friendly, extremely fast and effective version of vocal technique for singing and speech that reinstates Vocal Confidence. Beyond our physical appearance, our voice is the most persuasive vehicle to get our message across in any personal or professional situation. When it comes to integrity of intentions, ultimately actions speak louder than the voice.. but how true it is in the first instance that it isnt what you say but how you say it that determines whether you instantly connect and are thereby effectively heard.. "In everyday communication, only 8% is based on the words we speak. 38% is based on the sound of our voice, 54% on body language." When you consider the time spent on the phone, 92% of the information is communicated by the sound of our voice. Arthur Joseph - author of Vocal Power

Vocal Confidence and Intention

We all use our voices in a variety of situations on a daily basis. For those who luckily never lost their Vocal Confidence, talking to people is something they take for granted but for those who lost their Vocal Confidence, even speaking to people can become a real phobia or chore. When

Vocal Confidence is applied with integrity in real life or on stage, benign intention ensures the consequences are wondrous, exhilerating, life-affirming. Successful performers know they can move a crowd from laughter to tears simply with the tone of their voice. Sadly this ability can also be abused for opportunistic gain. On the highest level of influence, politicians know well they can sway nations to follow and swallow policies if their vocal tone is delivered sincerely and engagingly, regardless of ethics. Many of us have learned the hard way that con-artists intuitively use their vocal tone to further their opportunisitc gains, leaving trails of devastated trust in their wake. Ultimately, the only way to discriminate whether the intention behind someones vocal tone has integrity is by the actions they demonstrate. What ranks as out worst fear? Even though our everyday act of talking is learned from early in childhood, the prospect of talking to an audience, large or small, is branded as our worst fear." Roger E. Axtell author of Do's and Taboos of Public Speaking: How to Get Those Butterflies Flying in Formation True as the above quote is, ironically we are all born with Vocal Confidence. As very young children, mostly without exception, we continued to feel uninhibited expressing ourselves - but for many around the time of puberty, we become self-conscious about others opinions of us and can start to clamp up vocally. Our Vocal Confidence can easily be damaged by emotionally stifling remarks said by a family member, close friend, acquaintance or even a stranger telling us to shut up or be quiet or your voice sounds terrible or you cant sing or you shouldnt say how you feel its inappropriate etc. This type of comment, especially when received over a sustained period, causes us to shut down access to the free expression of our truth, emotions and passion and can fracture self esteem causing a lifetime of emotional suppression if unattended, leaving so many finding it hard to be heard, only ever speaking quietly and discovering their voices have become uncomfortably stuck in their throats. Some never feel brave enough to sing another note in public. Luckily, some overcome this by discovering another avenue for self expression such as writing, painting or the Performing Arts ie singing and/or acting.. But how sad it is for far too many people who dont or cant, as so much joy can be gained from expressing our feelings through singing and acting.. even if only for leisure even sadder is how many people become incapable of simply expressing themselves effectively on a day-to-day basis with speech.

The Solar Plexus Connection

We were all born with Vocal Confidence to literally help us survive without it we wouldnt be able to call the assistance of an adult to take care of us. Every creature in the animal kingdom is given this ability until they are old enough to physically take care of themselves. No infant suffers from vocal strain, projection or breathing problems. The Vocal Confidence were born with gives us the ability to communicate how we are feeling and what we need simply with the tone of our voice.. that tone is initiated from the solar plexus and instantly affects the solar plexus of everyone within earshot. Every emotion we experience is initiated and stored in our solar plexus the 4 primal emotions being anger, joy, fear and hunger (yearning). Of course there are many other physical symptoms we experience eg when feeling nervous or stressed, many experience trembling, dry mouth, weak knees, sweaty palms etc but it should be noted all these other physical sensations are actually triggered from our emotional core the solar plexus.

Emotions are infectious

Initiating the voice from the solar plexus triggers a tone of emotional integrity and thereby instantly triggers the same emotional state in the solar plexus of your listener. Why? ..because it is an irrefutable fact that emotions are infectious. Unless youve lost your facility for empathy, if

someone calls out in pain you receive an instant empathetic jabbing sensation in your solar plexus the same if someone laughs or expresses anger or any other intense emotion. Although it is often shut down through suppression of free emotional expression, the ability to vocally reaccess the solar plexus can be restored and accessed at will with Vocal Confidence training. Singers and actors have to be able to vocally emote with integrity in their tone to enable their audience to experience a range of emotions..after all, it is that very emotional experience the audience have paid to receive. As soon as one learns how to get back in touch with the solar plexus with Vocal Confidence training, one can switch on the tone of emotional integrity in the voice at will and thereby feel confident of connecting vocally with an authentic, powerful and passionate voice with fellow performers and an audience.

How does Vocal Confidence help fix other vocal problems?

First and foremost, by reconnecting the voice to the solar plexus, Vocal Confidence can instantly alleviate the major vocal problems of projection and breathing. There are many fallacies about projection, breathing, placement and range we absorb subliminally or consciously via unintentionally misguided training that instead of helping actually sabotage the voice. Vocal Confidence technique highlights the flaws within these fallacies and enlightens the truth about how the voice actually works. Insodoing, it attends many other common vocal problems eg. enhancing poor/dull tone, blending range-breaks and adding range extension, eradicating vocal strain and much more. Results are achieved more simply and quickly than with many of the lengthier traditional vocal techniques.

Can Vocal Confidence help professional performers?

Even seasoned professionals, with or without training, can suffer from occasional vocal strain/loss/range breaks/breathing problems in performance. They may have never truly understood the crucial element of the solar plexus connection. Once Vocal Confidence is understood and applied, professionals are able to return to work confident with how to keep their voices consistently reliable vital to all singers reputations in the music industry ..especially where understudies are not an option to resort to when audiences have booked to experience a specific performer.

Im not a performer can Vocal Confidence help me in my field?

Yes! If being able to speak effectively is even a small part of your work, then Vocal Confidence can help you feel more connected and effectively heard. Whether you are selling, promoting, assisting, directing, advising, consulting or educating, you need to MAGNETISE your audience and get them feeling enthusiastic and passionate about your product, service or cause. For this to happen, YOU need to feel what you want your potential audience/buyer/listener/students to feel if you dont, your listeners lose interest very quickly. Vocal Confidence helps you understand how to achieve this quickly, effectively and consistently.

Can Vocal Confidence help me communicate more effectively in my personal life?

Yes. This is the wonderful bonus of reaccessing your Vocal Confidence. Once the technique is applied, life-changing results can and do occur as a consequence for those who previously felt

vocally unheard. It can be applied exponentially to so many daily situations: greeting strangers; talking on the phone; being heard in noisy environments such as restaurants, clubs pubs; dealing with customer service; lecturing; teaching; presenting; debating; speaking effectively with colleagues, partners, family and children.

Are there any exceptions to how Vocal Confidence training can help?
In cases of major trauma or abuse, because the solar plexus is the core place where we feel everything, it can become too painful to access and can therefore take longer to reaccess with control. Only when the cause of the abuse or trauma subsides, can reconnecting to the solar plexus occur with less fear of triggering uncontrollable, painful emotions. Vocal Confidence is taught contextually so as to allow clients to gently and non-invasively self diagnose how they lost their solar plexus connection and enables any and every previously suppressed honest voice to reconnect and soar freely again. Over the years It has given me indescribable personal pleasure to know that Vocal Confidence has benefited thousands of people from a variety of backgrounds: students and professionals from the Performing Arts, professionals in virtually avery area of business, education in both public and private sectors..all learning how to vocalise on tap with passion and thereby magnetising and connecting with any and all audiences in professional and personal situations where vocal delivery is crucial to efficacy. If you would like to gain Vocal Confidence via booking a bespoke seminar tailored to the specific requirements of your band, group or company.. or you would prefer to receive personalised one2one coaching, or you just have an enquiry, contact me at www.vocalconfidence.com with your specific vocal requirements and I will be more than happy to assist you. My commitment is to get you reconnected with your Vocal Confidence asap!