Voice Coaching Voice Training Blog

Saturday, 5 December 2009

Well, I have had a busy few months. At last, I am ready (I hope!) to start using this space in a way that can be useful to you. What I am going to do is to copy in any emails sent to me (send them to laura@laura-spicer.com and put blog question in the subject line) asking me for online help. I will then post the replies.

This way, I maximise the benefits to everyone and use my time constructively. In most cases, you won't be the only one suffering with the same problem and so you will be doing others a favour by asking and getting a reply posted.

I hope this will prove to be a really useful resource but of course that depends on you! So if you want my help or advice on personal impact and power, voice, stammers and stutters, confidence, nerves, anxieties, phobias, fears and any of the subjects I deal with, do send them to me.

Of course there is only so much I can do through this medium. This can't replace a personal consultation. But lots of people who write to me can't afford a session or live too far away to make the journey to see me or come on my courses, or really just want a quick answer to a specific question so, if that is your story, then do use this resource.

This also can be a place for you to make requests for courses if you want me to run a particular one. In the coming year I plan to run a few courses on VoicePower, Connecting with your Power, NLP Practitioner course to name 3 of them. If there is something you think I know and you want me to share it then let me know. I am getting to a point in my life where I might make some changes, move countries, stop working as much as I do now etc. So if you do want to learn from me then take this opportunity to say so now!

I look forward to hearing from you and will do my best to answer you as quickly as possible

with love and best wishes

Labels: Send in your questions

4 Comments:

At 22 December 2009 17:06 , Areeya Madee said...: Dear Laura,
My name is Areeya from Thailand. We have met at NLP Practitioner training in London last October. I am the one who wanted to be more fluent with my speech.

After the training, I have been practicing Richard's methods and most of the time it worked. I had a brilliant business plan presentation at a board of director meeting last week. I know that this is a big progress, because before the training I would try to avoid any presentation or public speaking like this or if I have to do it, it would cause me more stress weeks before the event. But this time I felt hope and couldn't wait for them to love my presentation. (I did avoid some of my risky words though.)

I enjoy managing, coaching and public speaking and very determined to share knowledge to help others not only as a management but also as a person, in order to do that I need to be a good fluent communicator.

Could you help advise on how to work on the doubt part? (Before I say a word I get a tight feeling in my throat and chest and my mind hear the word in a not fluent pattern right before the second I say it.)

How do I know that it is not just my breathing that causes it?

How should I pick a situation to practice fluency between a normal situation or the one with high stakes to test my state changing ability?

Dear Laura, thank you for your kind advise during the training. You have been working with many others with fluency issue, you probably already know how it effects their lives or how much pain it causes. You are giving them freedom to express them selves, it means a lot to them and it matters to a lot of people. So...thank you, Laura for all your good work.

Merry X'Mas and Happy New Year.
Areeya.
At 27 December 2009 14:35 , Laura Spicer said...: Hi Areeya,
thanks for posting your question.
Let's start with that internal voice.
I have a question for you. Are you ever wrong? Some people make the mistake of believing their own internal voices just because they are inside. But I want to tell you, your internal voices can be wrong, just like you are sometimes wrong on the outside. Or like sometimes someone tells you something and they are wrong! People used to believe everything they read in print. We are wiser these days and know most of what is written in books, newspapers and on line too, is just someone's opinion. So the first thing to realise is that your voice could be lying!

Find a voice inside that is more helpful. And if you can't find one, create one.

If you were about to do something you wanted to do and I came along and said "you'll never be able to do that" I hope you would tell me to shut up and go away!
So create or find a voice that not only tells the unhelpful voice to shut up and go away but also tells you something useful. First it could say the word to you in a fluent way. Then it could encourage you - make sure it says it in an encouraging tone of voice inside.

So, for example if the word was 'comment' (just picking any word)and you heard the word 'c-c-c-comment' in your mind; get the new helpful voice to say "COMMENT" in a loud commanding voice, and then to say to you in a motivating voice "you can do it - COMMENT" and then find out if you can.

It is worth bearing in mind you may need to pause for a split second to begin with, and make sure you have plenty of breath.
Sometimes it is worth breathing out a tiny bit to release any tension, then breathing in and then speaking.

Try that Areeya, and if you need more help, write to me again.
Have you got my e-course "Stop Stammering in 30 days"? It has loads of really helpful exercises in it that you might find very useful.

For now do the above technique and find out if that helps completely.

BTW you don't know it is not JUST your breathing causing it. The way to find out is to experiment. Then you will find out just what you need in order to get fluent. And I would pick different situations to test your skill in.
Let me know how you get on.
All best wishes and encouragement to you
Laura
At 28 December 2009 14:38 , Areeya Madee said...: Dear Laura,

Yes, my internal voice was wrong many times. I will try the above techniques and let you know how it goes.
A lot of practice may be required so that I don't pause for too long .. the longer the pause .. the more tension I get.

About the "Stop Stammering in 30 days" e-course, is it as effective as working with you?

Many..many thanks for your kind response, Laura.
Have a wonderful holidays and a great coming New Year.

Lots of love,
Areeya.
At 1 January 2010 19:34 , Laura Spicer said...: Hi again Areeya,
It is a really useful e-book. It has all the exercises you could want and you will be able to choose out the ones which are most relevant for you. Plus you get an MP3 download of tracks to help you. If you do decide to buy the e-course, I will also be available for advice as you work through it.
Wishing you a very happy new year.
Laura

	Saturday, 5 December 2009 Well, I have had a busy few months. At last, I am ready (I hope!) to start using this space in a way that can be useful to you. What I am going to do is to copy in any emails sent to me (send them to laura@laura-spicer.com and put blog question in the subject line) asking me for online help. I will then post the replies. This way, I maximise the benefits to everyone and use my time constructively. In most cases, you won't be the only one suffering with the same problem and so you will be doing others a favour by asking and getting a reply posted. I hope this will prove to be a really useful resource but of course that depends on you! So if you want my help or advice on personal impact and power, voice, stammers and stutters, confidence, nerves, anxieties, phobias, fears and any of the subjects I deal with, do send them to me. Of course there is only so much I can do through this medium. This can't replace a personal consultation. But lots of people who write to me can't afford a session or live too far away to make the journey to see me or come on my courses, or really just want a quick answer to a specific question so, if that is your story, then do use this resource. This also can be a place for you to make requests for courses if you want me to run a particular one. In the coming year I plan to run a few courses on VoicePower, Connecting with your Power, NLP Practitioner course to name 3 of them. If there is something you think I know and you want me to share it then let me know. I am getting to a point in my life where I might make some changes, move countries, stop working as much as I do now etc. So if you do want to learn from me then take this opportunity to say so now! I look forward to hearing from you and will do my best to answer you as quickly as possible with love and best wishes Labels: Send in your questions posted by Laura Spicer @ 12:01 4 Comments 4 Comments: At 22 December 2009 17:06 , Areeya Madee said... Dear Laura, My name is Areeya from Thailand. We have met at NLP Practitioner training in London last October. I am the one who wanted to be more fluent with my speech. After the training, I have been practicing Richard's methods and most of the time it worked. I had a brilliant business plan presentation at a board of director meeting last week. I know that this is a big progress, because before the training I would try to avoid any presentation or public speaking like this or if I have to do it, it would cause me more stress weeks before the event. But this time I felt hope and couldn't wait for them to love my presentation. (I did avoid some of my risky words though.) I enjoy managing, coaching and public speaking and very determined to share knowledge to help others not only as a management but also as a person, in order to do that I need to be a good fluent communicator. Could you help advise on how to work on the doubt part? (Before I say a word I get a tight feeling in my throat and chest and my mind hear the word in a not fluent pattern right before the second I say it.) How do I know that it is not just my breathing that causes it? How should I pick a situation to practice fluency between a normal situation or the one with high stakes to test my state changing ability? Dear Laura, thank you for your kind advise during the training. You have been working with many others with fluency issue, you probably already know how it effects their lives or how much pain it causes. You are giving them freedom to express them selves, it means a lot to them and it matters to a lot of people. So...thank you, Laura for all your good work. Merry X'Mas and Happy New Year. Areeya. At 27 December 2009 14:35 , Laura Spicer said... Hi Areeya, thanks for posting your question. Let's start with that internal voice. I have a question for you. Are you ever wrong? Some people make the mistake of believing their own internal voices just because they are inside. But I want to tell you, your internal voices can be wrong, just like you are sometimes wrong on the outside. Or like sometimes someone tells you something and they are wrong! People used to believe everything they read in print. We are wiser these days and know most of what is written in books, newspapers and on line too, is just someone's opinion. So the first thing to realise is that your voice could be lying! Find a voice inside that is more helpful. And if you can't find one, create one. If you were about to do something you wanted to do and I came along and said "you'll never be able to do that" I hope you would tell me to shut up and go away! So create or find a voice that not only tells the unhelpful voice to shut up and go away but also tells you something useful. First it could say the word to you in a fluent way. Then it could encourage you - make sure it says it in an encouraging tone of voice inside. So, for example if the word was 'comment' (just picking any word)and you heard the word 'c-c-c-comment' in your mind; get the new helpful voice to say "COMMENT" in a loud commanding voice, and then to say to you in a motivating voice "you can do it - COMMENT" and then find out if you can. It is worth bearing in mind you may need to pause for a split second to begin with, and make sure you have plenty of breath. Sometimes it is worth breathing out a tiny bit to release any tension, then breathing in and then speaking. Try that Areeya, and if you need more help, write to me again. Have you got my e-course "Stop Stammering in 30 days"? It has loads of really helpful exercises in it that you might find very useful. For now do the above technique and find out if that helps completely. BTW you don't know it is not JUST your breathing causing it. The way to find out is to experiment. Then you will find out just what you need in order to get fluent. And I would pick different situations to test your skill in. Let me know how you get on. All best wishes and encouragement to you Laura At 28 December 2009 14:38 , Areeya Madee said... Dear Laura, Yes, my internal voice was wrong many times. I will try the above techniques and let you know how it goes. A lot of practice may be required so that I don't pause for too long .. the longer the pause .. the more tension I get. About the "Stop Stammering in 30 days" e-course, is it as effective as working with you? Many..many thanks for your kind response, Laura. Have a wonderful holidays and a great coming New Year. Lots of love, Areeya. At 1 January 2010 19:34 , Laura Spicer said... Hi again Areeya, It is a really useful e-book. It has all the exercises you could want and you will be able to choose out the ones which are most relevant for you. Plus you get an MP3 download of tracks to help you. If you do decide to buy the e-course, I will also be available for advice as you work through it. Wishing you a very happy new year. Laura Post a Comment << Home