Translator: Sanja Srbljinović Čuček
Reviewer: Dima Aghiorly (Singing) When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.
(Stops singing) Most people live their lives, most people go to their graves with their music still inside them. This troubling thought is
what calls me to the work I do -- midwifing voices into the world. (Laughter) Wah-wah! Your voice is how you get your gifts
from inside of you out. Nothing much happens in this world
until someone gives it voice, either in speaking or in writing. That's why the words voice and vocation
share a common Latin root -- vocare -- which means
"to call, invoke, or name". Wherever you are in your life story, now is the time for you
to bring your gifts to this world. In my twelve years
as an organisational consultant, every single group I worked with
identified the same number-one problem -- communication. Now, once in a while,
communication breakdown is caused by a toxic person with evil intentions, but most of the time, it's the case of well-intentioned people
just misunderstanding each other. A syndrome I like to call
woof-woof, meow-meow. So much miscommunication is caused
by how we say what we say. And this is where voice comes in. By way of illustration, let me
introduce you to two of my voice clients. Marsha was an up-and-coming leader
in a large national corporation, and she had it all going on. She was smart, she was great with people, and she was like,
one of those visionary thinkers who could see the future
long before anyone else. It was just one problem: She had a voice
that sounded a lot like this. Until she did some serious voice work, (Crushing noise) it was hard
to stay in the room with her. Marsha? (Laughter) Marsha, is that you?
I think she came. (Laughter) Paul began his career
working outside as a carpenter, where he learned to talk
like this, you know, just to get up over power tools. But then he got promoted
to a leadership position and moved that great big
outside voice into an office. His clients and colleagues
were either intimidated or exhausted by how he said what he said. Now listen, I know these are
two very extreme examples, but most of us carry
unconscious vocal habits that interfere with us
doing our best work. Voice matters. Marsha? (Laughter) Did you know your voice
is telling all your secrets? Research has shown that
the sound of your voice alone reveals vast amounts
of information about you. Things like your physical size,
your state of health, your mood, even your education level. Your voice has no concern
for your data privacy. None. Learning to be more deliberate
about how you use it will ensure that the messages
you are sending are the ones you intend. In a moment, I’m going to invite you
to explore your own voices. Are you ready? But in the meantime,
I'll tell you my story. It took me a lot of time to find my voice. I was that timid, awkward kid that sang in the good choirs
and did a little theater, but I never sang alone
in front of anyone ever. I got dragged kicking and screaming
into singing solo jazz in my twenties, and struggled for years
with paralyzing stage fright. You know, a smarter person
might have quit. (Laughter) The road that led from that place to today started at a voice workshop
in Minneapolis in the late 1980s. At the time, I had a very strong story about who I was as a person,
and as a voice. At the time, I thought my voice
(Singing) ended right here, and what was beyond that was, ah, nothing. Boy, was I wrong. The teachers were
from the Roy Hart Center, a group from the South of France that uses an innovative approach to
open up the full range of the human voice. Now, one of those teachers, Saule Ryan, took me from where I thought
my voice ended (plays a note), all the way up to here (plays a note). That distance changed my story
and the course of my life. How else was I wrong about me? What other gifts
were lying dormant in my voice? I felt like I'd walked out of this
tiny closet into a great big mansion, and what opened the door,
was my voice. I'm here today to open that door
for each of you. So here is how this will work: We are going to explore
the five elements framework -- a tool for unleashing
the power in your voice. I developed this approach by combining the Roy Hart work with
the Union psychology and yoga. Mostly, I just paid attention
to people's voices. And what struck me is
that most of us are using just a tiny fraction
of the vocal range we have available. Now if we sing, we might use
a little bit more. What lies out here in the realm of sound,
is rich with discovery. (Sings) (Laughter) So, here is how this will go: I'm going to introduce you
to five distinct sounds in your voice, using the elements of earth,
fire, water, metal and air. I'll invite you to sample each sound by assuming a character
that exaggerates it. So the character will help you
really embody that sound now, and help you remember it later. Then I'll explain how you can use it
in everyday conversations, and then I'll wind up by showing you some
famous people that exemplify that sound. Are you ready?
(Audience) Yeah. Good. The earth voice is our
first voiceful sample, and our character for doing that is
the pessimistic Neanderthal. So, just to get a taste of this,
try making a yawny sound. It shouldn't be hard
if you've been up with studying late. OK, try this: (Yawns) (Audience yawns) Oh, you're very, very good. All right. Let's just have a little
Neanderthal pity party. Try this: (Singing) Oh, no. (Audience) Oh, no. BM: Oh, that's very good.
Oh, no. (Audience) Oh, no. BM: And really pathetic now: Oh, no. (Audience) Oh, no. Notice how that sound makes you
slower and heavier. Yeah. (Laughter) The more subtle form of the earth voice is perfect for projecting authority
and getting grounded. I’m using it now. Do you hear that? Any time you need to command respect or stand your ground,
earth [voice] is the right choice. So let’s do a little experiment. Try saying "No?" (Audience) No? No! (Audience) No! How you say what you say
makes all the difference. Here are some famous Earth Voices:
[Darth Vader, Adele, Leonard Cohen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maya Angelou]
(Laughter) (Imitating Terminator) I'll be back. Now we are going to sample the fire voice
with the help of Luciano Pavarotti, OK? So we are going to have
a little call-and-response opera on the topic of lasagna. (Laughter) Alright. So try this: (Singing) Lasagna. (Audience) Lasagna. BM: Fantastic, very dramatic. Lasagna. (Audience) Lasagna. BM: That's fantastic,
and the grand finale: Lasagna. (Audience) Lasagna. BM: Whoa! You notice how that
fills your body with energy and fills the room with energy as well. Argh! (Laughter) The more subtle form of the fire voice is perfect for expressing
passion and personal power. I’m using it now.
Do you hear that? Say "yes". (Audience) Yes. Thank you. It’s a really good choice
for public speaking or any other time you really need
to be seen and heard. Now Dr. King’s "I Have a Dream" speech is the perfect example
of a fiery delivery, right? Can you imagine if Dr. King
had gotten up there and said: "I like, have a dream." (Laughter) No. (Laughter) Here is Dr. King and some other
famous fire voices: [B. Raitt, J.Stone, M. Jagger, T. Turner] Please note that Mick Jagger
and Tina Turner have the exact same mouth. (Laughter) About that. Onto our third voice. We’re going to sample the water voice
using our friend Julia Child. Alright. Try saying this:
(Singing in high pitched voice) Hello! (Audience) Hello! BM: Hello! (Audience) Hello! BM: And a couple
of glasses of Chardonnay in Heeeello! (Audience) Heeeello! Now please don’t assume
that I am suggesting you walk around talking
like Julia Child: "Heaven forbid!" (Laughter) In its more subtle form
the water voice sounds like this. It’s warm and flowing and comforting. It’s a good choice for when you want
to express anything from your heart. Like, "that sounds hard",
or "good job", or "I have bad news". It’s also the right choice
for extending an apology. We have all heard, "I’m sorry!"
in just the wrong tone, have we not? (Laughter) Here are some famous water voices:
[J. Garland, F. Rogers, B. Streisand, Archbishop D. Tutu, J. Timberlake] Now try to imagine if Mr. Rogers
had come from the Bronx. (Imitating) It’s a beautiful day
in the neighbourhood ... (Laughter) That would just not work. (Laughter) I can hear my mother saying,
"Don’t encourage her." (Laughter) OK. Onto the fourth voice -- metal. And I call this sound metal
because it’s bright and sharp, and it cuts through anything. So to sample this, let’s be
irritable Siamese cats, shall we? Try this: Meeeow. (Audience) Meeeow. BM: Great. Meeeow. (Audience) Meeeow. BM: Ugly faces help. Meeeow. (Audience) Meeeow. BM: Oh my land, that is loud, isn’t it? The more subtle form of the metal voice is good for pretty much
one thing -- amplification. It’s the right choice any time
you’re having a hard time being heard, like in a really noisy environment, or if you’re speaking to someone
who’s a little hard of hearing. I’m using it now.
Can you hear that? Thank you. (Laughter) And also, if you’re speaking
to a large group like this, and the microphone goes dead, the metal voice will help you
come through loud and clear. Right!? (Audience) Right. Here are some famous metal voices: [W. Nelson, The Wicked Witch of the West,
B. Dylan, D. Parton, F. Drescher] (Imitating the witch)
I'll fix you, my pretty. Alright. One to go. The fifth -- air. I know. We all make that sound
around babies, don’t we? And we talk to them there. So let’s try this. Let’s sample this voice
by saying "Hi" to the baby. OK. So let’s try this: Hi. (Audience) Hi. Good. Hi. (Audience) Hi. One more flirt: Hi. (Audience) Hi. Do you notice how that kind of
lightens up your face, and the room too? We have dead eyes here in Minnesota,
this is a good one for us. (Laughter) Now people have a really hard time
believing there’s a place for the air voice in the world of work. But here are two. If you want to inspire the imaginations
of the people around you, air is a good choice. So consider the difference between (air voice) "I have an idea."
and (earth voice) "I have an idea." It’s also a really good choice
for storytelling. Once upon a time,
in a land far, far away... The air voice evokes
another place and time and a delicious sense of mistery. Do you feel that? Yes! Thrilling! (Laughter) Here are some air voices: [P. Wiliams, T. Swift, S. Robinson,
The BeeGees, J. Mitchell] (Imitating BeeGees) Stayin' alive. Now you've sampled all five. So let’s review: Earth. (Audience) Earth. Fire! (Audience) Fire! Water. (Audience) Water. Metal! (Audience) Metal! Air. (Audience) Air. And you know, here’s the thing: Each of these voices
are just perfect and just terrible, depending on the situation, right? There is not one voice
that works in all circumstances. In the chaos and distraction
of these times, have you noticed how hard it is to connect
with other people? Having access to all five sounds will give you the opportunity
to communicate with more people about more things more effectively. You'll have more choices in your voice. Now before I end, I want to say just
a few words about our collective voice. As important as it is for you
to find your own individual voice, you need to remember that we are
part of a living web of relationship. Group singing can teach us so much
about how to live and work well together. It breaks us out
of our insular little worlds and gives us a visceral
feeling of belonging. I’ll have a chance to sample
that experience in just a second. To free the voice is to free the person. I know that is the absolute truth. I have witnessed it over and over again. I hope you will set your full voice free
to express your gifts in this world and that you will hear the support of this
community singing you onward as you do. (Music) (Singing) May you breathe easy,
may your heart be light, may you open your life
to each joy, each delight. May you walk with assurance
that your way is blessed, may you dwell in the Spirit of yes. Here we go: one word --
one note, give it all you have. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, yes. Yes. (Music stops) (Laughter) (Applause) (Cheers)
