Have you ever wondered what your voice says about you? Well, this week on A Voice and Beyond, we welcome as our special guest Dr. Belinda McMahon, a singing and spoken voice teacher who holds a PhD from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. This is part one of a two-part interview with Belinda as she discusses her fascinating research investigating vocal identity and how that work has led her to develop a much deeper passion for this field, inspiring her to create her own business, VoicePrint Professionals. In this program, Belinda works with entrepreneurs, executives, and other professionals to help them elevate their communication skills for greater influence and impact.

In today’s show, Belinda explains how the voice is the single most important aspect of communication, over and above facial expressions, body language, and the words we use. She shares with us the voice qualities that are required to enable a speaker to clearly communicate their intentions and ideas, how they can use their voice to increase authority, how we can build trust and rapport, and ensure people listen to you using specific voice qualities, tones, volumes, pace, and energy. Belinda also does a deep dive into topics around how vocal technique influences vocal identity, how her research has changed the way Belinda approaches teaching singers, and how we ensure, as voice teachers, that we don’t impose our biases around what a singer’s vocal identity should be.

This is a most fascinating interview that will certainly have you listening and to be honest, there was so much that was helpful for me in this interview. Whatever you do, be sure to listen to today’s show with Dr. Belinda McMahon, and remember this is part 1 of a 2-part interview with Belinda, and part 2 will follow next week.

In this Episode

7:41-Studying Vocal Identity
16:00 - Influences and influencers formed our vocal Identity
21:37 - Intentional and Unintentional Imitation
26:37 - How do voice teachers avoid imposing their biases on a voice?
39:05 - "My Job"
40:32 - VoicePrint Professionals: Speaking Voice Coaching
47:50 - The autonomic nervous system reacts to the sounds we're hearing
51:05 - Importance of Resonance, Tone, Speed, and Pitch as a speaker

Find Belinda Online:

Website: http://www.voiceprintprofessionals.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoiceP

Find Marisa online:

• Website: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisaleenaismith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisa.lee.12
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avoiceandbeyond3519/videos

Resources:

• MLN Coaching Program: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/mentoring/
• Download your eBook: Thriving in a Creative Industry: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/ebook-thriving-in-a-creative-industry-dr-marisa-lee-naismith/

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