September 01, 2020

Hacker Valley Blue Episode 7 - D'Arcy Webb

33 minutes

Ron and Chris host their vocal coach, D’Arcy Webb, for this episode of the Hacker Valley Studio podcast’s Hacker Valley Blue series. Since threat intelligence is a communications-based function, Ron and Chris look to “The Speech Diva” for insight. She has experience as an actress, was a coach for TEDxCambridge, and loves teaching people how to access the power of language to touch people’s hearts and change their minds.

As the conversation begins, D’Arcy explains her background to listeners. She explains how an acting incident early in her career turned her attention to the topic of vocals, and clarifies that she has spent the last 25 years teaching and exploring this aspect of performance. D’Arcy is passionate about treating the voice as the instrument that it is, and she works with students such as Chris and Ron to help them discover the musical and magical components to language and improve their own speaking practice. The way we speak, she insists, impacts people, and so it is well worth pursuing excellence in this area.

The conversation also highlights various details pertaining to vocal training. D’Arcy lists some of her favorite speakers and the reasons why she loves them (going out of her way to point listeners to NPR’s Fresh Air and its host, Terry Gross) She also speaks to the nature of vowels and consonants, the usefulness of pauses and variety in speech, how listeners can grow through coaching and - even today - through working on their breathing, the place of filler words in language, and the ideal of comfort with one’s own technique. Listeners will hear about Pablo Nerudo, onomatopoeia, vibrations, and so much more!

1:29 - Listeners are introduced to D’Arcy.

4:35 - The group considers Ron and Chris’s progress in speech.

6:08 - D’Arcy believes that magic and music are inherent in language.

8:48 - Who are D’Arcy’s favorite speakers, and what is the value of pauses?

12:03 - People wanting to grow need to learn the fundamentals.

17:05 - D’Arcy addresses filler words.

19:31 - The group thinks about comfortable technique, Pablo Neruda, onomatopoeia, and more.

27:52 - D’Arcy speaks to the power of speech and the importance of proper breathing.

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