Is it in your voice?

Yesterday I met up with three strong, talented actors for coffee in Amsterdam.

We talked about the importance of grounding your voice if you want your message to come across and you want to be taken seriously. Many people speak from the throat up which is fine if you just want to chit chat all day long but if you end up in a situation where you have to put your foot down it might be less successful.

I am back to it's not what you say but how you say it. When you speak from your core people will understand what you mean fully. If you want to be a good actor this is necessary. More importantly, if you think that people around you don't always listen to what you say maybe it is in your voice.

Your voice carries your emotions and if your voice it cut off by your throat it will not be able to carry your emotions, at least not all of them.

I used to speak from my throat in class, I still do at times, and it wouldn't get me anywhere except straight to frustration. Luckily you can work on your voice and learn how to ground it.

On stage voice is a big issue. If your voice is not grounded the following things will probably happen:

1. The audience can't hear you (which is a shame because you probably worked hard on your piece).

2. It will be hard for your partner to connect with you if you are not connected with your emotions.

3. You will lose the audience because they will not think that you are authentic.

Don't let your voice destroy all the hard work that you have done.

I am not saying all this to be mean, I am just saying that if you have this problem start working on it today, you will be a better actor and as a bonus maybe the people around you will start listening to you more.

Will they hear you on the other side?