In pop, jazz – Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Billy Holiday, Edith Piaf, Frank Sinatra; classical – Jussi Bjoerling, Joan Sutherland; in blues, folk – “Leadbelly,” Pete Seeger; in country Hank Williams, Patsy Cline – clearly I’m not even scratching the surface… But from Sunday’s Grammy Awards ceremony, who if any of these singers will we be listening to generations from now and why? Will it be Jennifer Hudson, Adele or Bonnie Raitt, Michael Buble, Josh Groban?

Vocal Awareness is always teaching “it’s not merely the ‘what’ of our expression but the ‘how.’”

Singing is the most intimate art form. It is the only artistic expression that comes fully from within. We can’t see you do it; we only hear and feel you do it. Whether you are a singer or a speaker, strive to BE who you are, never “present.”

Claim your originality. Know your Voice. Embody it! Voice is Power. Own it!

Kelly Clarkson @ Superbowl

During half-time Madonna, even though seemingly lip-syncing was a compelling performer bringing extraordinary energy and style to the show. I truly wish they were my students as Vocal Awareness would help them sing even better. Adding more Edge and Arc, i.e. resonance and presence would create an immediate visceral impact and greater vocal health. Clearly they are already talented and successful. But in Vocal Awareness we learn not to settle for what is, but rather to discover and achieve what is truly possible. Even the simple act of breathing in Vocal Awareness becomes a “profound game changer, ” just like the 4th quarter sideline pass and catch from Eli Manning to Mario Manningham was a game changer.

One of the things I love about my life, the work I’m privileged to do, is that every day is different – every week, every month. The one common thing that does exist, however, is that – whether it’s personal or professional – it is all Vocal Awareness. Vocal Awareness is not merely what I do, but who I am.

This month I find myself busy teaching my regular weekly students. I may also be at the Super Bowl on February 5 because one of my clients is the Commissioner of the National Football League, Roger Goodell and I have helped him to prepare his pre-Super Bowl remarks in Vocal Awareness. Roger is a truly exemplary man and an extraordinarily hard worker; he is committed to doing the Work: our Rituals, exercises, etc. – including the concepts of Visceral Language and Seeing Periods, which have been quite helpful to him.

Later in the month, my wife and I are attending a family wedding which promises to be a great celebration and reunion of family and friends.

The third week of February I am at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut – not only for my usual broadcast work, but also for my leadership program called “Empowerment Through Voice,” where I will work with the management side of the company on leadership development through Vocal Awareness.

As I begin February, I will also be personally entering into the first month of my new year; my birthday is at the end of January. I recently discovered that the Chinese New Year, this year, is actually on my birthday and it is the Year of the Dragon. So, February begins what I call my “Bruce Lee Year” (in honor of his movie, Enter the Dragon, and his incredible dedication to his Work). I enter my 2012 in the Year of the Dragon.

I love celebration and I respect tradition. February holidays include President’s Day, honoring great presidents such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. One of the things that is truly part of these two great Presidents’ legacies was what fine orators they were and what extraordinary communication abilities they had – which enabled them to be very tactical and persuasive both as leaders and politicians.

February also brings the romance of Valentine’s Day, which my bride and I will happily celebrate. We have had so many celebrations big and small in our lives together – each of them very special in their own way. We both make sure that every celebration reflects our love and commitment to one another.

Tradition is part of Vocal Awareness. Respect is part of Vocal Awareness – so these celebrations, these holidays, are part of what I choose to honor for myself as well. Vocal Awareness never does anything perfunctorily or habitually unconsciously. Public celebrations are so easily seen as a “day off” from work or something we don’t relate to, but through Vocal Awareness we are given the opportunity to be more mindful and appreciative of all we have and all we do.

Vocal Awareness Goal

Conquering Performance Anxiety and Stage Fright, Part 1.

Commit to a new Conscious Awareness in every “performance,” every interaction.

“Performance anxiety” or “stage fright” does not only affect those in the “Arts,” public speaking or athletics; it affects everyone in some way at some point in their lives. It may pass quickly, but for others it can become a debilitating challenge to their personal and/or professional success. For example, in business, every personal encounter is a “performance moment,” because whether a conference call, PowerPoint presentation or client meeting, we are interfacing with someone who is watching and evaluating us. Vocal Awareness understands this reality and at its core level, teaches us to claim who we are and BE our authentic Self. Ultimately this is how we “conquer” every kind of fear. Through Vocal Awareness we shift life-long habits and unconscious behaviors to commit to a new Conscious Awareness in every “performance,” every interaction.

The question then is how do we become Consciously Aware – and not just occasionally, but in every context and circumstance. Vocal Awareness has many relevant and useful tools and in this newsletter we will cover two of the most important elements to claiming your authentic Self: creating your Persona Statement (or personal brand) and Making Voice Visual (which includes Marking Up Text.) Next month we will continue our exploration of how to conquer performance anxiety through Conscious (and Vocal) Awareness with Getting Started and the Seven Rituals.

Developing Your Persona Statement.

Your Persona is the truth of your identity being revealed, embodied and projected outward. Developing a Persona Statement teaches us how to choose to be who we are, and not simply settle for who we have been. The Persona Statement enables us to actually BE, rather than just appear to be, the same person everywhere we go. This ability to BE is critical in combating stage fright.

There are three steps to creating a Persona Statement (covered in-depth within our V.I.P. Club Toolbox and our Harnessing the Power Within DVD); these include exploring how we think others perceive us, recognizing how we perceive ourselves and then deciding how we actually want to be perceived and who we actually are. Vocal Awareness teaches us that we do have a choice and in the case of our Persona Statement the choice is who we want to be. Do we want to exhibit and experience fear or do we want to claim our power by simply being our Selves. The fact is, the way you think or feel about yourself and your actions directly affect how you relate and reveal yourself to the world.

Making Voice Visual.

Essential to Vocal Awareness is the process of “Making Voice Visual.” Arthur does this through his body language, through edge/arc and through actually seeing his words as he speaks them. One of the ways to learn to see your words is through the process of “marking up” text, because by seeing the words we are more fully able to embody them. Actually writing out your text and then marking it up creates conscious reminders of how to truly bring your words to life.

Useful Vocal Awareness notations include:

• S – to remind you to stay in Stature.
• TS – Thanking Source.
• CLB – to ensure you remember to allow a Conscious Loving Breath.
• Underlines – for important words you want to emphasize.
• √ – for places where you want or need a catch breath.
• ′ – Stress Marks above syllables that are significant.

So, “mark up” your speech, presentation or Persona Statement and then consciously practice it over and over again – never rushing or doing it in a habitual way. As always Vocal Awareness is Mastery and Mastery is in the details. Only conscious practice will allow you to deeply engage in those details. By practicing your Persona Statement out loud and making it visual as you do so, you will more fully embody it. Fully embodying your Persona Statement will bring you that much closer to eliminating your “stage fright.”

Ultimately, knowing who you are and truly being that person is what it’s all about, with the goal of Mastery and Conscious Awareness in every performance. Don’t simply believe it is possible, KNOW IT! This translates into confidence.

Overview of Telling Story.

Enhancing your ability not just to “tell story” but to embody your stories.

This month’s V.I.P. Club Module focuses on Storytelling – while technology has enabled us to tell our stories to more people more quickly – the power, the personal connection made possible by using our Voice is still clearly essential to us as individuals and to humanity as a whole.

Watching Arthur work with broadcaster, teacher, university trustee and former professional soccer player Allen Hopkins in this month’s V.I.P. View helps us to understand how Vocal Awareness enhances our ability not just to “tell story” but to embody our stories. As Arthur and Allen review and “mark up” Allen’s Mission Statement, bringing it to life as he embodies it, they use a range of Vocal Awareness techniques and metaphors, which help Allen to recognize the value inherent in turning everyday conversation into authentic storytelling.

Success Story

Greg Grochowski.

Owner – Grochowski Chiropractic

Greg Grochowski’s passion for Chiropractic began after being hit by a car while riding a bicycle at age 14. He received his Doctor of Chiropractic with honors from Southern California University of Health Sciences in 1996, and pursued graduate studies that included working in the Musculoskeletal Rehab at U.C. San Diego department of Orthopedics.

As opportunities arose for Greg to share his expertise with others through speaking engagements, he realized that he needed help to become the best public speaker he could possibly be. After ordering and working through Vocal Awareness home study materials, he got the opportunity to speak with Arthur while attending a Vocal Awareness conference call. This encounter began an association and friendship with Arthur that opened Greg up to as he puts it, “an entire world of Voice.”

Today Dr. Grochowski runs one of the largest Chiropractic Clinics in the Inland Empire where he was voted the "People’s Choice" for Chiropractor. Dr. Grochowski, his staff and his doctors are truly passionate about what they do.

Read Greg’s complete Success Story here.

I share this insightful observation with you because Vocal Awareness also embodies the concept of Oneness in everything we do and all of who we are. From the quality of a Loving Breath, to a visual connection of the line of our spoken language to embodiment of the presence of who we are at all times as we claim our Identity in our Persona Statement.

Each December, as the year draws to a close, Arthur spends time in contemplation, capturing and writing his thoughts about the Vocal Awareness Journey. This year for his annual New Year’s letter, Arthur offers critical insights into how to take your own life journey. He discusses the inward Journey that is central to Vocal Awareness, outlines an important and life-changing practice to set you on your true path, and ultimately, provides you with a deeper understanding of what Vocal Awareness is and how, in its wholly unique way, it will empower you to BE your Self.

ARTHUR’S 2012 NEW YEAR’S LETTER.

With my birthday in January 2012, I begin my 48th year of teaching and my 51st year on my vocal path. But as I sit down to write my observations on what I often call in Vocal Awareness – The Journey – I thought it more appropriate to speak less directly about my journey. That is already chronicled in two of my books and elsewhere. Rather, I felt it more important to offer insights on “how to take our life journey” as caringly, confidently, and as consciously as possible.

Discovery of the Deeper Self.
First, when I refer to The Journey, I always say, Vocal Awareness teaches that “The Journey is never outward, but always, and only, inward toward discovery of the Deeper Self.” Traditionally, as we live our lives, we unconsciously do so from a perspective of what others tell us to do, think, feel. Rarely, do we stop to ask ourselves if these outside directives and influences are actually what we want for ourselves.

Clearly, by the time we are old enough to even ask these questions, we are already deeply imprinted. We have also accepted that what we do, and how we think and feel, is who we are. This is not so. Granted, through eons of social/cultural patterning, we have come to believe and accept this is who we are. However, Vocal Awareness teaches this is not true – we are not simply our behaviors, and what we do is not who we are. I’d like you to think for a moment, what to the best of your ability, it would be like to truly live life as integrally, as spiritually, emotionally, intellectually embodied as possible.

Before January comes to a close, I’d like you to engage in a daily exercise – just a few minutes a day. The goal of these daily solitary sojourns is to reflect – with pen and paper at the ready – on your current life path. Begin by identifying how you see your Self – your values, virtues, actions, flaws, fears, etc. As you undertake this daily assessment, please do so lovingly – not harshly or judgmentally. Use your breath to anchor you (SLOW, SILENT, LOVING BREATH – Vocal Awareness Ritual Three.) Be a nurturing parent to your Self. This exploration must be done in a secure and safe environment – internally and externally.

Mapping Your Journey.
There will be a point early on, when you will definitively identify – this is who I truly am – this is who I choose to be. Once you have assessed this knowledge, write it down. (In Vocal Awareness, this is called our Persona Statement.) Read it daily – memorize it – become it. With the clarity of this recognition, your entire life paradigm can change. When your true identity has been claimed, move on to identify how – if you had a choice (and of course we do) – you would like to live your life. Perhaps you are already living a bountiful life. But every day, during your monthly commitment to Self, as you go into your Deeper Listening (Vocal Awareness Ritual Six), you will make connections that enhance even the most exquisite life.

However, if you already recognize, or discover through this process, that life is not what you want it to be – you can do something about it. Begin by asking your Self, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” The childlike innocence of this question will help you to think and feel “out of the box.” Again, pursue the answer until you hear and/or feel one and then please write it down. With this recognition you can now create your Mission Statement – the contribution you want to make on Your Journey, ultimately turning your Mission Statement into your own personal Vision Statement by seeing what you more clearly want your life to be like. Next, establish goals and a timeline – initially extending one year out. Once you have completed this, create a visual matrix – working backwards. In other words, simply say to yourself, “If this is where I want to be in one year, what must I do monthly, weekly, daily to achieve this?” (In Vocal Awareness this exercise is called “168 hours.”)

So, now you have your identity, your mission/vision, your action plan. The map you need for your Life Journey is almost complete, but there is one very subtle key element missing. How do we believe, transform, trust, sustain, dedicate ourselves to the actual fulfillment of our possibility, when for so many years we may not have? This is where my life’s work – Vocal Awareness comes in.

Making the Connection.
I have often spoken about Vocal Awareness as the light on my miner’s helmet illuminating the path ahead, which enabled me to climb out of the deep dark tunnel that reflected my early life. Frankly, as I came to understand the gift that had been given to me, I recognized Vocal Awareness teaches Empowerment Through Voice. To be empowered is to express our inner Voice through our outer voice – at all times. To feel our intrinsic, inviolate connection to Source, and be nurtured and emboldened by it not just when we may be in prayer or a private thought – but everywhere, public or private. It is a new form of Mastery. For mastery to occur in any discipline, the integration of mind/body/spirit is required. But before Vocal Awareness, there simply has not been a matrix that actively supports us moment to moment in both a spiritual and pragmatic way. Vocal Awareness is the bridge between the spiritual and the temporal. For when you are in Conscious Awareness on your daily Journey, you are creating the opportunity to effectively live life on your terms.

The Seven Rituals of Vocal Awareness create what have been referred to as pattern interrupts from Conscious Awareness, Thanking Source, to Allowing a Loving Breath (spirit – spiritus – means to breathe); from “seeing” the arc of our vocal energy soar up and out to visceral language – that is, consciously connecting to the emotion/feeling/expression of our words/Voice. By employing these techniques in our daily discourse, we consistently empower ourselves.

Claiming Our Selves.
Whatever we choose to do through this Work, not only are we shifting our behavior, but more importantly, we are shifting not just what we do but who we are. No longer are we relegated to simply settling for our lot in life. Rather, we recognize our situation, accept not settle and once again, masterfully proceed to develop our way in Conscious connection to Source fulfilling our Vision. In closing, this New Year, let us all vow to live life in mind/body/spirit consciousness – to indefatigably make a difference because we are here, to embrace the thesis of William James, the early 20th century psychologist, when he said, “The great use of a life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.”

Lastly, the only way that this is truly possible is to claim our birth right. The Seventh Ritual of Vocal Awareness states, “Be My Self.” This is why we are here. The time is now! Please join me on my lifelong quest to: Change The World Through Voice. As I’ve said for decades, VOICE IS POWER. Enjoy the Journey and may you have a bountiful New Year.

MODULE OVERVIEW

Fuel for Your Journey to a New Frontier.

In Vocal Awareness we understand that breath is fuel. It opens the door to new possibilities. This month, our V.I.P. Club module explores Ritual Three: “Allow a Slow, Conscious, Silent, Loving Breath,” and its role in our Vocal Awareness Journey, which is always and only inward toward discovery of the Deeper Self. Join Arthur and Christin as they explore Ritual Three.

In this month’s video, we see and hear how breath is not only physical, but also emotional and spiritual. Student Christin Cleaver works with Arthur to explore Ritual Three; as she relates her impressions of its impact on her life, Arthur answers with illuminating commentary on the fundamental practice and integral benefits of allowing a “Slow, Conscious, Silent, Loving Breath” in all our lives. This V.I.P. Club module helps us understand how, when we embody a “Slow, Conscious, Silent, Loving Breath,” we create opportunity within our Selves to shift behavior and Claim our Power.

To explore the V.I.P. Club, click here.

Over the weekend, the world lost a great artist/world leader/humanitarian – the former President of the Czech Republic, leader of the Velvet Revolution and a renowned playwright – Václav Havel. One of his noted statements was expressed in a 1997 book he wrote when he said, “None of us – as an individual – can save the world as a whole, but…each of us must behave as though it were in his power to do so.”

To borrow from American Philosopher William James, Vocal Awareness teaches that ‘the great use of a life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.’ We ARE here to make a difference. The sum of our life is not contained solely in the action of simply dropping a pebble in a pond. It is rather, as I often say, that when we do drop that pebble in the pond, it sends reverberations out across the surface touching everything it comes in contact with. Those ripples and waves touch us ALL in ways sometimes unimaginable. We ALL matter! We ALL have an opportunity and a responsibility to contribute no matter how small or how great the contribution.

As we close out this year, let us commit as this great man did to do whatever it takes to be our very best. And just as that pebble in the water, we simply don’t sink to the bottom – our energy touches everything it comes in contact with and can make a difference. Start dropping your pebbles today, let us ALL make some waves.

Everyone is affected by throat tension.

There are approximately 100 practicing sword swallowers throughout the world. As with Vocal Awareness, sword swallowing as an art involves extensive psychological and physical preparation. There are no tricks, gimmicks or shortcuts. Throat tension can be a real issue that must be addressed. David Darwin is a sword swallower in Philadelphia and he shares how a mantra and daily preparation can seemingly suddenly create results:

“It’s really unpleasant. Your body does not want to do this. It triggers a reflex, ‘Let’s get this foreign object out of my throat right now!’ For months and months, you tell your body, ‘It’s O.K. We’re going to do this.’ And one day, your body listens and your throat opens up and the sword drops down.”

In Vocal Awareness we are always reinforcing the connection between mind/body/spirit. Fear is held as tension in the throat, larynx, tongue and jaw. Vocal Awareness helps us to “open the throat” and remove this fear.  The tongue alone is the strongest muscle in the body per diameter.  And it’s connected indirectly to the larynx.  When we Allow a Slow, Silent, Loving Breath we are able to release the tension that has been blocking and preventing us from expressing ourselves fully.

Vocal Awareness is by no means as physically dangerous as the practice of sword swallowing but it can be as daring.  Like the sword swallower we want to begin a daily mantra to tell ourselves over and over that we welcome opening; we welcome sharing ourselves with the world. We don’t need to shut down, hold our breath or tighten our tongues and jaws. We don’t need throat tension. Instead we dare to Love and Let Go. We dare to give ours Selves permission to BE who we truly are.

The Holiday Season – Thanksgiving through the New Year – is my favorite time of year. I love the crispness in the air, the opportunities for family gatherings and particularly around the Christmas/Hannukah Holidays – the music.

Up until my dear mother passed in 1996, for 17 or 18 years the second Saturday of December we hosted an annual holiday party. On average 200 people would come and bring a dessert or hors d’oeuvres and something for the homeless. I had songbooks made and would conduct the entire room in song until the wee hours of the morning. The evening represented so much of my passion/my life and what Vocal Awareness is about – bringing people together through the joy of song and the empowering experience of being moved by their own voices.

After my mother’s transition, I stopped doing these events for a while. But a couple of my students in NYC wanted me to continue. So for a few years, I did the same thing through their foundations in NYC. One of those dear friends moved to Escondido, CA, several years ago and I now continue the same tradition there. This year it will be December 10th.

As I share these remembrances, I also am reminded of sharing Vocal Awareness during the holiday season on Skid Row in Los Angeles – actually rolling a piano out onto the sidewalk in front of the Weingart Health Center and forming a choir. Other times small groups of us, post our holiday party, went to homes for battered families or the Children’s Hospital, giving and sharing through Voice and song.

In closing, I’ve had a vision for over three decades of conducting a worldwide peace sing. I know it will come to pass. Perhaps you can help in your way to begin to lay the groundwork for the fulfillment of this vision by bringing people together at your holiday table or sharing your Voice in your community in some other fashion. Many of you have heard me speak often about the Power of Voice. It is uplifting and can be transformative. What better way and time could there be than now, for you to discover your Vocal Power through your own spiritual, religious, or life traditions. May you all have a healthy, meaningful and joyous holiday season.

Vocal Awareness Goal

Communicate More Effectively and Improve my Relationships, both Personally and Professionally.

Arthur and Elizabeth planning upcoming programs.

The first definition for the word “communicate” in the dictionary says, “to share or exchange information.” The 16th century Latin origin of this word is communicat, which means “shared.” In Vocal Awareness, implicit in the concept of communicating is the notion of speaking or sharing with someone – never presenting or speaking to someone.

In its meticulous attention to detail, Vocal Awareness creates the most effective platform for communicating who we are by weaving our inner Voice through our outer voice. Thus to communicate is, in a word, to “share” who we are personally and professionally, consciously and strategically, honestly and authentically at all times.

Discover Your Inner Voice.
To pursue the goal of being a better communicator – and improving our relationships across the board – we need to truly discover our “inner Voice.” In Vocal Awareness, we start by defining our Persona through a Persona Statement. Consciously developing a Persona Statement means taking charge of how you are perceived – first by yourself, and then by others. Through the process of creating a powerful, integrated Persona Statement, we also discover that context does not need to determine outcome – no matter what the situation, the same authentic Self shines through in every environment. Thus all communication we engage in is of one Voice – it is the truth of our identity, revealed, embodied, and projected outward. The Persona Statement enables us to actually BE, rather than just appear to be, the same person everywhere we go.

There are three steps to creating a Persona Statement (covered in-depth within our V.I.P. Club Toolbox and our Harnessing the Power Within DVD); remember, in this process as well as in life, you are a perceiver as well as the perceived. It’s not just others who decide who you are and what you’re about. The fact is, the way you think or feel about yourself and your actions directly affect how you relate and reveal yourself to the world.

1. Take your time to honestly answer the following two questions:
   • How do I believe I am presently perceived? Consider the question from many perspectives.
   • How would I like to be perceived? Keep in mind that this is your intrinsic identity, your authentic Self, not just the self you show at work or in your social life. This is how you want to be known by everybody – all the time.
2. Create representations of each of your two Personas.
   • Drawing 1: This represents how you believe you are currently perceived.
   • Drawing 2: This represents how you want to be perceived.

   Now: What do you observe about your two different pictures? Is one picture more dramatic, colorful, or vibrant? Did something about your pictures surprise you?
   Consider what you have discovered.

3. Go back to the statement you wrote in answer to Question 2 and replace the phrase “I want to be perceived as” with “I am….” This is your new Persona Statement.

Incorporate Ritual 7: “Be My Self.”
In addition to memorizing your Persona Statement and being mindful of it as you meet and speak with people throughout your day is the ongoing recollection of the 7th Ritual of Vocal Awareness. The Seven Rituals are part of the total practice of Vocal Awareness that leads to Life Mastery. Once we have incorporated them into our daily life, we can enjoy and control the direction of our encounters, always remembering to listen first to our Inner Voice.

Ritual Seven: “Be My Self,” is singularly empowering with regards to personal and professional interactions in that it reminds us to consistently and consciously give our Self permission to be who we are and never present who we are.

Your Voice is Your Identity.
Vocal Awareness offers the means to make communication more integral, helping you to effectively express your Self. We are empowered through the Persona Statement, Ritual Seven: “Be My Self,” and the many other elements and subtleties brought forth in the Vocal Awareness Method. Through our dedicated practice of Vocal Awareness, we learn to truly claim who we are and be heard, not simply above but also through the din of daily discourse.

Overview of Ritual Two.

Opening the Door to Possibility.

The topic of this month’s V.I.P. Club Module is the simple yet challenging Ritual Two: “Love and Let Go.” An important ritual in enabling us to “open the door” to a deeper connection with Self, it is vital in our Journey to Conscious Awareness.

Joining Arthur in this video is Cecilia Bohorquez, a long-time student and friend who is an accomplished singer, performer and teacher in her own right. Together, Arthur and Cecilia practice and discuss Ritual Two, including exploration of how it differs from a simple state of relaxation, creates a state of safety and security and helps us deal with challenges that come from fear and self-doubt.

The effect of Ritual Two: “Love and Let Go” is clear and persuasive and, through this video, draws us into the sacred “space” it creates. Through Arthur and Cecilia, we feel the possibilities that “Loving and Letting Go” unlocks, including a newly enhanced Conscious Awareness that allows for greater personal freedom, consciousness and confidence.

Success Story

Shira Lazar.

Host and Executive Producer – Whatstrending.com and Partners Project on Youtube, Social Media Columnist – Entrepreneur.com

Shira Lazar is an Emmy-nominated TV and web personality. She is a co-founder of Disrupt Group, a digital production company behind such popular online shows as the weekly live interactive show and 24/7 news hub What’s Trending with Shira Lazar (whatstrending.com) and The Partners Project (YouTube) – both of which she also hosts. Shira is a regular contributor on The Huffington Post and Entreprenuer.com, appears frequently on news channels, and speaks at conferences around the world discussing Internet culture and digital trends.

When asked about her career, Shira says she “didn’t want to wait around for someone to create the opportunity for me. I allowed myself to do what I love no matter if someone told me I couldn’t.” Vocal Awareness and Arthur have helped her in that mission both practically – in terms of helping her access her true speaking Voice – and spiritually, by enabling her to directly explore and access her unique talent. Her goal for herself today is not just excellence at her craft, but mastery. A native of Montréal who now lives in Los Angeles, Shira attended Emerson College in Boston where she graduated with honors and a degree in Communications.

Read Shira’s complete Success Story here.

SHIRA LAZAR

Host and Executive Producer – Whatstrending.com and Partners Project on Youtube, Social Media Columnist – Entrepreneur.com

Q. What in your life brought you to the realization that you wanted to improve your Voice?
A. “I started broadcasting and working on air professionally when I was in my early 20’s and I found that when I spoke, my voice would go really high. I didn’t have any control. I would run out of breath very easily and that made me want to fix it. I knew I loved broadcasting; the skill was there; the passion was there, but I needed to work on my craft – just like anything. It’s like I had the natural ability but, as Arthur says, like an athlete you still need to hone your craft and work on it before you get to the competition – before you play on the court. Honing my craft was really important to me and I got introduced to Arthur and right away, I saw the importance of working on my voice on a physical and practical level in terms of my career – and then it became something much more. I realized through Arthur that Vocal Awareness and my Voice were very much connected to who I am and my art; what I wanted to bring to the world; and the power of really embracing my Voice and who I am to the fullest, which happens through speaking, storytelling, and how I communicate with others.”

Do you recall a moment when you felt a shift, or even a break-through because of your Work with Arthur and/or Vocal Awareness?

A. “It’s funny because I think it just happens all the time. Looking back, I think the first shifts or the light bulb happened when people started making comments about my voice in auditions and at shoots and they would just notice my voice and say, “I truly love your voice. There’s something really great about it.” And that’s when I knew that there was something very powerful in the Work I was doing with Arthur and that it was working in many ways. This acknowledgment, the fact that people started to take notice even though a lot of what we do comes from within, meant a lot as well.

During this first year of lessons when I met with people for the second time after I’d been working with Arthur, they noticed that change. People I used to meet with before and after would remark about how my voice was different because originally I tended to go high, up into my nose, and there was a lot that needed to be done. I wouldn’t do it when I was off camera, it was almost like I was trying to figure out who I was when the cameras were on. In fact, what I really needed to do was embrace it all on both ends and bring it together when I was off- and on-camera – and, ultimately, be OK with being me and understand what that meant.

I think also, over time, I just looked at the videos and my first reel ever and realized there’s such a drastic change in terms of how I present myself, how much lower and more controlled my voice is and how much more grounded it is – and that has everything to do with me working with Arthur and with Vocal Awareness.”

Q. What has been the biggest benefit thus far from your practice of Vocal Awareness?

A. “Vocal Awareness has become a part of who I am and of how I do what I do – my craft – a completely spiritual, other approach to what I do that I think people notice, in a subtle way (it’s so subconscious), but it makes a difference between someone who is just good at what they do and someone who is a master at what they do. It also made me realize that no matter how far along your Journey you may be, you still need to be constantly working on your Self and perfecting what you do; there’s no stopping that, and you need to embrace it, that’s a beautiful thing. Once you realize the power of who you are and of your own Voice, anything is possible. Vocal Awareness has really made me more mindful in that way.

I want to be the best person I can be, and practicing Vocal Awareness and being in touch with this side of who I am allows me to be that in a clearer way than I ever was before.”

The September 25^th issue of Parade magazine had an insightful interview with George Clooney. A number of things struck me as being clearly in line with how we practice Vocal Awareness. In this interview Clooney describes how he used to be a ball player in school:

“I had a good arm, I could catch anything, but I was having trouble hitting. I would be like, ‘I wonder if I’ll hit it; just let me hit the ball.’ And then I went away for the fall, learned how to hit, and by my sophomore year I’d come to the plate and think, ‘I wonder where I want to hit the ball, to the left or right?’ Just that little bit of skill and confidence changed everything.”

The combination of a little more skill brought about through awareness of technique, form and practice gave him the room to be. It is the same with Vocal Awareness: The conscious awareness of our speaking – our communication– in combination with our Being. Fast-forward to how this Awareness and Being helped George Clooney in later life:

“I had to stop going to auditions thinking, ‘Oh, I hope they like me.’ I had to go in thinking I was the answer to their problem. You could feel the difference in the room immediately.”

He gets to the essence of it. George Clooney is a consummate performer – he never “presents,” he is simply in his craft. He doesn’t define his interactions through fear. In Vocal Awareness, we boldly state: “the mouth is not simply the mind out loud”. As George Clooney discovered – practiced, and ultimately embodied – the emphasis in work/life, is not only in the message but the messenger. Through Vocal Awareness, we learn how to always be who we are. Every time we interact with others in our life is an opportunity to consciously embody who we truly are by Being our Self.

Who do you want to be – choose it.