Voice what Matters: the Podcast

Curious about how I coach the American accent? Have a listen to this episode, which is an interview and mini accent-coaching session with Alistair Nwachukwu. Alistair is a UK-based actor and a recent LAMDA graduate who has been working with me on voice, acting and accents privately for some time. In this episode, we talk about his process for learning the American accent. Themes that come up are: learning an accent is like learning a dance. You have to learn the steps first. We talk through what those steps are Alistair talks about his process for approaching accents, which includes getting curious about environment, cultural context, phonetics and physicality The intersections between accent work, character work and voice workI coach Alistair through the physicality of the accent to find more accuracy using his understanding of anatomy and character. the importance of vocal intention to finding the resonance of the accentHave a listen and see what you think! In addition to in-person coaching, I also have a digital American accent course that’s specifically designed for UK-based actors (which also comes with a live coaching component). It covers all of the material Alistair and I discuss and allows you to learn the accent in your own time. You can find out more about it at:voiceandaccentcoaching.thinkific.com Or on the course packs page of: voicewhatmatters.com. 

In case you haven't noticed, I have recently released my first online video course, The General American Accent Course Pack for Brits. In this episode, I talk about the inspiration behind the making of this course and what the course entails. Designed to be like a digital book/online course/ accent coach in your pocket, the course has over 3 hours of content and is broken down into 59 (short and easily digestible) videos that cover everything you need to know to authentically own a General American accent in your own voice, which you can watch in your own time, at your own pace. You also get a LIVE 30-minute coaching session via Zoom with me upon completion of the course. It's specifically designed for UK-based actors and coaches who work with UK-based actors. As an American accent coach who spent almost a decade living in London, a huge portion of my portfolio in both my drama school work and private coaching business has been coaching this accent to UK-based actors, and along the way, I have learned the typical pitfalls they can fall into. This course is the culmination of that experience. But why an online video course instead of a live virtual or in-person class? In this podcast, I talk about what inspired this course: namely-- my own personal love for online education, which allows me to learn at my own pace. I discovered this love while I was pregnant during lockdown and I took this amazing birthing class online that was a series of videos which I could watch over and over again. In the midst of taking that course, it suddenly occurred to me: this is a perfect format for accent training! Listen to the episode to hear more about my story and the course. If you'd like to purchase the course, go to voiceandaccentcoaching.thinkific.com or to the "Course Packs" page of my website at voicewhatmatters.com. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at christine@voicewhatmatters.com. 

This episode is part of a series where I talk with actors I’ve worked with about how they incorporate voice work into their craft. Georgina Onuorah is a London-based actress, singer and dancer. Her professional debut was playing Alice Fitzwarren in Dick Whittington at the National Theatre and she is currently the alternate Cinderella in the West End production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella . She graduated from ArtsEd in 2020, where I was one of her voice and speech teachers. During our conversation, Georgina had some profound insights about how voice work has helped her find her authentic center as a performing artist. Themes that come up in the conversation are: How voice work and warming up can give you something positive to focus on in the moment before an audition and help you present yourself more confidently in moments that matter— like introducing yourself in an audition Georgina’s definition of voice work: a kind of centering— a centering in yourself so that you can fully bring yourself to the table. This includes a physical centering, a vocal centering and a feeling of centeredness in the psyche. The difference between how Georgina feels about voice work now vs. what she thought it was going to be in her first voice class. There is a misconception about voice work (even among some voice teachers!) that it’s about “correcting” your voice or the way you speak. Now Georgina feels it’s much more about truly discovering your authentic self through your voice and even your vocal history. How spoken voice work and singing voice work interlinkGeorgina’s experience working on the Olivier at the National Theatre in London— an infamously difficult stage to work on vocally working with micsthe value of using text work on songs rather than focusing solely on sounding good the balancing act of the musical theatre performer between three disciplines and how voice work can compliment and work with those disciplines because breath is the unifying factor in eachGeorgina’s voice warm up and how it adapts to her day to day needs before a showThis one is a super interesting episode for professional actors, musical theatre performers and enthusiasts, actors in training, or anyone who is interested in what the craft of acting is all about. 

This episode is part of a series where I talk with actors I’ve worked with about their voices and how they incorporate voice work into their craft. In this episode, I talk with Sam Buchanan.  Sam is a 23-year old actor from Kent, England. He graduated from ArtsEd's BA Acting program in 2019, which is where we met. I was one of Sam’s voice teachers there. He has appeared on “EastEnders”, is currently shooting a new global thriller for Amazon called “The Power” and a new BBC3 series called “SuperHoe”, written by and starring Nicole Lecky.Sam and I had a rich conversation about his evolving relationship with voice work and how it’s impacted his craft on both stage and screen. Themes that come up are:— what voice work is vs. what it isn’t. Spoiler alert: it’s not about being loud and sounding posh. Sam talks about his process in drama school training—- realizing that voice work made the difference between feeling panicked and self-conscious and allowing him to be present, grounded, responsive and emotionally available in the moment. However, it takes awhile of being in the process to get to that place. —Sam talks about embodied voice work allowing an actor to have intimate moments (like a love scene on a park bench) on the Olivier stage but be heard in the last row. — we talk about the difference in voice work between stage and screen: how an adjustment of intention is required and how important voice work is for staying present, connected and emotionally available on screen.— Sam talks us through a typical body and voice warm up he does before a show and the importance of having a warm up that’s responsive to what you need on any given day. He talks about how his priorities shift when he’s warming up for screen.— the value of a cool down that allows you to come back to yourself after a show or a shoot— Sam offers his advice to current and incoming drama school students: stay open to learning, trust the process and find ways to shift your attention off of yourself and onto receiving. This one is a super interesting episode for professional actors, actors in training, or anyone who is interested in what the craft of acting is all about. 

This episode is part of a series where I talk with actors I’ve worked with about how they incorporate voice work into their craft. In this episode, I talk with @willedgerton. Will is an actor originally from Wigan, who trained at ArtsEducational Schools London. He is currently in rehearsals to make his professional debut playing Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet at the Globe this summer, directed by Ola Ince. Will and I start by talking about his experience with adapting vocally to working in a large outdoor theatre space where you have to compete with the elements and random surprises, like helicopters overhead or a pigeon landing on stage. This evolved into a rich discussion of how voice and text work have helped Will find presence, confidence and a deep listening to to his character’s experience from a compassionate lens. Themes that come up from our conversation are:— Why, when rehearsing and performing outdoors, it’s not so useful to think about volume and what you can do instead to stay safe vocally while being true to your character’s experience— How important acknowledging your environment is as part of your performance and how that can help you develop a greater sense of ease, of listening and embracing the present moment that makes it easier to sustain the athletic vocal work that outdoor performance requires (Will tells a great story about working with a pigeon that landed on stage)— What does it mean to be “in character”? We talk about how this idea can sometimes cause actors to get more tense and held and less present with what’s actually happening. We also talk about the difference between character tensions and actor tensions. — Demystifying the note to “drop the breath”—Will defines two pillars for how voice and text work are a key way into character: the voice work gives you a receptivity to the text and to the present moment. The text work  gives you a sense of the rhythm of how the character breathes and speaks, which helps you experience how the character feels. This one is a super interesting episode for professional actors, actors in training, or anyone who is interested in what the craft of acting is all about. 

On the podcast, I've been doing a series on the ‘authentic’ voice— what does it mean to have an authentic voice? How do you find it? Where I’ve landed so far is that being an authentic communicator is not so much about a certain type of sound but about a feeling— how does it feel to you when you are communicating? Connected to your experience? Connected to the experience of who you’re talking to?This can be extremely difficult, because society doesn’t exactly help us to be this kind of communicator. In this episode, I talk about how a voice coach can help you find your authentic voice. Here’s a hint: it doesn’t start with me, or any voice coach, telling you what your authentic voice is or what it should sound like. But if finding your authentic voice is about how you feel when you’re communicating, then a voice coach can help you access the tools to connect to that feeling. In the episode we talk about what those tools are and how they can help. Let me know what you think. What does authenticity mean to you? Has it changed or grown since listening to this series?

The authentic voice: how would you define it? This is the tiny, not at all philosophical topic I tackle in Season 3, Episode 4 of "Voice what Matters: the Podcast": ‘The Authentic Voice: Part 2’. In Part 1, I talked about what the word ‘authenticity’ means and what issues that throws up about how to find your own authentic voice. In this episode, I look at some useful and not useful questions to ask yourself if you are curious about communicating authentically.The big theme that comes up is— it’s not about how you sound— it’s about how you feel. And your experience of how your listener feels. In part 3, I’ll explore how a voice coach can help you find your authentic voice. Stay tuned. Let me know what you think. What does authenticity mean to you? Has it changed or grown since listening to this series?

This is the first episode under the new 'Voice what Matters' title and, to celebrate, I've picked a juicy topic:Authenticity. It’s definitely a buzzword these days. Everyone is talking about authenticity. It’s something we value in our friends, our partners, our leaders and ourselves. And it comes up a lot in voice coaching— clients often want to find their authentic voice. But what exactly does that mean? This is the first episode in a 3-part series where I look at this topic. In this episode I explore the conversation around the authentic voice—what is it?I talk about the dictionary definition of ‘authentic’, and what questions that brings up from a communication perspective: What does authenticity sound like? And how do we know?  Can it change based on context? We often speak differently professionally than we do personally. Does that mean we are being inauthentic? To what extent is it ‘cultural’? And Who gets to decide— the speaker or the listener? both?I talk about how your authentic voice relates to finding your authentic self, and why it’s not as simple as— if you have to think about it or rehearse it, it’s not authentic. For many of us, because of how we were raised, finding our authentic voices (and selves) takes practice. Let me know what you think. What does authenticity mean to you?

This is a brief episode to let you know that this will be the last episode under the ‘BeSpoke Speaks’ title. If you are a regular listener or subscriber, don’t fret. All of the old content will still be there, but everything is getting a shiny new name and logo. This is part of an evolution on my part. I am launching a new voice and communication coaching website and business, and I would like all of the content to have the same brand. So for those of you who have been listening for awhile, thank you so much for your support. Lindsay and I have loved working on this project together and we have learned so much (and podcasting has changed so much!)  along the way. I am still dedicated to using the podcast format as a way of making voice and communication training accessible, and I really look forward to continuing the mission through this new business. The new business and website will launch at the end of March, which means that all of the old bespoke episodes will have new episode and art work around that time. In April, look out for new episodes under the new name. If you want more regular updates on the launching process, the easiest way to get them is by following me on instagram @christinemottramvoice. And in case you hadn’t noticed, I have also created a YouTube channel. If you just can’t get enough of me and would like to see me as well as hear me, head over to my channel, www.youtube.com/user/clmottram. If you like what you see, consider subscribing. Your support with this project helps me continue to offer accessible voice coaching, so thank you! 

This  episode offers a warm up specifically for people who regularly speak publicly through technology, particularly podcasters. It’s a follow-up from a previous episode, ‘Vocal Consideration for Podcasters’, where I spoke with Ryan O’Shea, LA-based voice coach and podcaster, about what is helpful and not so helpful for podcasters to think about vocally. Where we landed in that episode is that the trap of podcasting is trying to listen to the way you sound and emulate a certain sound. Your audience will respond much more to you if you shift your focus to how you want your audience to feel, and then warm up your instrument so that you can connect to that feeling within yourself. Ryan joins us again in this episode to co-lead you through a warm up that will help you do that. The warm up includes: a warm up for the articulators- some physical release and connection to the body and breathing- some orientation - some priming and imaging work to connect to your own feelings and how you want your audience to feelmarrying the image work and your intention to communicate with the physical sensation of sending your sound to the micFind out more about Ryan at www.voiceandspeechwithryan.com.  Let us know what you think! 

What do podcasters need to think about in terms of their voices? In this episode, ‘Voice for Podcasters: Conversation with Ryan O’Shea’, I talk to my good friend, fellow voice coach and podcaster, Ryan, about the vocal issues that the medium of podcasts presents, and how podcasters can address them. Ryan O’Shea is a voice, accent and public speaking coach based in LA. She also has a podcast called “Speaking of…conversations on voice, speech & identity with Ryan O’Shea” which delves into fascinating conversations around voice and identity.The difficulty with podcasting is you can get really hung up on how you sound, especially if you’re doing it by yourself and don’t have an element of social engagement. Getting hung up on how you sound isn’t so useful, because you can’t listen to yourself and communicate from a connected place at the same time. Listeners can tell when a voice sounds clear and beautiful but disengaged, because they disengage. Ryan gives some useful tips from her own podcasting process and voice warm ups around how to reframe this issue, including: — warming up your body and voice so that you feel at ease. If you feel at ease, a byproduct will be that your voice will sound at ease— shifting your focus away from how you sound and instead on to connecting to what matters to you, and how you want your audience to feel. If you can feel the way you want your audience to feel, your audience are more likely to have the same experience.We talk about these tips and how they relate to podcasters specifically but honestly, they are useful for any performance medium. Find out more about Ryan at www.voiceandspeechwithryan.com. 

Happy New Year! More than ever before, you might be feeling like you need a refresher as we say ‘bye’ to 2020 and try to embrace 2021. We have reason to be hopeful that we will be back communicating in person regularly soon, but because we are starting off 2021 largely virtual, this first episode of Season 3 has got your back. This warm up is designed to help you release and prepare the body, breath and voice for virtual communication.Long periods of virtual communication can lead to a lot of tension in the body and voice, because sitting all day and talking into a computer is not how our bodies were meant to communicate— it can lead to hunched shoulders, tight neck, tight bellies, squeezed throats. it’s important to remember that even when we are communicating virtually, communication is still a full body action. the more at ease you  are, the stronger and more at ease your voice is and the easier it is to communicate. We’ve talked through tips that can help in a previous episode— ‘Cause we are living in a virtual world’. Feel free to reference that. This warm up is a practical sequence that will complement those tips. 

Hi Friends, This episode is Part 3 of our 3-part series, 'Staying Present in Unprecedented Times,' designed to support you through this crazy new world of isolation and uncertainty as we navigate the health crisis that is Covid-19. In Part 1, we took you through a mindfulness practice called Orientation to help you connect to the present moment through your senses. In Part 2, we combined Orientation with a body scan to help you feel more embodied as you orient to the present moment. In this episode, we dive deeper into both Orientation and the body scan practice so that you can connect  on a physical level towards what is enjoyable about the present moment. This practice helps you not only come into the here and now in an embodied way, but strategically focus your perception on what you're enjoying about the here and now-- an invaluable skill in any time in life, but particularly right now, when you might be dealing with an unusual level of uncertainty, discomfort and anxiety. Orienting towards what's pleasant can help you communicate more from a place of connection, ease and even enjoyment, rather than anxiety, panic or stress. This practice is inspired by Organic Intelligence(r), which you can find out more about on www.organicintelligence.org, and Fitzmaurice Voicework(r), which you can find out more about at www.fitzmauriceinstitute.org. Please let us know how you get on with this practice, what questions it brings up for you, and what other kind of support you would like as we navigate these current times. Please also share this episode with anyone you think could use the support. Take good care, Christine & Lindsay 

Hi Friends, This is part 2 of our 3 part series, 'Staying Present in Unprecedented Times', designed to support you through this crazy new world of isolation and uncertainty as we navigate the health crisis that is Covid-19. In Part 1, we took you through a mindfulness practice called Orientation to help you connect to the present moment through your senses. In this episode, we will practice orientation again, and then move into an oriented body scan so you can start to feel more connected to your body in the present moment, then we end with orientation from a more embodied place. This practice is useful if you find that your thoughts and feelings are consistently spiraling towards worries and anxieties that are not currently happening in the present moment, or if your awareness of the present moment is trending towards the negative. This sequence will help you find more ease in the present moment by helping you connect to the neutral reality of the here and now, and maybe even to what's pleasant about the here and now-- so that if and when you need to communicate, it's from a place of ease and connection rather than panic and anxiety. This practice is inspired by Organic Intelligence(r), which you can find out more about on www.organicintelligence.org, and Fitzmaurice Voicework(r), which you can find out more about at www.fitzmauriceinstitute.org. Please let us know how you get on with this practice, what questions it brings up for you, and what other kind of support you would like as we navigate these current times. Please also share this episode with anyone you think could use the support. Take good care, Christine & Lindsay 

Hi Friends, There's no doubt about it-- these are some unprecedented times. At the time we are publishing this episode, the UK and much of Europe are on lockdown-- we don't know how long it's going to go on and how much our world is going to change by the time we get through the health crisis caused by Covid-19. If you're like us, you may be finding yourself particularly isolated and anxious these days. We created a three-part series to help you stay present and find some ease in these crazy times. This episode is the first part, and will take you through a practice called 'Orientation', which is essentially connecting to the environment you're in through your five senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste-- so that you can connect to the neutral reality of the here and now, and maybe even what's pleasant about the here and now. This practice is especially useful if you find that your thoughts and feelings are consistently spiraling towards fear/worry/anxiety about the future, or even if your focus in the present moment is consistently getting drawn towards 'what's wrong' with the present moment. Orientation can help you come back to other aspects of the reality of here and now-- from what's okay to even what's pleasant-- so that it's easier for you to access the full range of your experience. This helps ensure that, as and when you need to communicate, you can communicate from a place of connection and ease. Orientation is a useful practice for any time in life, but particularly right now. Orientation is something we do naturally, but the wording of this practice is inspired by a body of work called Organic Intelligence(r). To learn more about Organic Intelligence, you can listen to our previous podcast episode, 'How to Become More Present: Conversation with Craig Deuchar' and/or at www.organicintelligence.org. Please let us know how you get on with this practice, what questions it brings up for you, and if you have other ideas around how we can support you at this time. Please also share this episode with anyone you feel could use this support. Take good care, Christine & Lindsay 

Hey Friends, Are you looking to become more present in your communication, or just in general? In this episode, Christine talks with her dear friend and colleague Craig Deuchar about a body of work called Organic Intelligence(r), and why it can be a useful practice to help you become more present generally and in your communication. Christine started working with Craig on an OI practice almost two years ago, and it has completely transformed the way she approaches communication training. Organic Intelligence is a mindfulness and compassion based clinical approach designed to alleviate the symptoms of stress, anxiety and trauma and help people live more present and vibrant lives. Christine talked to Craig about why, as a practice, it can help people become more present communicators. Themes that come up are: - how OI can help alleviate the stress and anxiety that often comes with public speaking and performance by helping you take your attention off of "what's wrong" - An explanation of how Fight/Flight/Freeze states can take over in communication situations, and how a practice called Orientation can help you not only reconnect to yourself and your environment, but even find more enjoyment and curiosity in your communication - how OI is different from (and yet complementary to) other mindfulness based approaches and public speaking training/actor training approachesYou can find out more about Organic Intelligence at www.organicintelligence.org. Craig is a voice, presence and OI coach and does some corporate communication work. He works with the nervous system to help people get more regulated on a biological level and how that manifests into their lives in a positive way, whether through an OI session or a voice session or an acting session. Find out more about him at www.craigdcoaching.co.uk. Take good care, Christine & Lindsay 

Hey Friends, This episode is a follow-up from "Listen Up", which came out a few weeks ago. In that episode, embodied living coach Nathalie-Joel Smith and Christine talked about the important role that listening plays in communication, and why it can be so hard to do. In this episode, Nathalie guides you through an embodied listening sequence so that you can actually practice listening, which you can use as a warm up and as a standalone practice in honing your ability to be more present in your own body and surroundings. The invitation in this sequence is to start by listening to what’s going on with ourselves— getting better and better at it so that we can also extend that attention to others. There will be some movement so wear comfortable clothing. There will also be an opportunity to lie down we’ll lie down so you might like to have a blanket or a mat to be more comfortable. We recorded this at rush hour so there are quite a few trains going through the episode. You can use them as a way of listening to sounds that are going on outside of you and the space you’re in, which you'll be invited to do during the sequence. You can find out more about Nathalie at www.nathaliejoelsmith.co.uk. She's on Facebook and instagram @the_creative_body. Take good care, Christine & Lindsay 

Hey Friends, Are you an actor who is working or who has an interest in working in Film/TV? If so, this episode is geared for you. In this episode, Christine interviews her dear friend and colleague Mark Street about the importance of actors applying their voice work to any work they do on camera. Mark is a filmmaker and Screen Acting Tutor at ArtsEd in London, and in his work he identifies several regular pitfalls that actors fall into vocally when working onscreen, including: dropping the voice down and not having intention. This sometimes comes from relying too much on a microphone, and sometimes it happens because actors confuse sounding "natural" or "real" with sounding under-energized and uncommittedColoring the voice without any intention behind it. This often happens because actors aren't thinking through the thoughts they're speaking out loud. Mark talks about the importance of intention and thought to on-camera acting work, and how crucial the voice and body are to communicating with intention. Themes that come up are: The uselessness of focusing on sounding "natural" or "real". Instead, it's more helpful for actors to focus on what they want from who they are talking to Defining "The Victory Statement"-- a visual actors can give themselves to know if they are getting what they want from the other person Defining the "Real Space" that actors have to consider when working on camera and how to play it vocally The importance of actors having a rehearsal system for themselves before they go onset that includes working the scene vocally and physically, as film/tv schedules offer very little onset rehearsal time The importance of breathing to Intention in acting, as well as to keeping the actor grounded in high-pressure film environments There is not a lot of information out there about how to apply voice work to film/tv work, so if you are a Film/TV actor or someone who speaks regularly on camera, this episode is a good starting point for how to consider your voice when working. Let us know what questions this brings up for you!For more about Mark Street: Mark trained as an actor before directing and writing plays on the London fringe circuit. He was a co-founder of 104 Theatre Company with which he won the Edinburgh Fringe First Award for a devised piece entitled ‘See Base Of Can’.He then started his own production company ‘From The Streets Productions’ with his wife and Producer Jane Street. Together they began working on short film projects alongside their theatre work. Mark's first film went on to showcase at London’s Raindance Film Festival and his second ‘The Noisy Neighbour’ a horror based on Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘Tell-Tale Heart’ began its festival run at ‘The Commonwealth Film Festival’. Mark has gone on to have a successful career directing for both stage and screen collaborating with a wealth of talented writers, editors, animators and producers.Mark is currently developing his next feature having just finished his feature-length documentary entitled ‘The Space: Theatre of Survival’ – about a young group of writers, directors, actors and artists that used their work to challenge the racist government in Apartheid South Africa during the 1970s. The film is currently touring the festival circuit with distribution later in the year.  Mark also enjoys teaching screen acting at Arts Ed where he is the Senior Screen Acting Tutor.Film Website: www.thespacetheatre.comPersonal Web: www.markstreetfilm.comTwitter: @markstreetfilmInstagram: markstreetfilmFacebook: www.facebook.com/Mark.Street.Films/

This is an extra special episode because it features an interview with Christine’s husband, Emanuel Adam. Through his job, Emanuel regularly does radio and TV interviews with the likes of BBC, CNN and NPR, and he and Christine talk here about advice he has as someone who has had very little media training on how to approach these high-pressure interview situations. His advice is great for these specialized situations but also holds for any public speaking event.The big theme that comes up in the episode for both TV and Radio is the importance of having a preparation process that includes preparing mentally, physically, vocally and even emotionally, as these are high-pressure situations that can often be stressful. Emanuel often gets called for an interview with very little notice— even so— he stands by his preparation routine, adjusting it as he needs to the time he has available. His prep routine includes: Research: getting knowledgeable about the most up-to-date content and the importance of researching from the interviewer’s perspective— thinking through ahead of time about what questions might be askedNotes: Creating bullet-point notes for himself that he can refer to during interviewsSetting up an environment he feels at ease in for the interview: he talks through different ways he does this for radio vs. TV Practicing out loud: Taking the time to practice answering potential questions out loud, so that he can practice articulating his research in his spoken voice, and so that he can practice speaking more slowly, which is so key generally for radio and TV interviews, especially when you’re feeling nervous Managing Nerves: Getting grounded in his body and breathing to help him manage his nerves As a communication coach (and as his wife!), Christine was very impressed with Emanuel’s prep routine. People often underestimate the amount of prep time it requires to feel at ease in public speaking situations, or mistakenly think that preparing will make them feel and look less spontaneous and authentic. It’s actually the opposite! The more prepared you are, the more your personality can shine in an interview situation, because it’s a lot less likely that you will get caught off guard or panic. Have a listen to his process and let us know what you think. To find out more about Emanuel: Emanuel leads the UK operation for BritishAmerican Business, a large transatlantic trade and business association dedicated to grow the transatlantic economic corridor. Having spent almost his entire career in trade, Emanuel serves as one of BAB’s main spokespeople, representing the organisation’s member companies on relevant business issues. In this function, Emanuel appears regularly on local and international media outlets in both the UK and the US. He covers issues ranging from international trade, tax, investment, immigration, often around major Government visits. Or in his words: “Whenever a US President decides to visit the UK; I get a call”. 

In this episode, Christine interviews her dear friend and colleague, Nathalie Joel-Smith, about the importance of embodied listening in communication. The importance of listening can sometimes get overlooked in communication coaching, both for actors and public speakers, even though it really is the vital component to connection within communication. Nathalie and Christine discuss what listening really is, why it can be hard to listen, and tools we can develop to listen better. Themes that come up are: Defining “Listening in” and “Listening out”: listening is a sensorial experience that involves tuning into our surroundings and who we’re talking to through our senses, as well as tuning into our internal experience through our sensations, emotions and thoughtsThe importance of breathing to listeningDefining “Bodyfulness”— a term that encompasses mindfulness and includes the rest of the body’s experience. Nathalie mentions a great resource, a book called Bodyfulness: Somatic Practices for Presence, Empowerment, and Waking up to this Life by Christine Caldwell A discussion about the nervous system states of Fight/Flight/Freeze/Fawn and how they can impact our communication, particularly our ability to listen, when they become habitual states instead of important survival signals The vulnerability that listening requires, which is why it can be so hard (and yet so rewarding!) to do Nathalie is a movement teacher, embodiment coach and performing artist. She does workshops and has online courses and coaching for embodied living, which is to do with how we navigate life challenges, desires and emotions with presence and compassion. Her background is in performing arts— she trained in Musical Theatre at ArtsEd. You can find out more about her at www.nathaliejoelsmith.co.uk and follow her on Instagram and Facebook @the_creative_body. This episode will shortly have a follow-up episode where Nathalie guides us through an embodied listening warm up. Stay tuned!