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A critic of mine recently told a colleague of mine that Adam Eason (that is me) “likes the sound of his own voice.” Damn right I do!
So I want to tell you how and why I say that response.
If I was just about to take you into hypnosis, and if I then screeched to you “Ok, relax will ya, go into hypnosis” in a shrill voice with a hard to understand manner, do you think you would respond by relaxing and going into hypnosis? I am guessing that my voice being like this is unlikely to aid the hypnotic process.
Our voice is a tool that can be used in so many various aspects of our life; at work, at home, with friends, family and colleagues and more. The way we use our voice influences how people react to us and behave with us.
To be a good hypnotist, it is important that you practice your hypnotic voice before working with a subject. Some hypnotists use a soft monotone which bores me, others use a sing song voice, and yet others use a natural but slower and lower tone of voice to induce a hypnotic trance. Us hypnotists then even suggest when speaking to our hypnotic subjects that “My voice is very soothing and relaxing to you”. We do not always actually say those words; rather we intimate that with the way we use our voice.
How you use your voice creates a reaction to everyone you communicate with and it can be used to your advantage with stunning results. Imagine if you had a hypnotic voice, how would that affect different circumstances and events that you found yourself in?
Before I write about how to develop such a voice, I do recommend that you keep congruent. It is good to model a hypnotist or other successful hypnotists and do listen to good quality hypnotists and how they use their voice, however, it is important that you maintain the essence of what is you. You must be true to who you are. You can be relaxing and soothing, in your own way too. You are not Paul Mckenna, you are not Adam Eason, so do not try to be them. Learn from how we use our voices, but remain true to your own style.
Tune in to the tonality that you feel comfortable with and that is going to get the best results for you. This often means talking in a relaxing, soothing way – slowly, with pauses, in a soft, low voice. You do not have to be Barry White, but you know what I mean here don’t you? Barry White was not exactly front cover magazine material, however, you know that he was extremely sensual, attractive and alluring thanks to the way he used his voice.
Not only was it deep and rich, it was often slow, considered and deliberate. It was purposeful and easy to listen to. Ex-James Bond Actor Roger Moore had a voice with very similar qualities. We can look at how actors, speakers and singers use their voices and we can use our own voices accordingly. These people speak from their tummies, they speak from their abdomen, not their throats, their noses or their chests.
I can remember being shown an exercise on a hypnosis training course with Richard Bandler once and we pointed to our noses, then our throats, our chests and abdomens while speaking from each of those places: The difference was amazing and how everyone reacted to the sounds made was even more amazing.
In previous articles, I have been writing about how to use language to communicate with the unconscious mind of another person. Using good vocal tonality is of such importance when you are communicating with the unconscious part of someone’s mind. Good hypnotists will often have the same quality of voice control as good actors and public speakers. It is important that you can squeeze as much meaning and feeling from your words as possible. Even think about making words sound like what they mean.
A great way to enhance your tonality is to do this rather simple exercise:
Firstly, position your body with your back straight and crown of your head pointing upwards. Breathe deeply from that area just beneath your belly button and push that area out when you breathe in.
Secondly, when you look at the words that I am going to ask you to say shortly, consider what each of the words actually means to you and what feelings you associate with each word. Think about what sound represents that feeling the best.
Thirdly, say each of these words out loud with feeling attached to it, squeeze as much meaning as possible out of these words and say them hypnotically as if you were wanting have it resonate with profound meaning inside another person:
Love, relax, peace, happy, harmony, calm, wonderful, soften.
Then practice by reading books out aloud and getting your tonality and words just right and get each word to convey a message of meaning and feeling. Think about how this would work wonders when speaking in front of others, in meetings, on a date or when wanting others to accept your idea or message.
A good communicator will have clear distinctions in their voice tonalities to communicate with other people on different levels. In order to master hypnotic communication, you should develop at least two distinct tonalities or “voices” for your interactions.
Your first “voice” is your usual, every day speaking voice. This will anchor people to keep wide awake when you speak like that. So use this only when they are awake and alert. The moment you begin to be influential, begin to change your voice to your hypnotic voice.
By consistently using only your waking voice while your subject is alert, and your hypnotic voice when you are being influential or persuasive, your two voices are then naturally anchored to those states. Then, when it is really anchored, you can just start using one voice to create that state.
Your Posture Affects Your Voice:
Posture and movement are an integral part of any voice usage. Part of being able to use your voice well includes the ability to be aware of your body, identify and correct problems that arise due to incorrect posture.
This does not mean that your posture needs to be perfect! Standing naturally ensuring the head, neck and shoulders are relaxed is the correct posture for using your voice to maximum effect.
Whilst most people do this automatically, there are others whose posture has become lazy, or who have developed bad habits that can inhibit their voice.
Here are some posture Do’s and Dont’s to aid with how you use your voice:
Do…..
– Be relaxed and natural
– Keep your movements fluid
– Keep your chin level
– Keep your knees loose
– Keep your head up
– Keep your shoulders sloping and relaxed
– Keep your toes pointed forward with your weight on heels and soles
– Keep the front of your neck loose – don’t stretch it
– Keep abdominal muscles relaxed
– Keep your back muscles relaxed
– Smile!
Don’t…..
– Drop or hunch your shoulders
– Move stiffly or jerkily
– Drop or tuck in your chin when trying to sing low notes
– Stretch your head upward when trying to sing high notes
– Strain or push your abdominal muscles
Have a go at this exercise to enhance your posture to get your voice working for you:
Place a mirror in a position at the end of the hallway or room where you can see the whole of (or at the least the top half) of your body.
Stand at the end of the walk space and walk naturally towards the mirror observing your movements and posture as you walk.
Compare with the Do’s and Dont’s above and make adjustments to your posture if necessary.
When walking your weight should be mainly on the balls of your feet, so your heels just lightly touch the floor, with the majority of movement from the hips and legs. The upper body should remain straight, relaxed and not ‘swing’ from side to side.
Breathing Life Into Your Voice:
One of the cornerstones of learning to use your voice is knowing how to breathe correctly and learn to control your breathing so that it is used to optimum effect when you speak.
When we are born our breathing is naturally correct, babies can breathe, yell and scream with optimum effect because they use their lungs without conscious thought. As we grow older, some people become lazy in their habits only using the upper part of the lungs, taking a shallow breath instead of a normal one.
Breathe from your tummy. Hold a finger close to your lips and breathe out slowly, the breath should be warm and moist and you should notice the action of the diaphragm as you exhale.
The stomach area should move naturally inward toward the end of the breath, the stomach should not be ‘sucked in’ as it prevents the diaphragm from working effectively. Instead the abdominal area should remain expanded to the level it was when you inhaled and allowed to gradually decrease naturally at the end of the breath.
Good breath support when using your voice for maximum effect requires good posture and abdominal breathing and adding qualities that you think are desirable, attractive, resonant and congruent with how you communicate naturally. We use our voice so much, why not use it to its full potential, eh?
So today, have some fun using your voice to see how you can get people responding to you differently, more progressively and positively and maybe you will end up liking the sound of your own voice too!
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Source by Adam Eason