Wherever you are on your podcasting journey, your voice plays a vital role. It’s your number one instrument for your podcast! Think about it. No voice, no podcast. In this episode, we’ll deep dive into how self-confidence and the opinions of others can impact how we feel about our own voice. Together, let’s go through five super-simple, thought-provoking questions that will help you uncover the pieces of your voice that will make you feel more confident. So get ready to unleash your inner podcasting voice that your listeners will quickly fall in love with.

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Transcript with audio description:

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<< Ghosthood Featuring Sara Azriel “Let’s Go” BEGINS >>

MARY: Welcome to the Podcaster’s Guide to a Visible Voice.

<< WOMAN SINGS: Let’s go >>

MARY: Reveal and define your voice to speak your truth through the power of podcasting. And I’m your host, Mary Chan.

<< WOMAN SINGS: So so so so let’s go >>

MARY: Hey, it is the beginning of the New Year. This is episode number 54, the first for 2023.

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MARY: Why authenticity is 100 times better than a traditional radio voice. So far this year, in 2023, I’ve had a lot of conversations with people realizing that this is the year that they want to start a podcast. Or they realize that they want to make their existing show more powerful in terms of getting new listeners, raising awareness for their podcast and their brands, and ultimately to grow their show. One thing I know to be true for wherever you are on your podcasting journey is to think about your voice. 

Your voice is your number one instrument for your podcast. Think about it. No voice, no podcast. So your voice plays a huge role, but podcasting is it’s own beast. Some people come into this thinking, oh, yeah, I have speaking experience, I talk all the time. But when it comes to your podcast voice, what is that? Some people clam up when they get right in front of a microphone. So how is your podcasting voice different from your everyday voice? 

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I mean, I get this one a lot. Again, like I said, since my background is in radio, and now that I’m meeting more and more people outside of radio, I keep hearing the same thing. I love your voice, uh, wish I had that. And I always say, but you do. You can. So let’s start with this. A radio voice is not the same as your everyday voice or even a podcast voice. Although radio and podcast, there are two very similar mediums. We’re all talking behind a microphone, but in some ways, that’s where the similarity ends. The difference here is that broadcast is made for the masses. Broadcasting on the radio, hence the name broadcast you’re casting out to a broad network. Podcasting, though, is more of a narrow cast. The more niche you become, the more connected you can be with your listeners and in turn, the more success you’ll have on your show. That’s what we’re all looking for, right? So what does this have to do with your voice? 

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I believe the broadcast voice is the old way of thinking. When I was in radio school, we were taught that if we sounded a certain way, that was the right way to sound. You had a good voice. But back then in radio school, we needed and were taught to emulate famous anchorman on TV or have, like, what we call the voice of God, like Morgan Freeman on a commercial that you hear. Not that we had to have their voice to be a broadcaster, but we were told if we sounded a certain way, like these voices, we’d have more success. To sound just like these old-timey voices like Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw and Hugh Downes in the States or right here in Canada to sound like Peter Mansbridge or Lloyd Robertson. And think about that. This all coming into my ears as a very short, small, Chinese Canadian girl. What do I have in common with Peter Mansbridge and Lloyd Robertson? 

So contrast that with podcasting. In order to connect with your listeners, you need to sound like your listeners. We’re niching right down. We’re not trying to go broad here. We are real human beings, not sitting behind a giant desk or in a soundproof booth in a studio. We don’t want to be sounding a “certain way” to have the “right voice”. And honestly, as I said, there is no way I could ever change my voice to sound like, well, all those people I listed, an old white guy. And even now, in my business, I was chatting with someone, and they told me that her boss told her she needed to sound more like that CNN voice. This coming from a young black woman. I laugh, because I told her, there’s no way you’re going to sound like an old white guy. And she laughed along with me because she realized that her bosses were policing her voice. This happens all the time. People being told they needed to sound more like those news anchors that you saw on TV or heard on the radio. But we’re not them, so why are we trying to all fit into that box? 

What I truly believe that those people or bosses, what they’re looking for when they say, broadcast voice, is the energy that comes from it. Going back to that statement that I got a lot, oh, I love your voice, I wish I had that. I would usually reply with, what do you mean? What energy do you get from it? What is it that you love about my voice? They’re like, oh, um, I don’t know, I love the sing-songy way you speak. But not that you’re singing, or that I exude this positive personality and power, or mostly they just keep stumbling because they can’t find the words to describe what they’re thinking and feeling. That right there is where we need to start. What words or feelings would you describe a voice? 

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First off, let’s hit pause here. I want to make sure that you’re comfortable first. I want you to find a relaxing space, a safe space for you to, uh, noodle on some thoughts. Get yourself a pen and some paper. Grab a cup of tea if you need to as well, and get a little bit cozy. Now, also, the tactile way of writing by hand. And when I said, get a pen and paper, I literally meant get some pen and paper. Because writing by hand changes what is happening in your brain. It’ll integrate more of what you’re going to uncover when you start answering some of these questions I’m going to bring you. If you want to get more in depth into this pen and paper idea, I’ve covered this in episode five, called Unlocking Barriers to create content for a podcast. So go back to episode five and learn more if you need a refresher. And yes, if you don’t have pen and paper handy, I know some people still love their devices, so, yeah, you can still get cozy in your safe space and jot some ideas down on your device and then come back with some pen and paper later if you really want to get more deep dive into these questions. 

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So as we get into this, one of the aspects I work with when you’re figuring out your voice journey is to work on your relationships to voices in general. How do these voices play a part in your voice story? In order for you to love your voice, you also need to feel into the other end of the spectrum. Yeah, like in love, in real life, sometimes you need to feel pain or loss or a breakup in order to really know what love is. So in this case, in order to love your voice, you also have to figure out what are those words and feelings that you don’t like about your voice. So we’re going to get maybe a little bit uncomfortable here. It happens sometimes. So when we are going to play through this next section, feel free to go into that discomfort or to hold off and come back later. Remember, this is your safe space, so do what you need to do to get comfortable, to relax, and to really have some time to think and write. I want you to be able to get into that discomfort and go beyond it, to break through that wall, to play big and outside the sandbox, to experience into what could be that potential, that opportunity to expand your voice. 

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So, here we go. Here are five thoughts for you to noodle on. When you’re figuring out your voice story, I want you to write whatever comes to mind. This is just for you. So you don’t need to edit or scratch out your thoughts or erase what you have going on. Just go with the flow and see what comes up. Doodle, bullet point, draw pictures, use different coloured pens, whatever you need to do to get out of that sandbox or that box that sometimes we like to put ourselves in. All right? So this is number one, who or what is holding you back? I want you to describe the first time someone said something about your voice. This could be something from childhood. Like for myself, when my dad would always tell us kids to shut up and be quiet. Or it could be from when you did a presentation at school and one of the mean kids said something to you that made you feel really small. Or maybe when you started working in the workforce, a coworker or a boss thought your voice was odd, maybe a little too squeaky. Those are some real life examples, by the way. So answer the question. Who or what is holding you back? What is that first memory, and how did it make you feel? What did you do because of that situation? 

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Number two, think about some of your favourite voices. These voices could be someone famous or someone you know in your own personal circle or network. What is it about their voice that makes you go, ooh or oh, man, I need to hear more. What is it about their voice that excites you? What do you notice about how they’re speaking? What feelings get conjured up when you hear them? 

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Number three, what’s not working with your voice? Think of the habits that have subconsciously ingrained themselves into your psyche. Probably because as women or people of colour, we needed to protect ourselves, to play nice, or perhaps to even keep the peace. You don’t want to get into an argument, so you shift your voice a little. I mean, I do this too when I start going into my I’m going to be friendly now, which I’ve dubbed the customer service voice, right? You get into that higher pitch, and you’re like, hi, how may I help you? Oh, my. That happened to me a lot and still does sometimes. So what is not working with your voice? 

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Number four, what do you love about your voice? When did your voice have your back or helped you to connect with someone? Why were those moments so awesome? 

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And lastly, number five, if you were to observe yourself from the outside as a friend, how would you describe yourself in a kind way? Friends are gentle, so we’re not looking for judgment. We’re not going to say, oh, gosh, your voice, that’s so scratchy, that’s annoying. No, friends are going to be nice. They are kind. So when you observe yourself as a friend, what would you say about your voice? 

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So those are the five sections, and once you’ve worked through those thoughts, over the next little while, I want you to be more aware of your voice. How do you sound when you’re talking to a friend, to someone you’re working with? Perhaps your family, your parents, your kids, your podcast guests. When you’re the host or when you’re the podcast guest, what do you hear? Make notes and like before, this is only for you. So no need to censor yourself or scratch things out. Just jot down notes. Like I said, bullet points, doodle, what have you. Start to notice any patterns. With me, sometimes with authority, I then go into a higher pitched voice because I want to play nice, with my family I also do that as well. With my kids I get into that mom voice. The stern, need to do this right away voice. Start to notice those patterns. And when I’m talking about voice here, there’s the literal voice. So what sounds are coming out of your mouth but also the voice from within you? Your mental voice. I want you to explore all of it because we aren’t just one or the other. We’re a mix of both. Uh, your literal voice and your mental voice. But a lot of this work has to do with your mental voice first and then that can shift your literal voice. See how the two connects? 

When you’re jotting down these notes, start thinking about what happens to your voice when you care. Like you enthusiastically are ready to share a thought. What do you do? What happens to your body? Your energy? This? This is the sweet spot and what I mean to speak with spirit, to be so enthusiastic that the energy just pours out of you and your voice. Yeah, that’s how that works. But before we can get to that part, we have to go through these first steps on your voice journey. These first steps is to know that your podcast voice isn’t a stereotypical radio voice. That you don’t have to be put into boxes, that your voice has the value is love and can bring you so much more power than you think. 

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And then on the next episode, I’m going to share even more of this with you and a guest that I have on my show that I really, really admire in this voice space. She has a new book out that you are going to want to get and will get to hang out with one of my favourite voice coaches in the world. She is my version of Oprah. And yes, I totally fangirled when she said she’d come on the podcast. Oh my god. [LAUGHTER] 

So I hope you’ll enjoy this upcoming episode. But with that, I know I said also at the beginning, this was work that was all for you. But if you feel like it helped in any way, I would love to hear what shifted for you. Which question got you a bit uncomfortable? How did that feel? Or maybe which one got you all excited and you got that enthusiasm that I was talking about? Send me a voice note from the purple send voicemail button on my website visiblevoicepodcast.com or you’re still on the beginning of your voice journey and you’re not ready to share your literal voice, that’s okay too. Drop me an email, visiblevoicepodcast@gmail.com. So excited to be back on the podcast with you and we’ll chat again on the next episode. So until then, speak with Spirit.

[MUSIC ENDS // PAUSE A BEAT // OUTRO – SHOW CLOSE]

<< Ghosthood Featuring Sara Azriel “Let’s Go” BEGINS >>

MARY: Thank you so much for listening to the Podcaster’s Guide to a Visible Voice. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you shared it with a podcasting friend. And to reveal more voicing and podcasting tips, click on over to visiblevoicepodcast.com.

<< WOMAN SINGS: Let’s go >>

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