Part of our journey will be realized through the story of Coach. Coach is a voice and speech coach that works with all kinds of clients. Reading his story through this training will give you a content to voice work it would be hard to get any other way.

COACH AND THE PASTOR

“I have been studying the text for weeks,” Mark said. “I know what I want to say in my head but it feels forced; it doesn’t flow.”

Coach asked, “How does your body feel, tense or relaxed, energized or sluggish?”

Mark answered wondering where this was going, “I feel frustrated, anxious, tight.”

Coach smiled saying, “Good.”

“Good. Why good,” Mark asked feeling off balance.

“Awareness is the first step.”

Mark hoped the whole session would not be filled with fortune cookie responses. Who was this guy? What was a voice coach anyway?

“The first step to what?”

“Change,” Coach replied. “You have to know you have a problem in order to change it. Where do you feel tight?”

“My neck mainly. I get neck pain and head aches.” Mark replied.

“The tension in your neck is forcing the sound up, your soft pallet is lazy, and your jaw is tight forcing the resonance into your nasal cavities, thus a nasal voice. We can fix that.”

Coach took Mark through a series of exercises. They were like nothing he had ever done before. Starting with breathing they warmed up the voice and body focusing on the neck and jaw joint. Thirty minutes later Mark was doing the sermon again. This time Mark felt very different, relaxed but energized, less anxious. He didn’t really have the right words but wanted to say he felt more alive.

Coach explained, “Your body was getting in the way. Now your voice is warmer from chest resonance because your neck has relaxed. The jaw has dropped a bit allowing sound to flow through your mouth. Way less nasal”

The change was dramatic Mark thought. “It feels like there is more of me showing up”

Coach laughed, “Exactly! So now that you are beginning to show up, what do you want to say?”

Mark said, “If I knew that I wouldn’t have a problem.”

“Put down the text you know it. Forget preaching. Imagine you are with a group of kids. Sit down on the steps. Relax. Make them understand,”

Mark sat and closed his eyes and imagined the kids. He looked into their eyes, smiled back at them. Then he saw Sally. Sally his daughter, right down front. He connected with her as a father does with a daughter and knew what to say. He opened his mouth and words started to flow. He forgot how he sounded, forgot his fear because he was so focused on reaching her. In five minutes he had said all he needed to say and he realized his eyes were a bit moist. His sermon had just erupted out of him.

Mark was stunned “How did that happen? I never preach like that.”

Coach was silent for a moment wanting Mark to take in all he could in his present state. Then he said, “It came from you Mark. You dropped your armor and offered yourself. You were clear the message was simple and passionate. Why do you never preach like that?”

“Why? I don’t know how I got here or how to get here again.”

“Ahhhh,” Coach said. “Would you believe it’s possible to be this present and free every week?”

Mark looked at Coach doubtfully.

“Earlier you told me you run and have a trainer that helped you cut 2 minutes off your mile. How does that work”?

“I meet with him every week and he watches my form, tells me what I am doing wrong and then I work on not doing that the next week,” Mark replied.

“And if you don’t practice between sessions do you improve?

Mark smiled, “Uh no.”

“Well that’s exactly how we train the voice. Like running breathing is really important. We are building a house one layer at a time, and when done it will serve you for the rest of your life. And a house worth living in is not built in a day.”

With that Mark decided. Next week breathing. Let the adventure begin.