In my coaching practice, I see every day how most speech problems start in the head. The fear of failure, losing control or being judged negatively can be paralyzing. I also know these fears. Even in my "previous life" as a stage actor, I experienced every day how this fear of failure leads to insecurity and loss of inner sovereignty.
Maybe you know this. You're supposed to speak in front of a larger group, and you know in advance that your voice won't be loud enough to fill the room and reach the audience in the back rows. With this feeling, you then step in front of your guests and say quietly to yourself: "I can just [...]
"What did you say?" - many people are currently hearing this sentence again and again when they talk with the mouth-nose mask. The much-discussed Covid-19 protection will probably accompany us in everyday life for a long time to come, whether we like it or not. Speech intelligibility in particular often suffers from this unusual and sometimes often irritating accessory. What you [...]
Do you talk for more than three hours on some days? If you've nodded inwardly, then I say: "Welcome to the club!" Because then you clearly belong to the "heavy voice users", i.e. to the top voice athletes. The question is: What do you do to ensure that your voice remains fit and efficient in action? For a [...]
The power of the voice: Appear, appear charismatic, convince! More presence, charisma and expression unfold Your voice and your authentic appearance are enormously important instruments, especially in these critical times, to convince others of yourself. The tone makes the music! Whenever you present, present, sell or negotiate - your tone of voice, your way of speaking disappoints or [...]
On the occasion of the "Day of Reading Aloud", ORF Salzburg asked me for an interview. What does it take to present a text expressively? Listen to my thoughts and practical tips here: What makes reading aloud a practical voice exercise Do you allow yourself to pull out the stops that your voice would actually have? In everyday life, we often fall into [...]
I was really amazed when I saw my Swiss colleague Jörg Eugster walking towards the stage in Graz last Thursday. Like me, he was on the list of speakers at the "Long Night of Inspiration", a wonderful event conceived by Magda Bleckmann. Ten speakers, each with ten-minute keynote speeches, were to inspire the audience. The good-humoured [...]
Oh Lord, give me time to understand! Recently, I sat in a high-level congress. With equally high-level, impressive keynote speakers. Whereby impressive can be interpreted in different ways. Most of the speeches were great, exciting and inspiring. But then HE came. He, the "differently impressive speaker". He was quite impressive. Namely, through what felt like 6000 slides in 45 minutes, peppered with [...]
Almost unbelievable 10 years ago, my colleague Ingrid Amon and I launched the stimme.at network. Today, Stimme.at is the largest cross-methodological and independent platform on the subject of voice and speech technology in Europe. Currently, 70 voice experts from Austria, Germany and Switzerland are involved under this common roof. Our declared goal was [...]
If I use a microphone: What are the special things to consider? As helpful as technology is today for presentations in large rooms or in front of large audiences, there are many dangers lurking for the careless speaker. Do a sound check. Make sure everything is working correctly. Are the batteries in your wireless microphone new? When and where [...]
