68. Forging Connections and Authority with a Compelling Voice with Roger Love

Dec 8, 2016

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Roger Love is the most commercially successful vocal coach of all time, both in the speaking and singing fields. His clients have ranged from actors (including Reese Witherspoon and Jeff Bridges) to singers (including Selena Gomez and John Mayer) to public speakers, including the renowned Tony Robbins as well as John Gray, Brendon Burchard, and Suze Orman . He’s also the voice coach of the stars of the TV show Glee. His introductory video shows even more of the stars who he’s helped achieve vocal success.

Fortunately for all of us, Roger isn’t only a consultant to the stars. He’s sold over 100 million CDs and has written three top-selling books, which means he’s been able to reach an incredible number of people worldwide. And in this episode, he coaches Optimized Geek listeners on how to develop a powerful, compelling voice. If you want to continue your vocal training, pre-order his newest book Set Your Voice Free, which is coming out on December 27th.

Find Out More About Roger Here:

Roger Love RogerLoveVocals on Facebook @RogerLove1 on Twitter RogerLove on Instagram

In This Episode:

[02:23] - Roger talks about his new book, Set Your Voice Free. In 1999, he had created a previous edition of this book, and he explains how he got started writing and why he’s creating a revised edition. The new book comes out December 27th, and some customized bonuses are available when you preorder through this link.
[05:47] - We learn just how important the speaking voice is in social interactions. What Roger does is help people find their authentic voices. He reveals that he only focused on singers for the first 17 years of his career. He eventually realized that there’s no difference between singing and speaking, and began teaching speakers as well.
[10:35] - There are five components in voice, regardless of whether you’re singing or speaking: pitch, pace, tone, melody, and volume. Roger talks more about each of these components in some depth and demonstrates several of them.
[18:28] - Roger explains how influence is a major goal of communication.
[19:20] - Stephan steps in for a moment to translate what Roger has been saying into metaphysical terms. Roger then expands on the concept. They go on to discuss the role of body language and physiology in communication.
[23:45] - Roger tells us how to breathe in an effective way. He provides an exercise: open your mouth and take in a very slow (and airy-sounding) breath through your mouth. It makes the back of your throat dry, right?
[25:31] - Half of diaphragmatic breathing is simply breathing through your nose instead of your mouth. The other half is not raising your chest and shoulders when you breathe. This is how babies breathe, Roger explains.
[30:29] - Roger points out that we live in a mirror culture, and gives an example. This attempt to connect through imitation or mirroring is why we don’t use diaphragmatic breathing as adults despite doing it as babies.
[31:05] - Stephan asks a detailed question about singing between the chest voice and the head voice. Roger talks about the fact that there are actually three voices: the chest voice, middle voice, and head voice. He goes into some depth about the importance of the middle voice for singers and speakers alike.
[35:06] - Roger points out that boys and girls have the same vocal range before puberty. Once they reach puberty and boys’ voices change into men’s voices, the voices of men and women are immediately separate and sound very different. The middle voice allows men and women to have overlapping frequencies, which Roger argues allows the genders to communicate more easily.
[39:00] - People try to play all the different characters they must be throughout the day in one voice, Roger tells us. He gives an example and explains the importance of different voices.
[41:39] - Many people speak in a monotone. Roger talks about his stair-step method, which involves figuratively walking up and down the steps of pitch.
[47:29] - Roger talks about the online offerings he has for people who are interested in learning more. He keeps the price relatively low to avoid letting it be a barrier. He particularly recommends his Perfect Voice program. He generously gives Optimized Geek listeners the free gift of this 3 Best Speaking Tips video.
[50:10] - Stage fright is an anticipatory fear, Roger explains. It tends to disappear within the first few seconds of actually speaking on stage.
[51:20] - Roger wants to help you develop your voice. In addition to the free video he provided, he suggests pre-ordering his forthcoming book Set Your Voice Free. It comes with a private website that has over 50 audio and video samples and a way of communicating with other people learning the same techniques. For a limited time, if you preorder before December 27th, you’ll also get three free gifts! (Note: you’ll need to use the included link when you preorder the book to be eligible to receive these gifts.)
[52:15] - Roger is also offering Optimized Geek listeners a special discount on his Complete Perfect Voice Training System. For $50 off, use the promo code TRAINING (in all caps) when you order the program.
[55:23] - Roger is fully booked for the next year and therefore unfortunately isn’t generally available to be hired privately. He now spends most of his time creating content to reach (and help) larger audiences.

Get Optimized!

1. Most of us speak in descending scales, with the word right before a comma or period being the lowest. Practice reversing that and speaking in ascending scales instead.

2. Focus on developing a stronger, richer sound if your voice is airy or breathy. Roger explains that airy voices tend to sound inconsequential, weak, or less intelligent.

3. Practice increasing your speaking volume. Use the same abdominal muscles as you do when you’re coughing or laughing to increase the air pressure (and volume).

Links and Resources:

Roger Love RogerLoveVocals on Facebook @RogerLove1 on Twitter RogerLove on Instagram Who Is Roger Love?Set Your Voice FreeReese Witherspoon Jeff Bridges Selena Gomez John Mayer Tony Robbins John Gray Brendon Burchard Suze Orman Diaphragmatic breathing Chest voice, middle voice, and head voice Roger Love’s 3 BEST Speaking Tips Complete Perfect Voice Training System (promo code TRAINING for a $50 discount!)