The Voice Coach Podcast

Continuing with our podcast's first anniversary celebrations, I'm honoured to bring Barbara Houseman to the show. She is a Voice, Text, and Acting Freelance Coach with over 40 years of experience, including six years at the Royal Shakespeare Company and many years coaching in West End. Barbara is also the author of two books, "Finding Your Voice" and "Tackling Text." During the first of this two-part interview, Barbara shared her thoughts on warmup, breathwork, and support. We explore some insights on Barbara's practice, the link between her work and practising mindfulness and self-awareness, and why she decided to bring these techniques into her work. We also touch on authenticity, voice training before, during, and after lockdown, tongue release, and more. What You Will Learn In This Episode:- What kind of work Barbara Houseman does with her students- What moved Barbara to start teaching mmindfulness and self-compassion, and how those practices benefit voice enthusiasts and professionals- Why many people's voices suffered during the pandemic- Why Barbara firmly believes that warmups should rather be habit builders- Advice for voiceover actors and actressesBarbara’s clients' list includes Jane Asher, Jerry Hall, Clive Owen, Daniel Radcliffe, Jude Law, and Nicholas Hoult, among many others. Each and every tip she shared with us is gold, so stay tuned for Part 2 of this interview! Resources:- Barbara Houseman website: https://www.barbarahouseman.com/ - Barbara Houseman Books: https://www.barbarahouseman.com/about - Nicola Harrision - Embodema https://www.nicolaharrison.co.uk- Join The Vocal Empowerment Course: https://nicolaredman.com/voice-coach/vocal-empowerment-programme/  Mentioned in this episode:Buy Nic's BookHead to onthemicbook.com to get your copy nowGet my book hereGet my book here

Today, continuing with our celebration week, we go through the second part of my interview with Dane Chalfin. In this part, Dane answers the previous episode's cliffhanger - are straws a good tool for warmups? He also shares his thoughts on post-pregnancy voice training, stuffed up nose and how to deal with voice ageing. What You Will Learn In This Episode:- Dane’s take on the use of straws for warmups and in voice therapy- The dependency straws can cause and why it is so easy to get things wrong with them- The benefits of using steam and how we can benefit from breathing through our mouth and nose simultaneously- Why the voice tends to change after pregnancy and how to deal with itThroughout this interview, we also dive into a fun and informative myth-busting quickfire, where I bombard Dane with some internet-based knowledge about voice fatigue, the use of nebulisers, throat coat tea, and much more. Resources:- Register for Vocal Empowerment Course https://nicolaredman.com/voice-coach/vocal-empowerment-programme/ - Dane Chalfin website https://www.vocalrehabilitation.com- Join the Voice & Accent Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthubMentioned in this episode:Get my book hereBuy Nic's BookHead to onthemicbook.com to get your copy nowGet my book here

Our podcast turns one year old this week, and we are celebrating! We'll start our celebrations with an interview with Dane Chalfin we aired on The Voice and Accent Hub. Dane is a Vocal Rehabilitation Coach and Singing and Voice Teacher, a dear friend, and my first ever voice teacher. Today, in the first part of our interview with Dane, we defuse some myths around foods and drinks that affect our voicing, and we explore the differences between voice warmups and workouts. What You Will Learn In This Episode:- Truths vs. myths about how chocolate, alcohol, and caffeine affect our voice- What is behavioural and what is woo-woo around eating habits and voicing- For how long we should warm up our voice, and the four things warmup should do for us- Dane's take on image-based methodologies- What is Dane's opinion on support, and why does he believes SOVTs aren't one size fits allStay tuned for the second part of our interview with Dane, where we touch on the ageing voice, post-pregnancy voicing, what we should do when we are all stuffed up, and Dane's opinion on straws in voice training. Resources:- Dane Chalfin website https://www.vocalrehabilitation.com- Join the Voice and Accent Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthubMentioned in this episode:Get my book hereBuy Nic's BookHead to onthemicbook.com to get your copy nowGet my book here

This week, following our voice plans for this year, we'll go through five questions to reflect on in 2022 to help us achieve our vocal goals. Setting and writing down these five questions can be used as a guide to be aware of what we intend to do with our voice this year and how to accomplish that. What You Will Learn In This Episode: - The importance of acknowledging what we like about our voice as it is at this moment- Being aware of what we need from our voice this year based on what we want to achieve- Deciding what areas, from the ones we've been working on, are interesting to explore further- Why it would be useful to have a coach or mentor to help us upgrade our voicing abilities this year - How much time we can dedicate to our voice this year Going through these questions is an interesting way to commit to our goals and plans for this year. The only non-negotiable from these five is how much time we'll spare to work on our voicing - there is always time somewhere in our day and we must find it. Resources:- Join me for New Year New Voice free training https://nicolaredman.com/new-year-new-voice/ - Join the Voice & Accent Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthub- Susana Conway - Unravel Your Year 2022: https://www.susannahconway.com/unravel/ - Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nicredvoice/Mentioned in this episode:Get my book hereBuy Nic's BookHead to onthemicbook.com to get your copy nowGet my book here

I believe New Year's resolutions add too much unnecessary pressure, so I don't do them anymore. Instead, I prefer reflecting on the year that ended and, based on the conclusions we can get from that, setting up some goals for the following year. So, in this first of a two-episode series on the new year, we'll go through five questions we should ask ourselves to reflect on the year we just left behind about our voicing progress, what we need to change, improve, and be grateful for. What You Will Learn In This Episode:- The positive things about our voice we can focus on to keep growing- The importance of expressing gratitude for what we've accomplished so far with our voicing- What we've improved in our voicing this year- What kind of relationship we have with our voice and what are the things that could be improvedSetting resolutions for the New Year feels like things we must complete or reach. Rather than thinking about the things we must achieve, we can consider our goals and aim in that direction. The closer we get to them, the better, and not reaching them is not a failure, it is progress. Resources: - Sign up for New Year New Voice Free January Sessions https://nicolaredman.com/new-year-new-voice/- Download some Short courses to kick start your voice traininghttps://nicolaredman.com/voice-coach/#download- Join the Voice and Accent Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthub - Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nicredvoice/Mentioned in this episode:Buy Nic's BookHead to onthemicbook.com to get your copy nowGet my book hereGet my book here

Today, in 2021's last episode, we will slow down a little bit. After whatever kind of celebration you had during Christmas, I thought it was a good idea to take a pause and have a moment of holistic awareness. So take a moment to check in with your body, your breath and make some space into your mind so it can also breathe. You only need to find a comfortable position, lean back, relax, and follow my voice.  What You Will Learn In This Episode:- A simple relaxation method to check in with your body and breath It was a fantastic journey so far, and it was a pleasure to share some nuggets of helpful information in voice training. While I'm putting together more fun things for next year, take care of your voice, be safe and enjoy your holidays! Resources: - Sign up for New Year New Voice Free January Sessions https://nicolaredman.com/new-year-new-voice/- Download some Short courses to kick start your voice traininghttps://nicolaredman.com/voice-coach/#download- Join the Voice and Accent Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthub - Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nicredvoice/Mentioned in this episode:Buy Nic's BookHead to onthemicbook.com to get your copy nowGet my book hereGet my book here

Christmas is almost here, a time to celebrate and spend time with our loved ones. Still, that shouldn't be a reason to stop taking care of our voices. To keep things playful while caring for our voices during the holidays, I came up with three fun festive-themed voice games. What You Will Learn In This Episode:- The Lip Trill Olympics- Three Festive-themed Tongue Twisters- The Hydration StationThese exercises shouldn't take you away from your family. You can drop them right there while you celebrate. Remember that although we might be on time off from our voicing work, Christmas is a time when we do lots of talking, so being careful is something our voice will thank us for. Resources:- Sign Up for my Free Voice Training Week https://nicolaredman.com/new-year-new-voice/- Nic on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nicredvoice/- Downloadable Courses https://nicolaredman.com/voice-coach/- Join the Voice & Accent Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthubMentioned in this episode:Buy Nic's BookHead to onthemicbook.com to get your copy nowGet my book hereGet my book here

This week, we'll go through the second part of the Twelve Days of Tips-mas. We will debunk some myths about breathing, we'll learn the proper position for our chin while speaking, and remember to be mindful of releasing unnecessary tension. This also serves as a reminder to keep things playful, to stay curious, explore our body responses, and be aware of the importance of feedback to improve. What You Will Learn In This Episode:- Where our chin should be when we are in front of the mic- Why speaking or breathing with our diaphragm makes no sense- Why we must never forget to release tension- How keeping things playful makes everything easier- What we should focus on at the beginning of every warm-up- Why it is essential to get a voice pal to receive feedback fromWhether from a professional coach or from a sincere friend, feedback is an essential part of evolving our voicing. Accountability is a powerful ally of improvement, and partnering with someone we love, respect, admire or learn from is perhaps the best choice to improve our voicing abilities. Resources:- Sign Up for my Free Voice Training Weekhttps://nicolaredman.com/new-year-new-voice/- Follow me on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/nicredvoice/- Join the Voice & Accent Hubhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthubMentioned in this episode:Get my book hereBuy Nic's BookHead to onthemicbook.com to get your copy nowGet my book here

Invaded by the Christmas spirit, I've decided to share with you 12 tips that will help you take care of your voice before, during, and after this holiday season that might get noisy and force us to eat, drink and speak more than we usually do. Today, we'll go through the first six of these vocal health tips.What You Will Learn In This Episode:- Remember that you have more body after the larynx- What kind of beverages are the best to keep our body and voice hydrated - How to avoid pushing your voice harder than you need to- What it means to watch your diet closely in order to maintain vocal health- How focusing on out-breath and flooring down helps you take care of your voiceThese tips are handy to close a solid year of voice training on a high note. There is no reason to not celebrate during holidays, but there is also no reason not to take care of your voice. Resources:- Sign Up for my Free Voice Training Weekhttps://nicolaredman.com/new-year-new-voice/- Follow me on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/nicredvoice/- Join the Voice & Accent Hubhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthubMentioned in this episode:Buy Nic's BookHead to onthemicbook.com to get your copy nowGet my book hereGet my book here

This episode comes on the back of a request from a lovely client who's headed off to panto-land for the festive season. Don’t know what panto is? Then listen to this episode. Know what panto is, but you’re not doing it? Still listen in, because a lot of the tips I’m sharing today are relatable and usable, whether you are batch recording loads of podcasts, or you're doing character voicing for an audiobook, or you've got lots of Christmasy type speaking in your diary for the next few weeks.What You Will Learn In This Episode:- Five tips for vocal warmups and cooldowns during the festive season- How to maintain your vocal health over this intense period of rehearsing and shows- How to take care of your voice while your are on stage speaking or performing It feels like I am prepping you for some battle, but it is a sort of a battle to go through this intense period for performers and speakers. So if you've ever done panto or if you're going to see panto this year, just think about how much effort those performers are putting in and give them a big clap at the end of it. Resources: - What the heck is panto anyway...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantomime- Join the Voice & Accent Hubhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthub- Send me your questions to be answered in the podcast https://nicolaredman.com/contact/Mentioned in this episode:Buy Nic's BookHead to onthemicbook.com to get your copy nowGet my book hereGet my book here