Using Your Voice to Grow Your Business with Katherine Beck

You're listening to the PT Profit podcast, episode number 201. Today I'm sitting down with a friend and colleague, Katherine Beck, and we're discussing how to use your voice to grow your business. Are you ready? Let's get started. Hi, I'm Beverly Simpson, former fitness manager turned online personal training business owner. And this podcast is where smart fitness professionals, including trainers and clinicians, discover how to increase client performance in movement, package and position their products and services, and get out of their own way so that they can increase their revenue to live a life that they love without sleazy sales. Welcome to the PT Profit Podcast.

What's up, coach?

Thank you so much for pushing play on another episode of the PT Profit Podcast. I'm your host, Beverly Simpson, and when I first hit record, I had been in the habit of saying episode 100, and I actually had to pause myself because we are now entering a new era, the 200 mark. Honestly, it is still so powerful for me, and it is just so unbelievable to me that we actually have over 200 hours of epic content from some of the most profound industry groundbreaking people that have transformed the industry as we know it on this show, all in an effort to help you reach the potential and the business potential that that is accessible to you even in this current economy. So it really, truly just blows my mind how powerful and honestly, it has been truly my pleasure and my privilege to. To serve you, because that is honestly, the goal of this podcast is to just truly help you realize your full potential, because oftentimes your goal is just so much closer than you even realize. In fact, I was so inspired because I was coming back from my trip to. I was in a mastermind trip where I met with my. One of my mentors, James Wedmore. And I also got to connect with Brandon Lucero, who's also a mentor of mine. I'm actually one of the coaches inside of his program. And so it was just really amazing to connect with people that I have learned so much from, shared so much with. And it was truly at this event, I should probably do a separate podcast on three things that I learned that I'm bringing into 2023, which I'll probably. Now's the time for it, because I'll tell you what, one of the biggest takeaways that I learned was making sure that we are doubling down and being disciplined and knowing the difference and honing in the skill of discern to really double down on discipline and not, not at the cost, of course, of grace and compassion to yourself and always staying in alignment to what is true to your business, but also getting honest with yourself about what is working now and what is going to continue to work as we move into 2023. Because I don't know about you, but the market is changing. And if you haven't realized it or felt it now, then I'm going to assure you that it's going to continue to change, shift, and we be adaptable. And that doesn't mean that we need to throw everything out that we learned and that we, that we need to start over. And that, oh my gosh, the sky is falling. If you have children, you probably know the reference to that Chicken Little book, but it doesn't mean that at all. But I just want you to remember, like, look at companies like Blockbuster, look at companies like Periscope and Snapchat and things that were once there are no longer there. And if we are not adaptable and we are not staying on the pulse, then we're going to get left behind. And the one thing that remains is Princess Principles, which brings me back to the show and brings me back to this podcast and why, why it is so profound. Because while things have changed and grown over 200 episodes, the principles inside of this podcast remain. This is why in the honor of giving and in this season of giving, we are giving back to a charity that actually does not have personal connection to me, but actually their movement means so much to me. So if this podcast has helped you in any way, the all we're asking you to do is to Leave a review. Five star review. Screenshot it, send it to Chris@BimsonFitness.com and we will be collecting reviews for the month of November so that we can reach more people. Because this podcast is in service to you and to people like you and also to give back because giving is one of my and sharing and accessibility and being able to provide to others and help and support others in any way that I can. Any small way. Every contribution matters. So this is why we are doing this in honor of episode 200. So share a screenshot of the review for the month of November, then we will give a donation to this charity for every review for the month of November in honor of the 200th episode. Also, because there's so many episodes that are really daunting, we've put together an incredible free gift, the complete blueprint to consistent 10k months. So if you're new to the online space or maybe you've been struggling for a while and, and it feels scary to Invest in yourself. We have organized a blueprint that's literally going to walk you through hours of material to give you step by step process and things that you can do to start building a 10k per month consistent 10k per month business. In fact, we also have a free group where you can come and get support. The two links will be in the show notes so make sure you swipe up if you're listening on Apple to grab it or you can hit the links that are going to be in the show notes. So of course that's going to be there for you. And be sure to screenshot your review and send it to chris@b simpsonfitness.com because we know that can can take a while to populate. And of course we'll be sharing on the Instagrams the updates of our contributions. So of course every little bit helps. We sincerely appreciate it and look forward to sharing the message of what it is that we're here to do into the world. So I'm super pumped to get into today's episode because speaking of James, this is one of my colleagues that I met in our group coaching Mastermind Next Level. Katherine Beck is a voice coach and a voiceover artist. She moved halfway across the world from LA to Sydney and her story, she shares it inside of this episode. So I'm super pumped to get it to you. So without further ado, let's go ahead and roll that interview. Katherine, what's up? Thank you so much for joining me on the show today. How are you?

I'm good. How are you?

I'm doing so good. I cannot wait for today's episode. Right before I hit record, I was just, you know, chit chatting with Katherine and I was like, oh my gosh, we have to hit record because she's going to share with us some major gems, some really big takeaways on how you can stay present, use your voice in business. So without further ado, Katherine, can you please share with us a little bit about who you are, who you serve and how you got there?

Of course. Okay. I am Catherine Beck. In our little entrepreneurial circle, I'm also known as the Beckonator, so feel free to call me that. And I am a voice coach, but I come from a background of acting and voiceover. I actually still do voiceovers till this day. And I grew up in Chicago, moved to Hollywood as most actors do, to pursue pursue that big dream of seeing your name in the big shiny lights. You either go to Broadway or you go to Hollywood. And I went to Hollywood. And as luck would have it, one day I just randomly met an Australian, fell in love, and found myself moving halfway around the world to Sydney, Australia, and thought, well, gee, how am I going to, you know, have a career in Sydney if I sound American? So I learned the Australian accent. It took me a really long time. It was a real struggle. But in that process, I learned a thing or two, not only about, you know, the accent, but also about voice and how culture shapes how we speak. And I crafted a program for non US actors how to perform an American accent so they could book roles. But in the past couple years, I've been really wanting to work with others and entrepreneurs like me and you and help them on identifying their message through their voice, what makes them stand out through their voice and sharing it with the world. And it's been really empowering and great. So that's kind of me in a nutshell.

How long have you been in Australia?

It's going to be 18 years in January.

Wow, that must have been a huge change. How did you know it was the right thing to do? Like, where did you have any? Like, ah, I'm giving up on my dreams.

How did you know? I did have a little bit of that, but the original plan was to move first to Sydney and just stay there while we were doing my husband's paperwork so we could then go back to Hollywood. It was not that long after 9, 11, so the immigration laws were confusing. They were hard. And we were afraid that we would be separated if I stayed in Hollywood. And he went back to Sydney to wait for his paperwork to come through. So I thought, okay, let's both go to Sydney. We'll move there, you know, for a year or two and then we'll move back. Well, two years later I was pregnant. And so we thought, okay, I guess we're hanging out here for a while. And I'm not going to lie, it was a big transition. I had massive culture shock. And it took me probably 10 years to feel like I had acclimated and I was comfortable living in Australia because I think when you move so far away, and this was also before social media, you know, things weren't as accessible back then. We had aol Dial, dial up. Remember that? The aol. So, you know, it was hard to get in touch with friends and family. And there was. I was homesick and it was really, really challenging, especially for career as well. You know, when you leave Hollywood, which is like the motherland for acting, and you go to and nobody sounds like you. I had to start from scratch. And I had to prove myself all over again. And I went through a tremendous battle of so many people not wanting to work with me just by the way I sounded. And so I had to shift that if I wanted to work.

Are you working now as. As a performer in Australia?

Yeah, definitely. I don't do as much acting these days because, you know, 14 hours on set isn't that great when you've got kids. But voiceovers is amazing. You know, if you've ever done voiceover, you could be in the booth for 15 minutes and make thousands and thousands of dollars. So that is where I really fell in love with performing, was in front of the microphone. I've done animated shows, I've done commercials, corporate spots, podcasting, all sorts of different ways to use your voice to make money. And I think that's what I love about it best, is you get to use your creativity. You're hired for your talent, and every time you do a new job, it's a totally different thing.

So good. I mean, listen, I know we're gonna. We're gonna dive into it today, but I started reading the Harry Potter books aloud to my kids. They're five and seven now, and it's tiring. After 20 minutes of reading out loud, you're like, oh, my gosh, I just can't do this anymore.

Yeah, yeah, it is a little extra effort.

Yeah, for sure. So the reason I was asking is because right before we hit record, I was sharing with Katherine that I had moved to New York from San Francisco. I was in the Bay Area, California, and I moved to New York to pursue Broadway. Essentially, I was. I went to a master's in for musical theater. And people have asked me the same question. Those feelings of, like, was it easy to let go? And. And for me, I just had two things, which was, number one, I still feel like I'm performing all the time, doing the business that I'm doing now. And two, someone once gave me the advice that if you love something more than the process of auditioning and all that stuff, do something else because you're going to spend more time in the process than you are in the outcome. And I've lived by that. And honestly, it was game changing advice for me.

Yeah.

So I loved it. So now, which brings me to my first question for you. In terms of the power of the voice, which I think so many business owners and I speak specifically to fitness professionals. So when you're coaching your clients, when you're teaching your group fitness classes, when you have Multiple classes, back to back to back. Can you share with us just a little bit of your perspective around the power of the voice and how we can use it and how it shows up in our business without us even knowing or realizing it?

Well, you use your voice every day, especially if you're in fitness. It's a massive part of what you do. And I have been with trainers who have completely turned me off by the way they interact and the way they speak with me. It doesn't even matter what you're saying. It's how you say it. Because your internal thoughts and feelings are directly exposed out through your voice, through the sound waves. You cannot really. It's very hard to hold back how you're thinking or feeling about your clients because it will come through microscopically, like in these tiny little particles of sound waves. You won't even realize it, but they're picking up on it, and so they're affected by however your internal state is. It's coming out every time you speak. So if you're not able to be aware of that or to control that, chances are you could possibly be repelling business away. You know, if you're trying to get sales, if you're pushing, you know, if you're pushing for that sale, they're gonna feel it and they're gonna go, you know what? I gotta think about it. You know, or if you're doing an exercise class with a group of 50 people in the room and you find yourself shouting, chances are you're gonna lose your voice. It's not gonna feel good after, you know, five, six classes a day. So your voice incredibly impacts every part of your business.

So good. So how can someone start getting present, too? Because I also think there is a difference between intention and impact. And we don't intend to use our voice in the way that we might be landing on someone. Someone might be perceiving us a different way based on how they're sounding, how they're actually communicating their message. So what are some of the ways that people can just start to get present to their voice and how they're. How they're impacting people?

Well, getting present to your voice, one of the first things you can do and should do is become aware of your voice. How does it sound? So if you're somebody who is online putting out content all the time, review your content, listen to your voice from their perspective. Not from your perspective, but from the person that's watching. What are they hearing from you? Are you speaking really fast? Are you saying every five seconds? Are you shouting at them? Are you sounding like this? Right. They pick up on all of that. So when we're just throwing out the content verbally but not really thinking about it with intention, then we're missing out on so much. We want to take our customer or audience on a journey, and that doesn't happen logically, that happens emotionally. And when we think about how a buyer buys, they don't buy usually from logic. They buy from emotion, from a feeling that you've evoked in them to want to take that next step and make that transformation. So the more that you can lean into the intention of how do I want this person to feel about this and how do I want them to feel when they're making that choice or transaction, you can start to build that connection with them. That's very powerful. It's authentic, it's real, and it helps serve them into making that next step.

Okay, I love it. So now you mentioned some characteristics of the voice that we can start being present to. Are there others that you usually or that you tend to have people get aware to? So you mentioned speed, you mentioned volume. Are there other nuances of the voice that we can start paying attention to that maybe, perhaps we don't even realize matter?

Yeah. I mean, when you're reviewing your work, just pick up on one. Work with one at a time because otherwise it can be overwhelming. But obviously you got volume. You could be loud, you can be soft. You want to have variety. You've got your pace. You can talk fast and you can talk slow. But again, you've got to have that variety in there. Because if it's all really fast and you keep talking like this, well, people can't really pick up on what you're dishing out. You've got to have pauses in there as well to help things land. You would have melody, highs and no's the musicality in your voice. You would have the tone in your voice, you know, so can people feel that you're happy or sad or angry or whatever that tone is? It greatly infects, impacts your audience. But it starts from how you show up, because how you show up, we can hear it in your voice. So if you're showing up and you're feeling not good about yourself, it doesn't matter if you're using that vocal toolkit, you're still going to be exuding. I don't feel good.

So we gotta look, you're saying people can hear that?

They can hear it. Yeah. So you gotta think about, as we call enacting the moment before.

Oh, my gosh, girl, you are taking me back. Okay, Right.

But the moment before is so important as well as connecting to your audience. Really imagine, like, this is if you're not speaking to somebody one on one, for example, if it's like online content, really imagining who you're speaking to, a real person, that is that client that you're speaking to. Because it's very easy to get glossed over and generalized when we're creating content. But the more that you can make it to one person, we will literally hear that in your voice, and that person on the receiving end will think that you're talking to them.

And that's so good. And. And one of the things that you mentioned that I'm curious about is the melody you said, the melody of your voice. So what does that mean? Like, literally? I tend personally, because I'm a former singer, I sing song in the. In I talk all the time. But I'm curious, do people tend to also have melodies in their voice? Is this something that they bring to their conscious and go, oh, I. That's right, I have to sing or I have to have melody to my voice. How is that something? How does that show up for people?

Yeah, that's a good question. So melody, you could have no melody, or you can have a lot of melody, but melody is one of those things that helps the information that you're giving another person pop. So if there's specific messages or words that you want to really land with somebody, melody can help with that. It's also interesting that based on where you're born, different countries, your melody might be a little bit different. So you might notice with American speakers, if you're American out there, that you could have some melody in the mid part of the sentence, but then generally in a statement, it drops down to a lower note. If you're from Australia, for example, it could be the opposite. It might start down and then it goes up the ends of the thong. So statements. So it's totally different.

That's interesting. The cadence of how people speak is also. Is rooted in culture, essentially.

Yeah, yeah. And so the difference, like talking about us to Australian there, and you could hear, like, us tend to go down and finish their statement strong versus Australians tend to go up. The Aussie state of mind is very different. They're checking in with their audience to go, are you with me? Is it okay if I keep speaking? They're very polite in their conversation. Not that Americans aren't polite in their conversation, but the internal state of Mind of the American speaker is very different. It's like, I still have more to say. I gotta get this out. And one more thing, because I got freedom of speech, baby. And I'm gonna keep on going until I'm done. It was totally different.

So now for you, as someone who has spent so much time with accents, do you ever get. I mean, it's going to sound like a weird question to ask, but do you ever feel like you don't have your voice because you're so used to, accustomed to being, to acclimating to everybody's voice that. Do you ever feel lost of, like, what is your true voice?

No.

Okay.

I don't. At one stage I did. Yeah, absolutely. You know, when I first moved to another country and I was trying to find my footing here and make friends and I thought I had to sound Australian, so I was playing around with how my accent would sound. Definitely. But I realized that I was losing sight of who I am. If you know who you are, your voice will come out as it should be and that's all that matters. So it's irrelevant.

Do your kids have Australian accents? Yes, they do. I laugh because my kids have New York accents and I'm like, wait, how. How do you talk like that? That's not how we sound. I say we. Me and dad. Me and dad don't sound like that. But they do. They sound like little New Yorkers.

Yeah. That's because they're affected by their environment. Their environment shapes how they speak. Even more so than mom and dad. You teach them how to talk, but when they go out into the world, the world is a much bigger place, so they're absorbing all of that. You're just one, you know, two people.

Do you predominantly speak in an Australian accent, like because of your work or. No, you don't? You don't?

No, no. In fact, because of my work, I predominantly speak in an American accent because that's my specialization. And. And when I do voiceovers, it's in an American accent. And. And also, you know, the American accent, what's great about it is it's a very open, rounded zone. Open. I can't speak open, rounded tone. So when you're working online to a much bigger audience, a global audience, it's easy to understand. Around the world. People are used to hearing an American accent around the world. They may not be, as, you know, used to hearing an Australian accent on a day to day, but on a day to day, they're sure going to hear an American accent.

Interesting. I love that. I love that and I love the nuances of language. I also love the idea that the sound can really, the sound of your voice and how you deliver the message can have such a significant impact. I feel like people miss it. They don't pay attention to it. It's one of those things that they just are. They feel unconsciously competent in it and miss the fact that there are ways that you can connect to your voice to communicate a specific thing with just some conscious thought and some intention. So I'm curious, you know, with the people that you work with and the entrepreneurs that you work with, what are some the common lessons that you are instilling in them to bring this work to their business?

It's amazing how much the voice can affect your sales. So if you're still, if your sales are kind of plateauing or even going down, because let's face it, this is a tricky time right now. Your voice can greatly shift things. You know, for example, if you're somebody who does sales calls, if you can learn how to connect with others through your voice and build that connection, they're bonded to you. If you can then share with them that emotional journey I was talking about. You can easily get them to see that if they've got two choices, that you're the right choice for them.

That's so good. So how do you begin that journey? How does someone start to carry someone through that, that customer journey through the voice?

It's funny that we talk about acting because I've applied a lot of acting principles to it and working with so many actors and teaching them how to break down a script, how to analyze the text. I work with my entrepreneurs to understand the messaging that they've created, how that creates a journey for their customer. So it could be a webinar, it could be a sales page, it could be a Facebook ad, it could be a TikTok. There's a beginning, middle and end. And when you can add that emotional journey in there for them, it takes it to a whole nother level. It is invisible, but it is felt. And if we know that people don't just buy with logic, they buy with feeling, that's instantly going to increase your sales. And why wouldn't you want to do that? You also have to realize that 93% of communication is non verbal. So while you can have amazing messaging, if you don't know how to say that messaging, if it doesn't land for me, it just becomes words on the page. Sure, you're going to get sales. If you've Got amazing messaging. But wouldn't you like to have more sales? More sales will happen when you start to tap into that non verbal.

So almost the, the pauses, essentially the pauses and breaks in between what you say, leaving the space for them to land the message instead of just, you.

Know, speed, speed, speed, speed, speed. Absolutely. I mean, if, let's say you're somebody who does webinars and you've done it 5 million times already, we're going to hear that in your voice. If you go, oh, I got to do this webinar again, and you're just speed, speed, speed, speed, speeding through and just reading the slides on the screen and, you know, click to enroll now. And here's your special bonus. We're gonna. It's. It doesn't sound exciting. Add that element of excitement, make it an event, making an experience for them where they go, gosh, why have I not heard of this person sooner? To work with this person, you can do that. It's all through your voice. I'm doing it right now.

You know, it's, it's also interesting and I'll share. Just because of my background, it's easy for me to tap into. You know, it's easy for me to tap into. You know, when someone tells me, get excited, show excitement, or, or when I'm feeling tired. I actually have the skill sets, the, at my acting skill set to energize myself in a way that I feel like most entrepreneurs don't, most business owners don't, that they're not taught, that it's not stuff that they're used to doing.

Right.

So what are some of the techniques that you teach people to help them put energy into their, into their delivery?

Yeah, great question. And I use a lot of voice act exercises, acting exercises, improvisation exercises, voiceover technique exercises. I'm basically taking about 30 years of training when I work with entrepreneurs in all these different areas to give them a crash course in what they need to show up like. I call it the voice of their brand, but it's like being physically and verbally present to show up as the very best version of yourself for your brand. And so it could be anything from an exercise teaching you how to connect with somebody when they're not in the room. So if you're speaking online and wanting to have that closeness, intimacy, that personal connection, we sometimes do improv exercises together so we can do a bit of role playing. For example, if you do a lot of interviews, let's say you do podcasts and you want to get better at doing Podcasts, being able to speak off the cuff and. Yes. And you know. Yes. And from improv. Remember that?

Yeah, of course. Always. I live my life by yes. And Carl doing a little. Yes.

And all of that with the improv. It could be some entrepreneurs just do not understand the tech. They don't know how to film themselves, how to create a medium shot or a close up or a wide shot, what all that means and how they would add that all together B roll if they're creating, you know, some sort of video piece. So I wear many hats when I teach because there are so many skills that are lacking. Sometimes it's looking at taking their messaging and breaking it down into bullet points so that they can then speak it to camera or on a teleprompter. You know, so some of the information that's been going on out online lately has been, you know, messy action. Just put content out there, Just get it out there. And, you know, don't worry about perfectionism. I get it. We don't want to be a perfectionist. But I also see a lot of things just thrown together and it's starting to get a little, little too sloppy. And we got to think about our image, our, our vocal and our visual image when we're putting things out there. And to also not give in so much to the trends.

So powerful. Yes, for sure.

And I'm going to tell you the, the new trend that I see that I think is going to go away soon and something else is going to pop up. The new trend is because people were now saying, you know, oh, the dancing and the pointing and that's too much. Well, then it went into a lot of talking to camera and these really long rants of people talking to camera and just going on and on and on. That's going to get boring. That plus the spiel of my hook, my value, my call to action. So every time you're going through like TikTok or Instagram now, it's like, here's the four ways to this and make sure you follow. Here's six tips to da da da da da. Here's one thing you should be doing. So it's like every single video is the same now. People are going to get tired of that. That's the new trend.

So how does someone add variety to their message without changing the voice of their brand?

It won't change the voice of their brand. If you're clear on the voice of your brand, it's not going to change the voice of your brand. It's only Going to enhance it.

Love it. Very. It's variation.

It's variation. It's only going to attract more people your way.

Yes. So how does someone find the voice of their brand?

So it's interesting because this was a structure that I created that started based off of a voiceover class I took probably about 20 years ago, was the first time I heard about branding, because in the voiceover industry, it's so competitive to get in. So you gotta be really clear about what you give to that industry so that you can stand out and get an agent, because it's not easy to get a voiceover agent. So I applied that training that I got in voiceover and started doing it with my actors and helping them to identify their brand and create pieces that they could submit to agents so they could stand out. And I thought, gosh, I should be doing this for entrepreneurs as well. We oftentimes think about our visual image, but not our vocal image. So when you're thinking about the elements of your brand, the characteristics and qualities of your brand, well, how does that relate to your voice? What characteristics do you want people to hear when you speak about your brand? So if I were to ask you, you know, what. What is your brand all about? What are some of the main characteristics of your brand? What would you say?

Hmm. It's a great question of my brand. I would say. I always call my brand, you know, courageously Bold. Courageous. Bold. Elegant, graceful, but mostly bold.

Yeah. So when you speak, people are going to hear a lot of boldness in your voice.

Sure.

And underlying, they'll hear some of the gracefulness. And what was the other one I said courage.

And I also said elegant elegance.

So they'll hear elegance as well. And that will. Is a nice balance to the boldness, which is very strong to have the elegance. So if it was all bold, that would be too much coming through your voice.

And to be fair, I have worked on creating because I, I am. I have that. That's. That's easy for me to access. The bright.

Hey, how's it going?

That almost the push energy.

Yeah.

And it comes from a loving place. It doesn't come from, you know, it just. That's just how I grew up. And so I have worked to pull back and to add some stillness, slowness, elegance to the brand. I've worked on it. It does not always come easy, I'll say that.

No, it doesn't. It. This is. Yeah, it is a challenge, and it really is working on yourself. It's, it's. It's self Improvement when you're working on your voice, for sure, for sure. But it, it makes a big difference, especially if you're in the online space and you want to go from working locally and working globally. So, for example, if you're working in the U.S. like, you find it's, you know, getting easy for you to get a US following, but now you want to expand into other countries. The way you sound can either attract or repel people all around the world. So we have to consider, how do other people around the world receive your voice? Is there anything in there that we can finesse, play around with so that it becomes more attractive to a global audience?

What are some of the ways that Americans can start to use their voice to appeal and connect to a global audience?

Ah, very good question. Okay, Americans, now when I talk about this is generalizations. It's not all Americans, but we tend to sound very strong and certain in our voice, very direct.

So I'm only laughing because my husband says this about me all the time. He's like, ah, you're so direct.

Yeah.

You are.

So we have to understand that if our vocal energy is very strong, that we do need to balance it off with some softer tone. So perhaps looking at, if you are somebody who uses a lot of volume when you speak, balance it with a little melody. Or if you're somebody who is all over the place with melody, you know, maybe we can drop some of those notes so it's not so extreme. Highs and lows. Also, Americans tend to have a lot more space in their mouth. You could potentially, and this is getting very formulaic, close the space a little bit so it starts to dull down the sound just a bit so it doesn't have as much vocal energy coming out. Because Americans generally, when we speak, we're highly enthusiastic. We want to get that energy out. We want to share it to the other person. But around the world, they may not be ready for that amount of vocal energy. So it's about containing that energy a little bit, maybe keeping it inside the mouth.

Well, this I know because, you know, I've done a lot of tech technical work on the voice, so I know what that means when you say close the space. But that's hard to do.

It is hard to do. It is. It's practice. Yeah. But it's. It's fine. Little tweaks here and there. Voice is a skill like anything else, but once you master it, you just, you're going to automatically start to do it. For online entrepreneurs especially, you have this amazing ability to reach A global audience, why wouldn't you want to? You know, but it now it's about how do I speak to that audience? And that's where a lot of people don't quite understand how to do it, because you're taking it from your cultural perspective. And if there's one thing I know from moving halfway around the world, you know, almost going on 20 years, like a really long time, I understand how different cultures speak and how they relate to one another, how they. You can easily bring them into your world or you can easily push them away.

I also feel like, and this is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth. I feel like when people are using their voice, you know, Catherine, she's going to yell at me, because you're not supposed to clear your throat like that. When people are using their voice, it's. It's one of those things, invisible markers that people can't really name, but they know that it's repelling them. There's just, for some reason, they can't stand the sound of this person's voice, or for some reason they can't point out why they don't like to listen to this podcast or watch that television show. And I feel like sometimes it's because of how we sound and how we're delivering the message, and people just can't really articulate that. That's the reason why, because they don't have that skill capacity. But unconsciously, they feel it, they know it.

Yep, that's it. That's exactly it. So my job, when I start with a new student, the first thing I do is I assess their voice as if I'm just a regular person listening in. And I let them know what I'm picking up on, because that's what other people would be picking up on. And we know what to start to work with.

So what about things like. Now, we spoke American, we spoke about Americans very generally, but because I'm in New York, Americans specifically have so many different colors and actors sense in just the country itself. And I know that this is true for other countries, but this is my context. But some people are super nasal and really forward, and some people speak on the vocal fry. What are some of the impacts that are. Would you say, you know, if there. If there is any correlation or if there is any general. General feelings that are. That come out when people speak in a specific way? Like, does nasality, like, it. Does a nasal tone bring a specific feeling? Does vocal fry bring us, like, communicate something at least somewhat general, like what Are some of the colors of the voice, for lack of a better word, that you can tap into if you're trying to elicit certain feelings.

Feelings? Well, for example, if you're leaning on your vocal folds, it might sound like, you know, you don't care. Or this. It's not a big deal to you if you're in this spot because all your energy is going into, into the body. You're not sending it out to the other person. You're pulling it in. You're not sharing the message with the other person fully. You're not fully connected to them. And then if you're up in the nose, well, we're close. Or again, we're closing off to the other person because we're, we're trapping the sound and it's going up through the nose. So this could be you also holding back, but in a different way. As soon as I open up the mouth and I create space, I lose that nasality. So with the nasality, it could be a variety of different things. Everyone's got a different internal state, but the perception of it could be, oh my gosh, this person's so annoying. Oh my gosh, they're. I can't listen to the sound of their voice. This is driving me crazy. Why won't they open up their mouth? Are they holding back from me? What's, you know, what's going on? I've listened to, I've got a very in tuned ear. So whenever I'm listening to a podcast or just watching somebody, I can kind of tell what's going on with them. I love listening to podcasts. And there's one particular person that I've listened to who's got a great voice. He's got a very deep, warm, rich tone and he's very open. But I can hear when he pulls back because he starts to get nasal. So when he's wanting not to feel pushy or really, you know, sending too much vocal energy to his audience, if he wants to hold back on something, he starts to get nasal.

Oh, that's. Only you would know that because I would never be able to pick that up.

Most people don't pick up on it. Yeah, but I can hear, you can hear a shift in his, his, his language, in his messaging, what he's speaking about, and it directly relates to him. His vocal energy pushes back and he starts to get nasal. That's so fascinating.

Fascinating.

Yeah.

So you mentioned, you know, how we can use the voice to really connect with the people that we're speaking to. So what are some of the ways that you help people identify connection based types of sound and ways of communicating to deepen the connection between the speaker and the audience member?

Not sure. Okay.

Another way to say that is how could we use our voice to connect with our audience? Like, how can we make decisions to use our voice to connect with the audience?

You connect with your audience all the time. All the time. So like I said, you connect your audience whether they're in the room with you or they're on a zoom call or they're on an Instagram live. So the more that you can tap into one person when you're speaking to many, but you think about that one person, that's, let's say, your ideal client and you hone in on that person and you know exactly who that person is, all of us as a collective will feel like you're speaking to us and it will start. Yeah, it's going to start to feel genuine and personal. And, you know, I get that all the time on, on my podcast where people build this beautiful relationship with me over the podcast and then want to work further on with me and my programs and services because they feel like they know me. It's about letting down that fourth wall and allowing that vulnerability just a little bit so people can really see who you are and connect to you.

That's so good. Okay, so I really want to be mindful of your time. So, last question.

Yep.

And I know that actors deal with this a lot, but the truth is, so do entrepreneurs because so many times they will hire out copy, they'll get their message written for them. How can people. And, and I've actually fallen into this on the other side where it's very challenging for me to write in the voice of someone else. I'm, I'm very good at writing in my voice and so I always give them templates and say, make this sound like you. So I'm curious, and if you are given a script, if you are given a, you know, messaging framework, how do you make it sound like you?

Oh, that's a good one. I would, if, let's say you were given some sort of messaging script, I would riff off of it. I would take that script, I would look at the, maybe just even go sentence by sentence, read that sentence and then just say it in your own words and just see what comes up.

So good.

And I would layer in on that. Imagine that you're speaking to your ideal customer, because when you speak to somebody one on one, there's all these extra little Things that come up, you know, hey, oh my goodness. All the little extra words that aren't on the the script but make you a real human being.

So good. So.

Right. So it's just little things like that that you can do to make it a little bit more personal.

I love it. I love it. So good. Okay, so like I said, I want to be mindful of your time. So for those of you who want to connect with you, Katherine, what are some of the ways, the best places that I can send them for my people to work with you, learn more about you and connect with you? Where are the places the best places I can send them?

Amazing. Well, they can join me over on Instagram. I'm Atherine. Underscore. Beck underscore. In fact, I'm the same for TikTok. Come join me there.

Love it.

And I've got a podcast called the voice of your brand podcast. But yeah, send me a DM on Instagram if you're interested to learn more, have a chat, chat and I'm happy to have a conversation with you.

Okay. I love it. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today and pouring into my audience. I really appreciate it.

You're welcome. Thanks for having me.

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