We were rolling through the woods on our bikes when a large obstacle on the trail appeared around the bend. I had been experimenting with and practicing a new skill that I had learned (bunny hopping over logs) so when I came around that bend, I told my friends that I was going to jump it. A bunny hop is launching your bike into the air as if jumping off a ramp. The pedals on the bicycle “stick” to your feet as the bike becomes airborne. You can bunny hop over some pretty large obstacles by doing this correctly.
Americans use idioms in nearly every conversation without much thought. Non-native English speakers often struggle understanding idioms because they require a lot of background, contextual information.
When I first started road biking in 2016, I loved the feeling of freedom when the air passed my wet skin and became a natural air conditioner. I also loved to ride downhills at a very fast speed. It was an incredible thrill to let go and fly down those hills. It was truly exhilarating!
One of most exhilarating rides was when I reached 51 MPH going down a steep hill.
At Christmas each year, our family spends a lot of time around the dining room table playing board games and cards. One of my children in particular has a hobby of collecting games, learning them and teaching them to us. I’ll call him my Game Player Extraordinaire. His name is Sam and to give you an example, he has 50+ games. I thought he might be a good person to ask for some game recommendations that promote language skills for my game review this year. These make wonderful gifts and promote communication skills as well. Here’s what he suggested:
As I have evolved as a speech and voice coach over the years, it has become clearer to me that the way we sound creates perceptions and influences the audiences we encounter. You have an identity, too, based on the way you sound and the way you look. It’s a personal brand that you have available to use as a tool to market yourself, to persuade and influence and to create greater impact. Your personal brand differentiates you from everyone else.
Recently, I came to a cross roads in my career. I felt unsure and alone with a big decision I was trying to make. After pondering over my situation for several weeks, I decided to hire a career coach to help me figure out what to do next. I’ll be the first to admit that I was relieved that someone else was going to chime in with some objective advice about my situation. It was freeing to hear options that I hadn’t even considered because I was limiting myself to believe that I only had two options. Through the hard work of examining my goals and what’s important to me and why, I was able to come up with a solution that feels good. I am motivated now to make my new reality work just because my coach helped me examine my priorities.
Did you know that your voice is changing as you age? Just like any other part of the body that changes (muscles atrophy, mucous membranes begin to thin and dry, coordination decreases), your larynx is subject to these changes, too. Voice symptoms you may notice include a vocal sound that is higher pitched in the male voice but a lower-pitched in the female voice, less volume and projection, more vocal fatigue, and even voice tremors. Additionally, if you are hard of hearing, your symptoms may be exacerbated.
If you need a well-functioning voice for work, here are some strategies you can use to keep up your strong voice:
I know that changing a habit isn’t always easy so I decided to find some helpful resources to help achieve your goals. Here are some ways to use your phone to overcome speech and voice problems that you may be experiencing.
Sometimes the most dreaded “presentation” that people tell me they dislike the most, is impromptu speaking. They fear of stumbling on words, sounding dumb, and drawing a blank when they are called upon to give an opinion. There is something about unplanned presentations, which makes people want to crawl under the table and hide. Believe me; you are not alone if you would like to become invisible when all eyes are on you to speak. I get many requests from my clients to help with this skill (and it truly is a skill). But let me assure you that you can develop it, if you are not at the level you wish to be. Here are some pointers:
You’ve heard the expression “kill two birds with one stone” (meaning solving several problems with just one action). I have a speech trick so tremendous that not only does this trick kill two birds with one stone, it kills about five (metaphorically, of course, because I love birds!) What five areas of speech and voice does it help with, you ask?
Here is the list…
Volume–how loudly you speak
Rate–how quickly you talk
Diction–how sharply you pronounce vowels and consonants
Resonance–how full and rich sounding you sound
Intonation–how vocally expressive you are.
Use the megaphone trick to improve the way that you sound! Let me first explain the theory behind the trick:
