Dare to be YOU!
Introduction to Brandlady.com
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Nancy Daniels The Voice Lady International Speaker and Voice Specialist, Nancy Daniels, has been involved in voice training since 1977. A graduate of Gettysburg College with a BA inmusic, she discovered the techniques for improving the sound of the speakingvoice while in graduate school at American University in Washington, D.C.
Prior to her move to Canada in 1981, Daniels worked in New York City for G.Schirmer, ICM Artists and the Aspen Music Festival where she was director of public relations. Aware that her own speaking voice was a predominant factor
in obtaining employment with such reputable firms, she believes that adynamic and mature-sounding voice is a fantastic asset, increasing one's confidence and self-esteem.
While in Canada Daniels taught Voice and Public Speaking at the University of Western Ontario's Graduate School of Journalism, The Ivey School of Business, and St. Peter's Seminary. In 1989 she started her own business,
Communication Dynamics, for businesses and the general public. Upon returning to the States in 1997, she opened her business under the name
Voice Dynamic and from 1999 to 2003 continued to teach Voice & Diction and Public Speaking at the college level.
In addition to her guest speaking engagements, Nancy offers private, corporate and group workshops in voice training and public speaking skills throughout the United States and Canada. For those are unable to work with
her directly, there is Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. For more information on voice training, future workshops, and Voicing It!, visit her Voice Dynamic website.
How Childhood Abuse Affects Your Speaking Voice
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
As a voice specialist, I have found that the sound of your speaking voice is greatly affected by your environment. While genetics is responsible for your vocal apparatus, what you actually do with your voice is influenced by what happens to you during your childhood development.
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Is There a Difference Between Fear and Nervousness in Public Speaking?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Some people are terrified just by the thought of public speaking; other people are nervous right before and during the opening of their speech or presentation. Is there a difference between the two? Most definitely.
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The Fight, Flight, or Freeze Response in Public Speaking - Which Word Best Describes You?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
So, you have been scheduled, invited, or commanded to speak. It could be the quarterly budget report for your firm. Maybe you are a member of Toastmasters. You could be enrolled in a local public speaking course. Perhaps it is your best friend’s wedding. Whatever the reason for your upcoming speech or presentation, what is your reaction to public speaking? Fight? Flight? Freeze?
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Is Your Voice Holding You Back from that Coveted Job?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
With the high level of unemployment today, landing a job with any company is highly competitive. What is the possibility that your voice is not an asset but indeed a liability?
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3 Steps for Normalizing Your Volume Whether You Speak Too Loudly or Too Softly
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
When I first began teaching voice improvement many years ago, I was unaware that once you began using your chest to power or amplify the voice, your volume would normalize on its own. It was quite an ‘ear-opening’ discovery for me because so many other voice teachers or coaches were providing exercises specifically designed for increasing volume or decreasing it.
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The 3 Benefits of Nervousness in Public Speaking
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
While you may not think that nervousness is beneficial in public speaking or for that matter in any other type of live performance, be it in the performing arts or in professional sports, the truth is that there are wonderful bonuses of the dreaded adrenaline rush.
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Telling Someone They Need Voice Improvement Is Like Handing Them a Bottle of Scope!
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
One of the most frequent questions I hear is how do I tell my spouse, my friend, or a colleague that they need to improve their speaking voice?
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Is Your Choppy Speech Putting Your Audience to Sleep?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Choppiness in speaking occurs when you pause too often. Pausing in conversational speech is normal; pausing during a speech or presentation is ideal. Pausing too often, however, is tedious for the listener and is referred to as choppy speech.
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Plain Speaking Is the Best Speaking in Public Speaking
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
If you are scheduled to give a speech or presentation, plain speaking should be your choice so as not to appear affected, superior, or on exhibit. Plain speaking, simply put, is the ability to speak and be easily understood by all in attendance.
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What You Need to Do in Public Speaking That You Probably Don't Do
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Do you know the #1 thing most novice speakers never think to do when delivering a presentation? It never crosses their mind and yet it is the one thing they are in desperate need of throughout their talk. And, once they lose it, they are in a constant race to catch up on it.
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What Shapes Your Voice the Most -- Environment or Genes?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Surprisingly, the answer to that question is actually your environment. While the innate quality of the speaking voice is something you inherit, there are numerous environmental factors that play a viable role in how you sound and speak.
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The Value of a Smile in Public Speaking
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Imagine standing at the lectern. You see the many smiling faces of those in your audience. Your countenance, however, says anything but that you are glad to be there. While you may not be thrilled at the prospect of giving that speech or presentation, if your face displays your displeasure, how enjoyable will your delivery be for those who are in attendance?
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In Public Speaking, What Does Your Visual Image Say About You?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
One of the best pieces of advice I give to my clients when teaching presentation skills is to always be prepared for the unexpected and that goes for your clothing as well as your visual image.
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Don't Make Public Speaking More Difficult Than It Is
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
While public speaking may be man’s greatest fear, often those who are scheduled to speak waste too much energy worrying about their talk and not enough energy in the planning, creating and delivery of their material.
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Why You Need to Make Eye Contact in Public Speaking
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Imagine watching a speaker who has wonderful words of advice, encouragement, experience and/or success and that speaker never once looks in your direction – in fact, that speaker never acknowledges you or anyone filling those seats to hear his/her wonderful words. Does that happen? More often than you may think.
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How Confident Do You Sound in Your Job Interviews?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
My question to you is how confident do you sound in your job interviews? Let me take that one step further. Having heard yourself on your voicemail or answering machine, how confident do you think that voice sounds when talking to a perspective employer?
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How I Fell Asleep during a Double Stereotactic Breast Biopsy
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Ladies, I want you to imagine lying on a table on your stomach, your breast is dangling through a huge hole in the table, and a mammography machine proceeds to squeeze your breast in the exact same manner it does during a mammogram.
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Why Women Are More Likely to Lose Their Train of Thought While Public Speaking
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Ladies, we have it a bit tougher than men in one respect in public speaking. We are more likely to forget what we were saying or where we are in our presentations because we are women.
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Breathlessness and Stress Go Hand in Hand
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Have you ever noticed that when you experience breathlessness at the lectern, you are also feeling stressed? Or, that when you are feeling great stress and nervousness in presenting, you are aware of a shortness of breath? Unfortunately, the two go hand-in-hand and will not end until you learn how to take control of your nervousness and put it to good use.
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Have You Been Told That You Speak in a Monotone?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Often those who speak in a monotone are not allowing their emotions to be heard or be seen. They have a tendency to repress their feelings, keeping them on the inside. Expressing emotion is normal; it is natural; and, it is referred to as color – the life, the animation, and the passion which is heard in those who have a dynamic, interesting and exciting delivery in speaking. Lack of color makes for speech that is lackluster or boring.
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The Right Attitude in Public Speaking is the Right Approach
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
How you feel effects how you speak. If you are feeling poorly, either physically or emotionally, it may be heard in your voice. If you are to make a presentation and you are not pleased with your material, it will show.
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When The Pause Becomes Sing-Song in Public Speaking
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
For all my talk, my articles, and the advice I give about the wonderful, marvelous pause in public speaking, a difficulty for some is that it can become rhythmic, taking on a sing-song effect. The one thing you never want from the pause is for your audience to know in advance when it is coming.
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Who Is in Control at the Lectern -- You or Your Nervousness?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Nervousness is wonderful. In fact, I will take that one step further and tell you that nervousness is a blessing. How can it be a blessing, you ask? Because that rush of adrenaline can give you an edge. It can take your presentation to an entirely new level if you learn how to control it.
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The Un-Voiced Benefits of Good Voice Training
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
When I first started my business, my primary goal was to teach others how to improve the sound of their speaking voice and also to teach public speaking skills.
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What You Can Learn from Clint Eastwood to Improve Your Presentation Skills
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Actors wow us, amaze us, and inspire us but one, in particular, displays a level of confidence that I would wish for all in public speaking. The actor I am referring to is Clint Eastwood. In all the roles he plays, he never doubts himself. It is that level of belief in yourself and your abilities which you need in order to wow, amaze, and inspire your audience.
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Painting a Picture with Your Voice
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
One of the best pieces of advice I give to my clients is to paint a picture with your voice, with your facial expression, and with your body language when speaking. Those who read audio books are marvelous in this respect because their job is to depict everything they are saying so that the listener becomes riveted to the story and to their words.
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Your Volume Control - Speak Up and Be Heard
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Some years ago, I was attending a Chamber of Commerce event in a large auditorium. 5 speakers were on the dais and during the program, the amplification system broke down. The result was that the 5 speakers were not able to be heard in the back of the room. So, at first, those of us who were not within ‘earshot,’ sat quietly. It was not long, however, before the back of the room took on a noise level of its own with people shuffling papers, clearing their throats, getting up and leaving, and some even starting conversations amongst themselves.
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What Constitutes Perfection in Public Speaking?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
What constitutes perfection in public speaking? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. You can type a paper perfectly. You can have a perfect score on a test. You can sew or cut a perfectly straight line. But who is to say that a presentation or a speech is delivered perfectly? Perfection in such a situation is subjective. What I may consider perfect, you may not.
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If You Are Not Nervous in Public Speaking, Then I Am
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Many years ago when I first started my business, one of my clients, a woman billing herself as a professional speaker, was quite adamant in her disagreement with me about nervousness. She said that she was never nervous making a presentation and did not think nervousness was good. Had I been quick, I would have said to her, “Your lack of nervousness may be the reason you have had only four invitations to speak in the last two years!”
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Public Speaking: Use Your Head But Speak from Your Heart
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
While you can’t go very far in public speaking if you do not know your material well – and that means inside and out – what will capture your audience is your delivery. A colorful, dynamic delivery determines whether your audience will pay attention to you or not.
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Why Memorization in Public Speaking is Dangerous
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
For both the speech and presentation, I do not recommend memorization except for your opening statement. Because your nervousness will be greatest in the beginning of your delivery, I do advocate memorizing your first 3 or 4 lines so that your opening flows as effortlessly as possible.
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The 3 Things You Must Do to Stop Vocal Abuse
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Characterized by chronic hoarseness, persistent sore throats and even loss of voice, vocal abuse is often the result of overuse and/or misuse of the speaking voice. While it can be caused by reflux or the use of certain prescriptive antihistamines, it is most common in those who use their voice heavily throughout the day or those who are speaking in a loud voice for great lengths of time.
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Does Your Body Language Convey Confidence, Diffidence or Indifference?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
When you are delivering a presentation, do you know that your body is speaking as well as your voice? Watch all great presenters and you will see that they use their bodies to express their feelings, their thoughts, and, most importantly, their confidence.
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Discover the Best Approach to Sound More Mature
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Some years ago a woman phoned me and asked if she could attend a presentation I was holding in Detroit. The woman sounded like a child on the phone and I wondered if she was old enough to drive herself to the hotel. She then asked if she could bring her daughter and my first thought was that she would be bringing an infant. I asked her how old her daughter was and she told me that her daughter was 20 and that she, herself, was 44!
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How Your Voice Can Improve with Age When the Rest of Your Body Isn't!
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
One of the most amazing benefits of voice training is that you will find your voice improving as you age. If you are over 40, you are beginning to discover that nothing on your body is getting better as you get older. This is difficult to accept because you slowly begin to notice that you have more aches and pains and that your body doesn’t bounce back the way it used to.
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Is Your Fear of Public Speaking Standing in the Way of a Promotion? Part 2
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
From my experience having worked with thousands of clients and students in voice and presentation skills, I will tell you, in no uncertain terms, that the most important thing you need to do to control your nervousness is to learn how to breathe with the support of your diaphragm.
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Is Your Fear of Public Speaking Standing in the Way of a Promotion?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Over the years, I have been contacted by numerous people who have confided in me that their fear of public speaking is the one obstacle keeping them from moving up the corporate ladder. Does that sound familiar?
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Why the Soft-Spoken Voice Does Not Sell
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
When people ask you to repeat yourself, do you think that you have been speaking loud enough? Do you often get interrupted when you are talking? Do you feel that no one is listening to you?
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Ask Susan Boyle If We Are Not Judged the Moment We Walk on Stage!
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
You probably heard Susan Boyle sing last week for Britian’s Got Talent, the British Isles’ version of American Idol. How many people, however, judged her the moment she entered the stage? How many people made fun of her, laughed at her, and were waiting for her to fail? Far too many people.
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Why Public Speaking is Not Acting
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Having read Jane Andrew’s article entitled Public Speaking is Acting, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you why the best public speakers are not acting: they are communicating.
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What is Your Important 'Commodity' in Public Speaking?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
With the wealth of information available at our fingertips, it is interesting to note how little is said about our most valuable asset or ‘commodity’ in public speaking. We are so consumed with learning the best means of creating and delivering our material that our focus often ignores our objective in presenting.
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What Causes Debilitating Fear in Publc Speaking?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Through my many years teaching voice and presentation skills, I have found that those who experience truly debilitating, gut-wrenching fear of public speaking have had a bad experience sometime during their elementary or even middle school years when they’ve been required to stand and speak. And while that one event may not affect every child the same way, for some the damage can be traumatic.
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Does the Caller Ever Ask to Speak to Your Mother?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
When you answer the phone, does the caller ever mistake you for a child and ask to speak to your mother? This is a problem for many women – and even some men – and it may be a problem for you as well. If you are mistaken for a child over the phone, what image are you projecting in your professional as well as your personal life?
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Are Your Neck and Shoulders Sore by the End of the Day? Part II
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
In this article, I want to show you how to take a supported breath and make it a habit.
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Are Your Neck and Shoulders Sore by the End of the Day? Part I
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
As a voice specialist, I have found that 95% of my female clientele experience soreness in their neck and shoulder regions by the end of the day. Some women complain of a sore jaw as well. Having worked with thousands of people, it is interesting to note that I have had only a handful of male clientele who complain of pain in these areas.
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Your Voice Speaks Volumes About You -- What Is Your's Saying?
Nancy Daniels, Voice Specialist
Have you ever considered that your voice on your recording equipment is part of the image you project? I am not talking about how you think you sound. I am talking about how everyone else knows you sound. Those are two entirely differently voices.
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