@52Blogs - Week 2 - Voices

Voice!

Strange bloody word really, when I think of the connotations of the word I realise it is diverse.

My voice has been my downfall, my saviour, my delight, my instrument and my career, for others it has chastised, motivated, supported, encouraged and been an aphrodisiac.  I found at an early age that I was able to talk and people would listen, I would get lots of positive affirmation from the adults in my life so I naturally worked on that skill.  As I grew, my voice, which made me popular as a child, started to become a liability as a teenager.

By my teenage years it was "that mouth will get that boy in a lot of trouble" and all I was doing was behaving as I would as a child except now my words were taken as a smart arse remark.  It was no longer cute to say what you thought, as a teenager you were expected to show respect and you could not get away with a cute smile.  Really all I was doing was saying and doing things that people wouldn't expect.  One thing I've always been able to do naturally is sing, I have always carried a level of regret that I didn't do something more with my voice, had I put some effort in I may have gone somewhere with it.

In adulthood, I realised my voice was persuasive, I had many other skills particularly in the blossoming IT area, however my success was always in my voice.  I discovered my thoughts and opinions were listened to.  I was able to gather trust through simple conversation, people would listen to me and in turn buy stuff from me.  It turns out I could sell stuff to people and whilst doing that I discovered I could sell myself to teach others how to sell stuff.

Public speaking comes naturally to me, I could never understand what the big deal was, it was simple, you step up to the microphone smile say something clever people laugh then you deliver your message.  I became the go to guy for training seminars, Weddings or Funerals.  There is a special emotion that comes when someone you care about asks you to stand up and speak for them in a time of great emotional joy or sadness.

I'm now on the other side of a challenging period, I don't know exactly where I'm going next.  What will I be when I grow up?  Im pretty sure my voice will be at the centre of things though.