We Voice Professionals have SuperPowers

We voice professionals have superpowers. We have the great potential to become superhero(ine)s.. (I am not sure how to say this in a gender-inclusive way, which I would prefer to do, so if you have an idea, let me know in the comments, please! For this post, I ask your wide open ears, anyway.)

The more I work with business owners outside the voice world, the more I realize how truly remarkable this little corner of the sky our field is. We are loaded with super-serum and, dare I say, a little alien DNA.

There is no better, of course… just different. Superpowers.

Knowing that we are teeming with superpower is why I am so committed to serving any person who works with the human voice and its physiology, psychology, anatomy, pathologies, and artistry. Superhumans need to have a place to become superhero(ine)s without fearing what the regular people will say or do when we unleash our powers.

And the businesses you superhumans-turning hero(ine)s build need to be taken very seriously. Because people can get hurt with an unwieldy Hulk mucking about.

The “do no harm” principles of teaching voice must also apply to the way we do business. And the doing-of-no-harm begins with the doing-no-harm to ourselves.

It’s imperative that 2021 be a year of radical self acceptance, self awareness, and self nurturing. We must tend to our superpowers.

We all know a switch didn’t magically flip when the clock struck midnight and ushered us into 2021… we still have COVID, closed businesses, political angst, people dying at the hands of oppressive systems, distance learning, and businesses to run.

The people who are our clients don’t need us to be burnt out and moody, a la Batman.

They need us to be Superheroes and Superheroines – not just folks running amok with powers.

Eyeroll, Michelle, I am not a “Superhero”

Well, not with that attitude you’re not! *kidding*

Y’all. We literally unleash identity. We teach people to Hulk Smash through glass ceilings and walls.

Incomplete List of Super Powers Voice Professionals have:

• Ability to shape sound into emotions
• Ears that can distinguish between tension in a tongue or a foot
• Creation of dragons out of crickets
• Mind control
• Ingest massive amounts of information without exploding
• Manipulate Time – slow it, speed it, stop it

I know you all have the ability to become super-hero/heroines, too, because like all of the most powerful and impactful superheroes, you have fatal flaws. *

List of potential Fatal Flaws of the Voice Pro:

• Narcissistic tendencies
• Don’t know how to actually wield their powers
• Tempted to use powers for evil – and sometimes do
• Self-loathing leading to the fear of being found out or prove oneself
• Need to remain the “loner who doesn’t need anyone”
• Unfortunate costumes

Where are you going with this “superpowers” thing, anyway?

One doesn’t become a superhero just because they have superpowers. Anyone can be a super-human. However, not everyone takes on the responsibility of moving from superhuman to superhero/heroine.

To move from super-human to super-hero, we must address and wrestle with our fatal flaws. We don’t necessarily cure ourselves of them – but we use them to bring more potent good to those we are here to work with.

This self-awareness allows us to change everything from our attitude to our pricing.

It helps us develop systems, write emails, and leverage our time. And when we do those things, we too are unleashed to do what we actually love to do = work with human voices to change lives… and maybe even the world. Think of any great orator or chill-inducing sung melody, and you know what I mean.

I used to think that my superpowers were what made me a superheroine – now I realize that it took a lot and still takes a lot of work to hold myself accountable to my superpowers. To hone them and keep them from accidentally blasting my best friend into space.

When I choose to hone my powers, strengthen them, and manage my fatal flaws because I do not hide from them, I am able to be more nimble in my approach to life and to business.

In the CliftonStrengths world, we use the understanding of “themes” or “talents” to mean superpowers… but those themes or talents aren’t strengths (that is, one doesn’t become a superhero) until you learn how to use them and make them work for you.

Now, the thing I love the most about becoming a superhero(ine!)?

Being a Superhero(ine) with our Superpowers isn’t about outcomes – it’s about the process.

Every superhero(ine) knows that desired outcomes are not dependents on powers – they are dependent on process. We can all achieve the same desired outcomes using whatever superpower we possess.

Black Widow is just as able to jump from one end of the room to the other as Scarlett Witch is.
Iron Man is equally equipped to power a rocket launcher as Vision is.
Ms. Marvel is able to gather things quickly as well as Black Panther is.

They all get to the desired outcome… they just get there by being the superhero they were meant to be, leveraging the superpowers they are responsible to manage and care for.

So to bring it all around – we voice professionals have these superpowers that we use to mold, revolutionize, and transform voice users. We can use them all willy nilly, not take care of ourselves, and wind up changing the space-time continuum leading to the destruction of the planet.

or

We can choose self-awareness, self-nurturing, and self-restoration to become the superhero(ine) our clients need us to be.

In doing so, I’ll bet we bring them along the way, and teach them to be superhero(ines) too.

*If you would like to argue over fatal flaws and Marvel vs DC – COME @ ME, BRO. All I must do is point to Daisy Johnson and Jemma Simmons after you tell me to watch WW84. YEAH, I WENT THERE.

P.S. Interested in working with Michelle and her team to become a Superheroine or superhero? We are accepting new members to The SpeakEasy Cooperative … that special secret place that superpowers go supernova. Join us today!

P.P.S. If you’re a fan of Comics, and like listening to podcasts, you may dig Vocal Fri. They geek out a lot and talk both voice and nerdery. I realllll long time ago, I got to be on their podcast. you can listen here. I stand by much of what I said, even though it’s the “Before Times.” This link actually takes you to a cool Spotify list where you can listen to a bunch of podcasts I had the honor to be on!