Tony skinner
Hi and welcome to the podcast series with podcast my business com.au and today we have Maria from MariaPellicano.com and that is Maria and Pellicano with a double L and an O. So, is that how you explain it to people?
Maria
Pelican? Yes, sometimes I say that
Maria
I do like birds and that’s why I say Pelican but otherwise it doesn’t really feel. It doesn’t feel good, but yes, I have said that before.
Tony skinner
There you go. Okay. Now Maria is joining us today for something really interesting, really exciting and that is about your voice. Maria is a voice coach. And certainly if you’re doing podcasts voice is critical to success.
Maria
It totally is. It is critical and important . To give it a go, at least because I think it’s a bit confronting for a lot of people when we talk about their voice.
Tony skinner
Mm hmm. What do you find that?
Maria
Well, I think that the voice seems to be really connected to the soul. It feels like people, you know, personally been assessed or critiqued when you talk, talk to them about their voice, and unless they give you permission, it feels that you can’t really jump in and say things about people’s voices. In fact, people don’t usually tell you things about your voice because they can feel that it’s personal. And it is taken personally quite a lot.
Tony skinner
So how does my voice sound?
Maria
It sounds quite nice.
Tony skinner
Thank you. Yeah. And so does yours. I mean, I think we’re both clear. Well, you certainly are clear, but I’ll fess up I had acting training many years ago and voice was part of that and I was taught to project and I think I’m make hay at that.
Maria
Yeah, you can project with the thing is it’s probably the resonance that we’re looking at. So it can be sitting up here a lot into the cheeks. Or it can be seen in the back of the throat a bit fuller, deeper larynx, which is a voice box. It’s lower, the breath is deeper. And so the tone is warmer, which makes it just more soothing for people to listen to you. They might go to sleep listening to you see.
Tony skinner
So once upon a time, no joking.
Maria
Well, that’s not bad. You could try some of that.
Tony skinner
Well, yeah, exactly. Well, I I’ve always known that pitch up and down and raising your tone and lowering and lowering people in the softer voice. Even on the phone when you’re talking to someone is pretty important.
Maria
Yeah, I think you need to feel your voice not just speakers. Don’t just listen to it, but feel it.
Tony skinner
Yeah, I do that. I do the lovely So, if you’re looking at doing podcasting, what do you think would be the most? From a voice perspective? The most important aspects when you’re doing podcasts?
Maria
Well, it depends on a person’s voice, but I think everybody should do some warm ups. Some simple little warm ups that you know, make you connect with your lower voice deep, like a lip trill. Now, I’ve actually got a lot of these on my YouTube channel, or Pellicano YouTube channel. You could also go to my website and I’ve got six exercises that are really there for free. When you when you sign up, you get free six exercises and one of them is elliptical. So you start with a warm up. A little bit of starting deep, lower tone a little bit way up into a squeaky area and then back down again. And that’s a really good way of warming up your voice and activating your breathing and your diaphragm control. 
Tony skinner
That’s what I like to get people to do as well as something as simple as that, especially for men to do lower and higher. Yeah, yeah. I think for women, it’s, I don’t know, is it is there any difference?
Maria
Well, we need to be able to mix our range. And what I mean by that is be able to access your chest voice, middle and head voice. Now, men have a Middle Voice but women don’t have a Middle Voice. They tend to speak generally at the top of their chest voice into the head voice which the head voice is just a vibration. And when you can mix all three of those or two of them, blend them in and have a beautifully balanced voice. Then you’re going to speak with greater ease. The quality will be more soothing. And it’ll be closer to your natural voice. And it’s going to be able to project better. And you’re going to be able to pronounce better. So the whole thing is easier to hear. To hear similar to having a great PA system set up a room for a presentation. What do we do? We have a sound engineer comes in, he sets up the pace of the when the person speaks, the sound is beautifully delivered. Sound is nonverbal, right? So it’s very important.
Tony skinner
Hmm. I’ve been told I don’t need to use microphones.
Maria
Possibly, possibly, but then you might be straining so you got to be careful.
Tony skinner
Yeah, absolutely. That’s exactly right. Yep. You got to be careful with your voice in the range of the voice. Now I have a glass of water right next to me. Wonder force. And certainly when you’re speaking on a podcast. Again, I like to make sure that people have a glass of water. I know that you would have Glass for a bottle of water we even mentioned it
Maria
For sure I haven’t used it today during one of our meetings that your present at
Tony skinner
exactly and I followed up by I showed off while drinking from my glass of water that was next to me. So there you go.
Maria
Voice is water. So when you’re speaking, there’s all these water molecules coming out of your mouth. So we’re 90% water, that’s what vocal cords are. And the more water you drink, the stronger you’ll be able to speak and the longer you could speak for a longer period of time.
Tony skinner
And certainly clearer as well because again, does it remove the upper and lower or something? Maybe more? No, it just, 
Maria
it just gives you more. Yeah, I would say more of an even less if it so it takes less effort to make the sounds you want to be able to just open your mouth and use your voice like you would use a sharp knife. Have you ever tried to use a blunt knife To cut a tomato
Tony skinner
i tried and nearly cut myself so yes,
Maria
yeah, that’s what a voice can be. It can be blunt sometimes so it’s not clear. And it’s raspy. And it is really hard to use. And I think if somebody does that over and over, they have no comparison to what an excellent, easy, effortless voice can sound like.
Tony skinner
Now, it’s interesting because I mean, obviously, people are familiar with public speaking and being able to speak which is organizations like Toastmasters and the like, but I think specifically for voice coaching is not that I guess, I’m not gonna say common cuz I don’t like to use that word, but less utilized.
Maria
I think people think that by arranging their content and standing tall and You know a couple of tips that they know they need to project I need to smile, they think that’s going to fix your voice. Well, it doesn’t fix your voice. It camouflages it. So of course those points are important. But not warming up your voice and trying to pull through with a happy smile for a toll body, open hand postures and gestures, they help but nothing helps. A warmed up taken care voice You know,
Tony skinner
I remember back when I started doing sales, it was all make sure you smile on the dial. Really, really important and I think it
Maria
does help but nothing helps. Even if I have to do any work at all. I always warm up my voice first. You know, some lip trills and sirens even blowing in a straw with a store in water. This is all on my website. If you want to have a look at it, and you get these exercises and they’re free resources and they just help you warm up your voice, prepare your voice. So then your gestures and your smile and your wonderful content and your personal confidence comes through. Because if your voice is raspy, or it feels dead, like it doesn’t have energy in it, or tired, or limited, forceful, any of those, it really sabotages all those other wonderful things that you have ready to go. And if your body doesn’t feel energetic, like you feel tired, you’re not gonna want to speak so you avoid it.
Tony skinner
It’s interesting, you’ve got it here on your website and on your YouTube clip here. We remember words when they have emotion. I love using emotion to see laughter cuz laughter is an emotion People do respond to emotions.
Maria
Yeah, well emotions help communicate the message because it stimulates the larynx, and the vocal cords change density and appearance as such. And they create a different sound because it’s stimulated by the limbic system, which is an emotion nervous system that travels to the voicebox. So it is important that we stay connected to our emotions and use them. Hmm.
Tony skinner
Now, I it’s interesting. I’m speaking a little bit differently to what I normally do, because I’ve noticed that you are, you’re the right word diction, you’re taking more of a breath and taking more time to get out your words rather than we’re doing what I do, which is I tend to rush.
Maria
Yeah, well, if I don’t breed at the right places, then it makes My mouth on my tongue get muddled up. And, and I feel like I’m not enjoying the communication either. So when my breath feels threatened so the pausing allows you to breathe, what you don’t even breathe, you allow the air to come into you with the low diaphragm comes into you relaxes your body, you get to enjoy your speaking as opposed to rushing through it.
Tony skinner
Hmm. Yeah, I think we’re all used to rushing things through. And I guess one of the challenges again when you’re doing a podcast is people talking over each other and I think you’re right slowing things down will probably reduce that from happening as well. 
Maria
creating space and breaths and respect for what the other person wants to say or allowing them time to reflect on what you just said.
Tony skinner
That’s pretty good. Wow. Okay, that was relaxing. Thank you. You put me in a relaxed state just talking about the voice because it is that important. It’s a thing and what is it the pathway to the soul reflection of the soul.
Maria
It’s the organ of the soul. So. So if your soul is feeling confused, or if you feel, you know, just not lack of confidence and self belief, it’ll come across in your voice. And if you don’t have any control, it makes it even worse.
Tony skinner
You’re exactly and I was going to interrupt you just deliberately to prove the point. But there you go, you stopped. So you are very good. So thank you for that. And let’s face it, we’ve all been through a huge amount of stress in the last few months. So it’s good to I guess once I got back to basics, we’ll actually know what I’m going to say going back to bed. And getting control over your voice gives you control over your sovereign control over your presentation.
Maria
Yeah, I mean control of your voice means one, you respect your own voice. And here you are delivering your voice to others, right? So we’re delivering. We’re not just delivering words, we’re delivering emotion, expression, a part of you is being delivered. And that’s what I’m hoping mine podcasts. Why would you not? Why would you do a podcast if you weren’t interested? Right? So take your time, because speaking is what it’s all about. That’s what a podcast is. It’s about speaking and speaking is about sharing your presence and your soul with other people.
Tony skinner
Yeah, exactly. And I’m definitely gonna, again recommend you for people who want to do more full time podcasting rather than these individual small sessions because I think it’s Very much worthwhile. And looking at your website, you’ve got the prices there, which is fantastic. I love when people have stuff up upfront, and you’ve got your free resources page. Right? Okay, so any particular tips you have, besides the voice exercises?
Maria
Yeah, the voice exercises, and probably the other most important one is the breath and that the breath is deep into your diaphragm. And that you breathing deeply, almost down to the hips and that you will allow the air to go down deeply because as it sits deeper in your diaphragm, your larynx, your voice box, it’s lower means there’s more space in your mouth, your tongue is free or your jaw is more open, and you have a richer, warmer sound. If you don’t breathe deeply, your breathing too high. Everything starts to get squished like this and my mouth is tighter and my jaw is tighter and my sound is reduced and my breath is stuck. And it’s blocking the communication making it really hard. So growth is really important and just then I showed you two different tones and those tones make the difference of feeling free or feeling restricted.
Maria
Hmm. and my resources too.
Tony skinner
Absolutely and that’s what Maria Pellicano.com and I’m not gonna say anything about the one that I have now. I live overseas for a long time so i don’t i don’t think i’ve got it as much but the wonderful way of going up at the end of something Hi, I’m tony talk they call it up talk dander
Maria
up talk.
Yeah.
Maria
Oh, the questioning tonality you know, that never feels like it’s never completed.
Tony skinner
Yeah. And you’re waiting for and what’s next and there’s nothing next. Cool.
Maria
That’s a fast heartbeat that causes that too, by the way.
Tony skinner
Ah, there we go. So coffee around. Is this Well, actually, I only have one a day. I’m careful with my coffee. But time Yeah, you’re probably right. I agree. All right. Thanks very much Maria. And Thanks your time.
Maria
All right. Thanks, Tony. Bye