Saturday, July 17, 2010

Enter Alexander The Great, or maybe not

I recently discovered something called "The Alexander Technique." Here's the quick backgrounder: In the late nineteenth century, European theater actor F.M. Alexander suddenly lost his voice. He would rest for a few days, regain his voice, and then without explanation, lose it again. No one could figure it out. Since he was an actor, if he couldn't speak or sing, his career would pretty much be over. But he wasn't having any part of ending his career. Thus, Alexander began experimenting with body movement, body positioning, neck positioning, and relaxation. He went on to solve his own problem - got his voice back, and in turn, invented a technique for efficient body movement which is now used by musicians, singers, actors, orators, and yes, salespeople and recruiters. Practitioners of the "A.T." as it's sometimes called, say one must take dozens of lessons to fully learn how the system works. I'm not so sure I'll go that far. Right now I'm reading a book on the subject and I'm watching YouTube videos. I've begun practicing head positioning which is alleged to improve one's vocal delivery capabilities. Meaning, I'm working on my posture with the hope that it makes me a better speaker when it comes to my job and pretty much my life. So far, I can say with genuine confidence that I notice a difference in how I walk, how I sit, and how I feel when I use my voice. Whether or not it actually has any lasting performance improving effect will be a different story. I'll report back in a couple of weeks.

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