Charisma – Fact or Fiction?
Charisma is one of those words that is hard to define. Ask 100 people to explain why someone is charismatic, and you’ll notice that very quickly it becomes subjective – “the passion in her voice”, “his confidence”, “her intelligence”, “the way he moves”, “the connection to her message”… etc. Each of us has our own process of evaluating what’s important […]
Are You the ‘Singer’, the ‘Song’ or the ‘CD’?
What makes you want to listen to music? The singer and their unique passion? The song and it’s compelling melody or lyrics? Could it be the memories of experiences and emotions associated to the song? It’s probably any one, or all, of these depending on each unique situation. Years ago when I was coaching a well known recording artist, a […]
Improve Your Word Power – 8 Ways To Say Yes!
Yes is a very old word. It entered English before 900, and comes from the Old English word gese loosely meaning “be it.” Before the 1600s, yes was often used only as an affirmative to a negative question, and yea was used as the all-purpose way to say “yes.” Aye. This archaism is still used as the formal response meaning […]
The Lessons of Excellence in Sport
George Best, Bobby Charlton, Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane, David Beckham, Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney… No – don’t worry, I’m not suggesting that these are all great public speakers! However they have all proven themselves to be some of the most skilful footballers of recent times. You’ll guess from my choices that I am a fervent Manchester United fan, […]
A Shredded Voice is Not Recyclable!
Can you imagine a Tennis Player without a tennis racket, a Photographer without a camera, a Make-Up Artist without brushes, or a Teacher without a voice? Without the tools of the trade, there is no job. Occasionally the Tennis Player’s racket will break a string, but that’s ok – they always seem to always have a couple of hundred wrapped […]
Have You Checked Your Vocal Software?
Our voice is our primary means of communication. It’s free! It’s essential pre-programmed hardware that most of us are lucky enough to have included in our life package. Yet how often do we check around for ‘updates’, ‘plug-ins’ and ‘accelerator’ software that will give us the edge in our professional and social lives? 99% of us spend more time putting […]
Boost Your Family’s Brain Power When Studying For Exams
(An abridged version of this article by Poll Moussoulides was published in the ‘Health & Living’ Magazine of the Irish Independent on 4th February 2013) In 2001, I was the Voice Coach on a film adaptation of Marion Keyes’ book ‘Watermelon’ with Anna Friel and Brenda Fricker in lead roles. After a coaching session Anna and I were having lunch […]
The Vikings Are Coming!
So now we know! Episode 1 of ‘VIKINGS’ will be aired on US television on 3rd March 2013. As part of my work as the cast Dialogue Coach I have been involved in constructing our ‘Viking’ accent and helping the Actors fine tune their Old Norse and Anglo Saxon sounds! I’ve also had a sneak preview of some of the episodes, and wow […]