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Julie Fogh and Casey Erin Clark, co-founders of Vital Voice Training, are excited to share "Voice (is)" - a podcast where they have conversations with people whose voices they love to dive into the good, the bad, and the messy of what makes your voice YOURS.

Expect actionable advice about public speaking, confidence, nerves, in-office communication, etc, as well as deeper discussions on what power looks (and sounds!) like, how to let go of perfectionism and use fear to your advantage, and how to show up as your authentic self in a world full of unconscious bias.

Vital Voice Training is a voice, public speaking, and communication coaching company founded to help clients communicate with savvy, charisma, and confidence. Whether you are giving a speech, leading a sales appointment or a brand new team, pitching your big idea for funding, or just finding the courage to make your voice heard, co-founders Julie Fogh and Casey Erin Clark’s extensive backgrounds in speech coaching and professional acting give them a unique perspective on what makes people want to listen. For the client, the result is your voice: amplified (not just louder).

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  2. POLISH with Julie and Casey: Unruly bodies, "good speech", and confusing costume with competence

POLISH with Julie and Casey: Unruly bodies, "good speech", and confusing costume with competence

Jan 12, 2022

In this special three-part series, Julie and Casey sit down together to look at the elements of executive presence: Polish, Poise and Power . . . what they are, what they represent, and where they go wrong. They also look at new tools and alternate pathways as we work toward a more inclusive definition of leadership.

Watch the video version here.

Episode 1: Polish

Calling someone “polished” seems to be shorthand for:

  • Looking the way we expect you to look — looking expensive, “understated”, “neat”, fitting into whatever spoken or unspoken standards this industry has for clothing and appearance
  • Speaking the way we expect you to speak — eliminating accents, regionalisms, speech we consider too “youthful”, slang, and dialects like African American Vernacular English; eliminating “problem words” like just, like, sorry; eliminating verbal fillers; using “good speech”
  • Acting the way we expect you to act — knowing your cultural etiquette, manners, and hierarchy. Being rehearsed . . . but not in any visible way - effortlessness is key

Translation: Polish is about looking (and sounding) financially well-off, about pretending human beings never sweat or get dirty or disheveled, and about pretending that we come from the same culture (or at least can learn to seamlessly fit into the dominant culture).

The problem is that this extremely narrow definition often only leaves room for those who learn to dress, speak, and act like those who are ALREADY leaders: i.e. white, wealthy, cisgender, straight, conventionally attractive, able-bodied men (and ocasionally women). This has enormous consequences for anyone who falls outside any of those categories. If you are seen as lacking traditional polish, you may not advance.  

Join us as we dissect, laugh, call bullshit, and brainstorm some practical strategies and solutions to what for many is a minefield of double binds. 

 

Thank you to our Season 3 sponsor, Armoire! If you're ready to try a new look, Armoire's high-end clothing rental service (full of amazing women-owned brands) will hook you up! For 50% off your first month's rental + a free item, go to http://armoire.style/voiceis and use VOICEIS in the referral box!