Perform: Faking it

The fact is most of us will find ourselves in front of a room dead on our feet, hungry, sick, or any number of things detrimental to good communication.

Most of the time, we will still have to muster the energy to get through it. We'll have to "fake" it.

Here's the thing: The voice is a terrible liar.

So what can you do to navigate a bad situation without making it seem like a trial for everyone involved?

Your friend, Intention, has your back. Remember what you need to happen. Why are you here? Who is this for? What do they need? You don't owe the audience a happy facade, you don't owe them false confidence -- you owe your audience something real. Authentic trumps false, all day long.

So set your intention, splash some water your face, do a quick physical wake-up (tremor, jumping jacks, burpee, whatever), then take a breath and get it done.

The body fails, your energy fails, sometimes your will fails, but your breath continues. Follow it home, no faking required.

Gina Razón is the principal voice specialist at GROW Voice LLC, a full-service voice and speech studio in Boston’s Back Bay.  She has over 16 years of experience both as a teacher of voice and speech, and a voraciously curious voice user.  Gina has worked professionally as a classical singer for over a decade and more recently as a professional public speaker.  For more information on the studio or to book Gina visit www.growvoice.com.