The 5 Elements of Your Full Voice and Saying Yes to Our Biggest Fears with Barbara McAfee – SASM 095
What kind of a voice do you have?
Is it earthy and fiery like mine, or shifting from soothing water to light as air?
I boldly assumed my “Overly Excited Joel” mode for this episode because my guest was Barbara McAfee, a woman with total command of her full voice.
She screams multipotentialite (not literally) and is known as a voice coach, singer/songwriter, speaker, or author depending on the context. Barbara is all about the power of sound and happens to be a masterful community-builder through co-creating experiences like community song circles.
I learned about Barbara from one of her friends, Laura, who was also at a St. Paul event for Pam Slim's Indispensable Community Tour. That's where she told me, “Joel, you need to know Barbara. You two will totally hit it off.”
So we spoke for the first time during this episode and – yeah … I'd say we connected like a home run champion swinging at a hanging curveball. And you get to benefit because our conversation took twists and turns that are bound to help anyone.
Here's a taste of Barbara full voice in this episode:
“I don't know why I said yes to my greatest fear, but I think it was my soul talking.” – Barbara McAfee
And after our chat, I totally agree with this one:
“The voice has its own intelligence … and when you open it up, a lot of things come with it.” – Barbara McAfee
I know you're going to enjoy this one, so tune us in and pay close attention to a master of voice at play.
You're about to Learn ...
- Why fear is like an outfit that looks bad on everyone.
- The five distinct elements of your voice and how to use them.
- How innate talents are trained out of you (and how to get them back).
- What it means to be radically alive – and where to invoke it.
- How to “midwife” your spoken or written voice into the world.
- Why you may have to trudge through mud for years before you find yourself.
- The best voice to use when you need to say “No!”
- How to bring beauty into even the most dark or solemn places.
- Why I’ll take fully alive over over-prepared any day.
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Resources and Items Mentioned in This Episode
Websites
Resources
Books
- Full Voice: The Art and Practice of Vocal Presence
- Dancing in the Streets
- An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture
Videos
- Full Voice: The Art and Practice of Vocal Presence
- Barbara's TEDx Talk: Bringing Your Full Voice to Life
Blog Posts
Where to Find Barbara
Direct Download for This Episode
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Timestamps and Topics
- [06:26] Barbara's seeds of awesomeness
- [11:31] How Barbara found her voice and started showing it
- [16:36] The power of song circles to build community
- [24:42] What it means to be radically alive and where you won't find it
- [30:12] The five distinct elements of voice and how to use them
- [35:11] Differences between midwifing your written and spoken voice
- [41:20] How Barbara brings light into the world
- [47:33] How to learn what your gifts are by listening to what won't leave you alone
- [52:02] How to get World of Wonders for free from Barbara
Extra Gratitude and Special Mentions
I have some extra gratitude for Tonya over at Budget and the Beach who recently wrote this iTunes review:
“Smart and Simple Matters has become one of my favorite podcasts to listen to, and I wish he made more episodes because I always want more to listen to!”
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