Sword Health’s Post

Many skills an opera singer has developed over a career on the stage lend themselves to voiceover: acute awareness of nuances on just one consonant to convey different emotional meanings; inflection in tone by adjusting the soft palate, more or less forward resonance; a keen ability to decipher subtext and get subtle cues from a well-written text. And, from live performance, the skill to "get it right the first time." The challenges I have found, which have been echoed by other opera singers who are doing voiceover, are that we have spent years "proclaiming to the back of the theater with perfect diction." (In multiple languages. And of course, we also sing softly, but never by whispering!) Now, we are told to speak "casually," like "anyone on the street." "Less diction, Claire. More conversational."

Are you an Opera Singer? Take the proposal test, What is it? Take a look at your last two proposals.  If they say more about the client than you - congrats you are in the top 5% If they say more about you than the client - try again. The good news is that all your competitors are all doing the same, Btw - when I say more about the client - talking about your solution as it addresses the clients need is still talking about you - not them. If it has a filter or starting point from you then its about you. If your proposal feels like you are trying to sell to them, you are doing it wrong. If your proposal feels like you are helping them buy, you are on the right track. Talk solely about them   Their problem  The cost of not solving it The wider business implications  The alignment to a key initiative Most proposals are a brochure and a pricelist on letterhead. They feel like 'We really, really listened to you' - well enough to give you this quote or proposal. Then, we started thinking about the commission. Most b2b Sales people are like opera singers warming up doing the scales as they warm up, sing it with me Me me me me me me .... As Carl Gough says, "let me document my incompetence in a proposal" Are you an opera singer or someone helping a prospect buy? Stop selling start helping ... There is a better way! #fractionalsalesleadership #salesacceleration #pamice

⚠️Attention: Presales consultants, solution architects and proposal crafters and salesprofessionals! A refreshing perspective to #proposalwriting, wish I had the wisdom when I was a serious opera singer! #impactfulsolutions #proposalwriting #sales #presales #mindset

Mark your calendar 📅 February 5 World Nutella Day February 6 Pay a Compliment Day February 7 National Send a Card to a Friend Day February 8 Opera Day February 9 Read in the Bathtub Day February 10 Lunar New Year Order your new 3 year planner developed by my colleague Terri Robinson. “Who’s ready to get organized and stay organized? I have the perfect planner for you. This helps you plan ahead for the next 3 years so you can stay on top of important dates & appointments. It also has budget forms to keep you straight with your finances, self care pages, reflections, daily & weekly planner sheets, contact info for all those email addresses & phone numbers you get and for the entrepreneurs that work on projects it’s all in there for you. It comes in digital & paperback. Click on the link to check it out. “ https://lnkd.in/gcF9YCT6

TL:DR: criticism is a trigger for me due to ten years of opera industry bullshit. I really do struggle with criticism. It’s one of my biggest issues - admittedly. For a decade I received it for the smallest things, the way my vowels were shaped, the way I produced my sound, having a beard and “hiding” my face, my weight, my tone and vocal quality (that can’t be controlled), so anytime I experience criticism from someone from the internet it triggers me because I don’t trust anyone who criticizes me on the internet to really have my best interest at heart. Just like most people I met in opera. So, as a defense mechanism I take criticism really badly and get emotional upfront. I can admit that. We’re all navigating something. Fear of failure, fear of not being accepted. Unsocilited criticism is my issue. I’m sure I’ll get better at it.

Break-up with Valentine's Day 👀 Popular web browser, Opera GX, is promoting their "Heartblocker" browser extension 💔 Designed for those who don't enjoy the holiday of love, this extension offers features including: 🙅♀️ Swap passion and poetry for plain language across the web 💗 Automatically drain all the pink from websites 💐 Block out stereotypical imagery and propaganda I think more holidays could do with an extension like this! #valentinesday #socialmedia #socialmediaupdates

As we know, life is not a soap opera and in these two articles you will be able to understand why you should avoid your life becoming an eternal soap opera In these times of insecurity Anguish, suffering and especially tension The number of cases of domestic violence and divorces has increased dramatically. Many are problems from the past that in these complicated days have reached the point of exploding. Don't let yourself be carried away by your emotions and tensions and don't be fooled by empty promises coming from the other side. Seek psychological help immediately regardless of which type of professional you choose. https://lnkd.in/d32ZpypA  

Opera Singer & Voice Professor response to an "absolute" mindset. Y'all need to stop speaking in absolutes and "one size fits all" technique. Teach the SINGER IN FRONT OF YOU. What worked for you might not work for them. We need to read. We need to develop. We need to learn new things. What singing questions can I answer for you? #operasinger #tenor #voiceteacher

🚀 Quick Tip to Sound Like a Spanish Speaker: Pronounce each vowel distinctly. In Spanish, we make just one sound for each vowel, and that sound should be very clear, like an opera singer. #Spanish #LearnSpanish #SpanishLessons #SpanishPronunciation #EffectiveCommunication #CorporateCommunication #BusinessSpanish #ProfessionalDevelopment #HR #HumanResources #CorporateTraining #CommunicationSkills #LanguageLearning

OPERA LOVERS TAKE NOTE The “PERFORMANCE-LINKED” Kindle e-book has been invented! Hear and see performances of opera stars you have only heard of, but never actually heard. Listen to excerpts or the entire operas they sang. You can put this book on your Iphone or Android as well as a Kindle or your laptop to hear and see them sing as you read about them! You say you’ve never heard of Selma Kurz? She was better known than Nellie Melba--in Vienna, certainly! Worldwide? Not so much. From Meyerbeer to Mozart, you can listen to Selma Kurz perform more than twenty-five different operatic selections. Over 700 Internet links and 200 hours of performances by famous and not-so-famous artists that author Limansky evaluates—their biographies, history, performances, and voices are described in technical detail. You can even get a Performance-Linked PRINT EDITION of "Early Twentieth Century Opera Singers." You say you can't click a link on a printed page? That's true, but we've devised the way to do that. Included in the price of the print edition you will get a PDF of the links, arranged in the order in which they appear in the book. You mount that PDF on your phone or laptop and click away as you read--just like the e-book. Buy it so you can see it and hear it as you read about it--Performance-Linked print and e-books by YBK Publishers. https://bit.ly/3vzws4X