Most
writers understand the term the author’s voice. For non- or new writers who may
not, it refers to the writer’s personal and distinctive elements of style. Someone
who loves classical music can differentiate between Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart.
A jazz fan will know Muddy Waters from B.B. King. Fans of Nora Roberts or
Debbie Macomber, John Grisham or Lee Child will not need the cover or spine matter
to know who has written the book. A few lines of text from a single page will
tell a seasoned fan all they need to know because they recognize the author’s
voice.
But there is another author's voice to consider. It is that real voice, the one an author produces the first time they perform, either at a reading or giving a presentation. It is the part that authors over and over say they like the least because many authors are often introverts and prefer to be seen but not heard. They do not want to hear that thin, reedy, wavering vocal vehicle that cannot possibly be their voice. They know it is not going to reach the back of the room or do anything to WOW their audience. They suffer from glossophobia, the technical term for fear of public speaking which affects at least 25 percent of the population so in that they are not alone.
However, as
with writing, practice makes perfect, and the best place to practice your
reading is in the comfort of your own home. First, find a paragraph in your
book that resonates with you. It could be descriptive narrative or a few lines of
dialogue from a passage with which you are comfortable. For your first attempt,
make it a short piece. You might barely move your lips around the words so that
you are only whispering, but that will not do. Read your passage out loud, and
I do mean OUT LOUD, and then re-read it. Next time, lift your head, look
straight in front of you and then dip our chin slightly so that you lengthen
your neck. Now hold your paper (or book) up so that it is at eye level and re-read
the piece.
Notice your
breath. Many of us, when we begin public readings, take a deep breath and go
for it, ending on a gasp like a landed fish. Learn to breathe. Yes, you read
that correctly. Controlling your breathing goes a long way to calm your nerves,
which ultimately modulates your voice. Take three deep breaths and re-read your
piece. Better?
Here’s
another tip. Print the page from which you are going to read and mark it up
with a backslash at
Practice as
much as you can. Watch TED talks on YouTube and watch how the presenters interact with their audience, or research online articles on public speaking. If you have the chance, visit the venue where your reading is
to take place, get comfortable with it. Is it a library, bookstore, or school? If
you can, meet the staff who will be there on the day of the reading. Find out
where the podium will be placed and check the lighting. Is it good enough for
you to see your page? To make it more comfortable for yourself, print your page(s)
in as large a font as you need. Look around and familiarize yourself with
entrances and exits. The last thing anyone wants is to be placed by the
washroom door. You may laugh, but that has happened.
On the day
of the reading, a couple of things will help you stay calm. Most of us love our
coffee, but too much caffeine before the event can make you more nervous.
Drinking milk, or having any milk-based product may cause congestion. You know
yourself best, so if this is likely to happen to you, it would be better to drink
water.
When you
step up to the podium, look at your audience who need not know this is the
first time you are reading in public. Pick one or two people, make eye contact
with them and imagine you are reading just for them. Smile. Breathe. Begin.
When you have
finished, look around your audience again and thank them for listening. Keep smiling,
even though your knees may be knocking, and you long for that coffee or a stiff
drink—pat yourself on the back. You’ve done it! You’ve survived. And the more
you do it, the more you prepare for it, the easier it gets. I promise.
