Superman or Clark Kent: which one are you?

I recently worked with a wonderful young man from Qatar on Skype. When I started working with him, his voice was soft and he didn’t exude much confidence. After a few sessions, I showed him a Superman video clip that really opened his eyes, not only because of the difference in Christopher Reeve’s voice but also in the actor’s posture and demeanor.

You may remember the scene: Clark Kent walks into Lois Lane’s apartment and when she goes looking for a jacket, he decides to tell her that he is Superman. He takes off his glasses, stands up, takes a deep breath, that’s right, takes a diaphragmatic breath and when he speaks, his voice is deeper, richer, more mature in sound. His stature is imposing.

However, Superman then changes his mind and reverts to the ever so sweet and nasal character known as Clark Kent. His voice changes; your posture changes; and you no longer see that imposing man of great size.

The reason I wanted my client, Tamim, to see this clip was because I had seen a short video of him on stage addressing about 300 people. The person I saw on stage reminded me of Clark Kent. However, the man she had been working with on Skype was now more like Superman.

Tamim immediately recognized the differences in himself. Looking at the performance he had done on stage before his voice training, he saw a man who neither seemed nor sounded confident. The man I worked with was one who stood his ground with confidence and sounded like he knew what he was talking about. While Tamin definitely knew her material from that earlier presentation, it didn’t show in how she spoke or how she behaved.

After discovering his ‘real’ voice, he sounded more mature and was able to turn up his volume without yelling. (And I must say, he has a tremendous voice!)

He also recognized that it goes beyond the voice. The way you stand, how you move, how you act says a lot about your confidence and credibility. Tamim was quick to point out, however, that the speaking voice was the basis for everything else.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Your voice is definitely the foundation of everything that comes out of your mouth. The color, life and emotion that you express through your vocal variety, body language and facial expression, is the icing on the cake.

Which character are you? Superman or Clark Kent?