Alicia Bales – Voice and Speech Coach

So, I did eventually hear from Alicia. She apologized for the delay and replied to me in detail. I am still considering her services, but the greatly delayed response did leave a negative first impression. I suppose she deserves the benefit of the doubt, but then again that’s what «out of office» auto-​reply is for — after all, she is running a business.

A few months back, my sister and her fiancé asked me if I would take part in their wedding by officiating the ceremony. I was really excited and honored to accept the opportunity! I’m a bit of a romantic and loved the idea of helping to make their day as special as I felt it could be. My excitement, however, was dwarfed by the fact that I was terrified of the public speaking aspect. I had been avoiding public speaking as much as possible in my 34 years on the planet. I spend my days behind a computer as an accountant, moonlighting as a massage therapist — both cater very well to my introverted, shy-​of-​the-​spotlight way of being. I also never liked my voice when I heard it in recordings — it sounded terrible in my ears. I would have described it as nasally, effeminate, lacking in confidence, and unappealing to listen to. I realized, though, there was no way I could avoid my voice and public speaking if I was going to do this. I’d better get used to the idea and get some practice in beforehand.
I initially thought I’d do something like Toastmasters, just to get used to speaking in front of people. I started doing some internet research. Thanks to Unilocal’s savvy algorithms and the grace of the universe, I was quickly guided to Alicia Bales. Her website and reviews made me realize there may be more possible than merely fighting through the fear of public speaking. Perhaps I could even learn to skillfully use my voice to become a better public speaker? Maybe I could change my relationship to my own voice so that I would be excited to speak publicly? It was worth a shot!
Working with Alicia has been one of the best gifts I’ve ever given to myself. From our initial contact I could tell that she was passionate about the work that she does. Vocal performance is an art form to which I had never been exposed. Alicia has been studying this stuff for years and her knowledge reflects that. Upon an initial assessment, where Alicia asked me to perform some basic vocal exercises combined with a general discussion of my relationship to my voice, she drafted up a training plan to get me ready for the big event. It was comprehensive and sounded exactly what I needed.
We had 10 weeks until the wedding. I met with Alicia once a week. We started with some practice of relaxing my body through Alexander technique exercises. Once the body, the instrument that creates our voices, was more at ease and prepared, the practice shifted to learning how to play the instrument. I was learning more than how to speak confidently. Alicia was teaching me to renegotiate my relationship with my body as a means of vocal self expression. We discussed the anatomy of the body’s vocal system, and then used that knowledge to more effectively speak. Every session built on the previous work, from relaxing the body, to breathing, pacing, resonance, and articulation.
On top of just getting in front of of people and speaking, I was also in charge of writing the ceremony for the wedding. I procrastinated on this a bit, as I struggled to come up with the right approach and sentiments. Alicia helped me stay timely in my preparations since I had to get the script written in advance so we could use it in practice sessions. As we walked through it, she helped me understand how to connect more authentically with the words I had written. Rather than a dry, monotone recitation of a script, she helped me bring more life to my words.
All of the preparation paid off more than I could have imagined. While nervous on the day of the wedding, the tools we practiced made the nerves bearable so that I actually could enjoy the event. The feedback I received from the audience was so gracious. People loved the ceremony, and I owe a large part of that to the preparation that Alicia coached me through. For me, the greatest part was that I actually enjoyed myself while speaking in front of a large group of people. It was fun, I felt confident, I was able to express myself in a way that I hadn’t been able to previously. I actually look forward to the next opportunity I have to do some public speaking. Thank you, Alicia — your work and coaching has made a world of difference to my experience of my voice. I’m so grateful for that!

Alicia is a multitalented voice, speech and communications coach. She offers coaching for business communication, public speaking, accent modification, and also works with actors.
I hired her for a workshop for my team of ~25 people to co-​lead an all-​day session on communicating under pressure, and it was a great way to get the team to think more critically about the subconscious ways we react in difficult situations at work.
In particular I really appreciated the instruction and focus on breathing and other physical outlets to get calm quickly in tense situations at work, so that we can communicate more effectively. It was a really good reminder that there are other nonverbal elements involved in effective communication than just choosing the right words.
I would recommend her for voice and communications coaching, in particular if you’re trying to improve something around your communication at work or in your career.