Solution-Focused (SF) Therapy: Future focused and goal-directed voice therapy.
On Exercises: Voice is a set of behaviours that changes by doing.
On Mindset: Voice feminization is about developing the voice you have.
Golden Rules:
Focus in, Focus out: Anxiously focusing away yourself is detrimental because it prioritizes the listener’s response over your vocal sensation, effort, and relationship to yourself. This order of focus is helpful:
More on Focus in, Focus Out: Training to focus on intention by deconstructing the individual parts like this makes it easier to put it all together.
“Young people might behave as they hope to be rather than how they actually are – it comes with age and worrying less about what people think.”
— Grace, The Voice Book for Trans and Non Binary People (Ch 2)
Paradox of Change: “Why does change need to happen, and who is the change for?”
Care About Your Present Voice: Communication requires vulnerability and is made of millions of tiny things between you and another person.
More on Play: “I don’t want to explore or ‘accept my voice’ — that’s why I’m here”
- Playing with your range lets you find the spots that are good for natural conversation and builds awareness of what your voice can do.
- This is especially important for avoiding stereotypical gender cues.
Authenticity: Authenticity comes from making small changes over time and believing in yourself.
On Camp: Finding direct vocal tone, commitment to your words, balance between pitch and resonance, and muscular articulation will avoid sounding camp.
- Avoid “gripping” the larynx, voice should be comfortable.
New Voice, Old Friends: Be bold and hold your note unequivocally.
“It’s not just the voice, it’s the whole way you present yourself, and the way you talk and the way you empathise with people and understand them, and the eye contact and the smiling and everything.”
— Ruth, The Voice Book for Trans and Non Binary People (Ch 2)
Key Parts of Communication:
In Short: Every behaviour is a form of communication, not just speech.
- Emotions can leak through non-verbal behaviours.
- Non-verbal overrides verbal when there’s incongruence.
- e.g., confident speech and anxious non-verbal behaviours
Gender Cues: Some communication behaviours have a social history of carrying certain gender cues.
On Neuro-typicality and Neuro-difference
Trans and non-binary individuals on the autism spectrum can have greater difficulties learning the social expectations of their gender.
It’s good to examine the fundamental social communication rules and make a positive choice on whether taking them fits your personal notion of good communication, like:
- Being aware of eye contact and length of gaze with communication partners.
- Turn-taking and noticing when other people are seeking to join the conversation.
- Engaging in collaborative conversation.
- Looking after yourself and asking for clarification when needed.
- Keeping your body language and gestures relaxed and natural in a way that enhances the verbal message.
Confidence is frequently cited in narratives and discussions on progress.
It’s often said that developing voice and communication skills is “being more confident”, though it’s more accurate to say you are feeling more confident.
If you feel more confident, try to identify what you are doing that’s causing it.
On Self-Efficacy: Self-efficacy is the belief that we have the ability to carry out a task successfully.
- This impacts instills more confidence in speaking situations.
Shared Life Experience: Breathing connects us to other people.
Different Activities: Breathing is a reflex, but we need to relearn how to breathe freely.
Mindful Breath: While our minds can wander ahead, our body is only in the present moment.