When your voice hits the stage, it either blends in… or breaks through.
And if you’re like most leaders, you’ve been taught to speak with clarity, confidence, and command. But here’s what they didn’t teach you: how to perform your message with the kind of stage voice that makes people lean in, feel deeply, and remember everything you said.
That’s where I come in.
As a Grammy-nominated spoken word artist turned keynote disrupter, I’ve spent decades performing on the world’s biggest stages — and now I teach leaders how to command their voice like artists do.
Here are five of my most powerful stage voice techniques to help you elevate your delivery — whether you’re presenting to a team or speaking to a stadium.
1. Ride the Rhythm
Your voice has a beat.
Find it. Follow it. Use it.
Poets know that rhythm grabs attention. Business leaders? Often fall flat in monotone. Start playing with tempo. Slow down when you want to drop something profound. Speed up when you’re building energy. Create tension. Create music.
🎤 Stage Tip: Practice your key messages like verses — find their natural cadence and let the rhythm do the work.
2. Own the Silence
Most speakers fear the pause.
But silence? It’s the drama between the drums.
Use pauses to let impact settle in. To make your audience lean forward. To let your message breathe.
🎤 Stage Tip: Pause right before and after delivering your biggest lines. Let them land like thunderclaps.
3. Texture Is Power
Flat tone equals forgettable speech. Your voice should have levels — softness, edge, passion, patience.
Think about how a performer shifts between a whisper and a roar. You don’t need to shout — but you do need to shape.
🎤 Stage Tip: Record yourself. Listen for flat spots. Add color. Add emotion. Add texture.
4. Speak in Cinematic Moments
Poets don’t just say words — they paint pictures. The best stage voices use tone and pacing to make you see the story.
So when you’re telling a customer success story or describing a turning point in your leadership, speak it like a scene.
🎤 Stage Tip: Think about lighting, emotion, soundtrack — how would a filmmaker deliver this line?
5. Deliver Like a Performer, Lead Like a Human
The goal isn’t to “perform” in a fake way. It’s to bring your real self to the stage in a way that connects deeply.
Use your voice to show empathy. Passion. Humor. Vulnerability. That’s what turns a leader into a legend.
🎤 Stage Tip: Don’t rehearse perfection. Rehearse presence.
Final Word: The Mic Is Yours
Your voice is your leadership signature.
Stop just using it — and start mastering it.
If you’re ready to move from speaker to show-stopper, stage voice training from a Grammy-nominated poet might be your unfair advantage.
And the next time you open your mouth on stage?
Don’t just talk.
Transform.
