Our voices in an emotionally turbulent time.

In a time where there is such an emotionally turbulent uprising in Black America, it has made extraordinary waves that have hit the homes of all of us across the globe.

We have seen marches in Copenhagen, Denmark, protesters surrounding American embassies around the world, and endless posts and articles shared widely on all the social media platforms. THIS is the unprecedented time, where in the midst of COVID-19 that people are speaking up and out saying: 'This is enough' and 'The racism needs to stop', which has resonated with many others in the world who have also been touched and moved by the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Just shy of three months ago, all human beings on this planet learned of a new virus that was starting to spread all around the world and many of us lived in fear of the virus taking us away, or our friends and loved ones. And just over one week ago now, the mistreatment leading to the inhumane death of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police has sparked outrage and anger, that has fueled people to come out of their homes and stand up and fight for fairness, equality and justice once again. Where people are physically coming together to support one another, the virus seems to have been forgotten. Something more important has come up and a fire has been lit within so many individuals who have resonated with this story and the stories that came before it.

It breaks my heart to see the violence and volatility, however humanity can be also found in some smaller articles that share stories and pictures of protesters and the police coming together, that is not always shown on the mainstream media outlets.

As Martin Luther King Jr. once said in his 1967 speech, 'The Other America' (view video):

Let me say as I've always said, and I will always continue to say, that riots are socially destructive and self-defeating. I'm still convinced that nonviolence is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and justice. I feel that violence will only create more social problems than they will solve. That in a real sense it is impracticable for the Negro to even think of mounting a violent revolution in the United States. So I will continue to condemn riots, and continue to say to my brothers and sisters that this is not the way. And continue to affirm that there is another way. But at the same time, it is as necessary for me to be as vigorous in condemning the conditions which cause persons to feel that they must engage in riotous activities as it is for me to condemn riots. I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation's summers of riots are caused by our nation's winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.

As a vocal communications professional (specialising in intercultural communication, equity, diversity and inclusion), being or feeling unheard is one of the biggest challenges that most of us have in our communication. Whether it be our line managers, colleagues, friends or family, there are always many underlying layers to explore and discover why we are not being heard.

Unfortunately, sometimes it does come down to our individual unconscious (or conscious) biases. When we are able to finally confront ourselves and communicate truthfully with ourselves to understanding what these biases are and how they affect our communication with others... only then, can we make any positive shifts toward being a better communicator, who has awareness of if they are speaking openly, inclusively and without any unintended judgement.

We can look at how we frame our messages and determine what our core message is - but most importantly, we need to double and triple check that what we want to say actually contributes positively to a discussion and doesn't single anybody out or make them feel less than. It is our job to phrase ourselves well, to communicate our thoughts, feelings, ideas and opinions well and it can be done more easily in a safe and open environment.

Here is powerful statement that Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau, made yesterday with his epic pause, when responding to the US protests and their President's response. I think the quote below rings true for people of other nationalities as well and not only Canadians. Enter your nationality in the bracket.

''It is something that many of us don't see, but it is something that is a lived reality for racialised (Canadians)'' - Justin Trudeau

For many of us, we may not be able to identify with what it is like to live as a Black person in America, Canada, or the UK + or even as a person of colour (PoC) in these countries. However, we have the power and choice to listen and to create that space for people who need to share a story or an experience with us. This is what helps us build the deep trust and rapport that we never could have done before. The Black Lives Matter movement is taking the forefront right now and it is LOUD. The emotional turbulence is moving people to speak without the fear of needing to feel safe.

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For myself, as a PoC, I am willingly open to share with you that I only discovered this concept through academia and came to the realisation of my own reality when I attended my first academic voice conference in Chicago, USA back in 2016. I was sitting in a panel discussion of a lovely presenter sharing her story of being a Korean adoptee into a White-American family and speaking about being a voice coach who also identifies as a PoC.

I raised my hand up in the air to ask a question at the end of the presentation because I was so fired up about an experience I wanted to share in my own training. Instead of answering when I was called upon, I had a hysterical breakdown crying followed by hyperventilation - not being able to even let a single coherent word out of my mouth. That was the exact moment I discovered I was a Person of Colour. That moment was caught on camera at the conference and even though I was in shock and disbelief, it led to eventual acceptance. I was told later that day that it was one of the most powerful moments for the other voice coaches/teachers to witness to understand what might be happening within their own students and clients that is suppressed/oppressed, depending on how one teaches and what their own views are.

A parallel that runs strong here is that the voice training industry is traditionally very middle/upper class in the UK (think elocution, Queen's English and when people talk about learning to speak 'proper English').

As the world becomes more diverse and PoC's like myself enter Masters programmes to study Voice (I was the only Asian student in my class) - we often don't get to learn about ourselves individually through our lecturers and teachers, because the faculty has not had the time, to date, to become diverse enough and also to understand how to teach this or others that have different cultural backgrounds/lived experiences. In the past four years since this discovery, there have been active changes and new research transforming these programmes to become more diverse to celebrate the differences of these hugely international students entering these classrooms - especially black and minority ethnic (BAME) individuals.

So, whilst I can't personally identify with 'White privilege'... the reason why I had such a challenge understanding and accepting the fact that I am a Person of Colour was because I was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. My parents immigrated to Canada before I was born and they taught me the cultural Hong Kong-Chinese morals and values during my upbringing within the household. But every time I left the four walls of my home, I entered a western society that was a very White-Canada between the 1990's and 2000 (at the time - it has an immensely high population of Chinese people these days). I accepted and adopted cultural values of White Canadians, learned through their educational system and had friends who were diverse, but mostly White again. My hobbies in high school and university also included competitive cheerleading and joining a sorority - activities that aren't very Asian, at all. And lastly, I spoke fluent Canadian English and I was so good at speaking English that I have a minor English accent on my Cantonese, that native speakers can tell I'm not actually from Hong Kong.

In essence, I thought I was White and it was completely psychological. Instead of looking at myself in the mirror and seeing what I really looked like and identifying with that, I identified more with the ethnic background of my friends, the hobbies and activities I took up and the environment I was surrounded by.

Luckily during my undergraduate years at the University or Waterloo in Canada, I took a few performance art classes that allowed me to explore my identity and the complex make-up of my beliefs of who I was and who I choose to be. This empowered me to find my true voice, breaking free of the Chinese cultural norms of holding extreme emotions inside. This is where I gained the courage and freedom to share the power of this work through vocal training and development.

If you have made it this far reading my story, I am very grateful for your time to learn about the extremely complex, albeit subtle layers, that make up our own identities and how we voice them.

It is a long journey to discover our true voices and to hone our skills in using it. I think it is worth to note here that full acceptance can not be achieved when racism still exists. As every time we (all ethnic backgrounds) encounter racism or any sort of prejudice, when we have not fully found ourselves or our voices and the confidence that goes with it, we will begin to question everything once again.

My passion and calling in life is to help people realise the strengths within themselves and to help them improve their vocal confidence and communication that can make us happier with our own identities and who we are.

Thanks for reading, Sylvie.

Founder, SLVC Voice Training in London

To learn more about my work you can visit my website: www.voicetraininginlondon.co.uk

Note: Please feel free to share this article with your own networks as well - the more we know, the better.

YouTube Video UPDATE: I have just recording a reading of this article to my YouTube channel that can viewed here