The Axe Factor – all about accents
26 November 2022
. There’s been quite a bit in the news recently about regional accents, and how they can act as barriers, both socially, and in the workplace. Because of my line of work, they come into my mind quite a lot. I call their effect The Axe Factor (it’s catchier than The Accent Factor), and I […]
Read more →Top Tips for Celebrants – 3
19 January 2025
(In these blogs, although I use the word celebrant, the information I share applies to anyone who’s presenting a ceremony of any kind.) Your Sunday-Best voice. Just about everybody has one. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as it just means you’re being a bit more careful than usual when you speak that way. […]
Read more →Top Tips for Celebrants – 2
14 January 2025
(In these blogs, although I use the word celebrant, the information I share applies to anyone who’s presenting a ceremony of any kind.) Well, fancy meeting you here! If you haven’t looked at Top Tips for Celebrants – 1, there’s a link at the end of this. I’m trying to give these tips a semblance […]
Read more →Top Tips For Celebrants -1
12 January 2025
(In these blogs, although I use the word celebrant, the information I share applies to anyone who’s presenting a ceremony of any kind.) I’d thought about writing a blog called something like Ten Top Tips for Celebrants; but a lot of tips aren’t worth sharing unless there’s an explanation to go with them. And that […]
Read more →Confessions of a Santa Claus
18 December 2024
(Not for the eyes of those who still believe!) I first put this blog up a couple of years ago – but somehow I deleted it: so here we go again! My first confession is that I wasn’t the real Santa, although I did a pretty fair impression. Mind you, I had plenty of practice! […]
Read more →MCs and Celebrants
16 October 2024
In my mind, MC stands for Master Communicator. I’ve known one for a few years. And there’s no hammer about this MC. He’s a warm, friendly, gentle soul. Let’s call him Mr W – he’d probably blush if I shared his name. Guess what! Mr W is my dentist! Well, not just mine. That’s the […]
Read more →Celebrant Success
2 October 2024
Not many celebrants or ministers are lucky enough to have professional voice-and-communication coaching as part of their training. I’d have thought that would be a basic part of what they’re taught, but apparently not. Having a pleasant-sounding voice will give you an edge over most of the celebrants (and ministers) working these days. But an […]
Read more →My Evolution as a Voice Coach
10 April 2024
Looking back at when I started working with celebrants and trainee celebrants, it seems like aeons ago; and, in comparison to now, I was like a one-cell amoeba floating around in a primordial celebrant soup. Recently I put up a blog about how it’s possible to have your eyes opened to new methods and thoughts […]
Read more →For The Love Of Mic
12 March 2024
I’ve been using microphones professionally in different contexts since my mid-twenties, and it’s safe to say that I love them. That love goes hand in hand with my passion of anything to do with voice – speaking and singing. I’ll write more about voice from time to time, but this one’s about the use of […]
Read more →An Identity Crisis? Not Really
4 February 2024
Am I a voice and communication teacher? A celebrant-presentation tutor? Maybe a vocal coach? (I’d love to work with someone called Meg – then I could say I’m a Meghan Trainer!) * A mixture of those titles would do, but there’s another ingredient in the celebrant mix: your personality! Voice, communication and personality are inextricably […]
Read more →Show and Tell
29 January 2024
I expect the words ‘show and tell’ might take you back to your schooldays. We’d be asked to take something from home to the classroom, and tell the class about it – why we chose it, where we got it from… why someone else may be interested in it. It’s usually associated with younger kids, […]
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