This week a guest post from Executive Coach, speaker, creator of one-woman shows, writer and singer, Cecilia Poullain.
Last night, I sang in a concert. The theme of the concert was “duets”, and I was singing with a professional soprano called Véronique. Véronique had asked me to participate because the two other singers didn’t have enough material to fill the hour. Véronique and I planned to sing Fauré’s “Puisqu’ici bas toute âme” – a gorgeous song based on a Victor Hugo poem – and the Flower Duet from Delibes’ Lakme.
Early in the programme, we sang the Fauré. It was good. Not transcendent, but good. A little later in the programme, we sang the Flower Duet. It wasn’t only good – it was magic. The audience was transfixed. I adored every minute of it.
And? That moment represented everything that singing has taught me. So, what has singing taught me?
Firstly, singing has taught me about fear.
A few short years ago, when I stood up to sing in public, I would be terrified. So terrified that my throat would seize up. Even though I had been singing for more than 30 years, I sounded as though I had been singing for thirty days.
Last night, instead of hating being on stage, I ADORED it. And I realised that it was OK to adore being on stage. What has changed?
My relationship to other people’s judgement. When I used to sing in public, I felt as though there were millions of eyes fixed on me, judging me. Now, I have learnt to ignore what the public thinks. The role of the public is to be moved by the performance. My role is to perform – to forget technicalities, to feel, to have fun. Those two things are very different.
We often imagine what we think people are thinking about us – and most of the time, we are so, so wrong. Most of the time, people are far more generous with us than we are with ourselves.
People usually say kind things when they hear me sing – things that maybe they think, maybe they don’t. But I don’t sing for other people any more – I sing for me. I am interested in growing and developing as a singer. The fact that other people enjoy it or not is irrelevant.
This is incredibly important for all of us. Once we focus on what we want and stop worrying about other people’s judgements of us, we stop being afraid. And that’s when our lives and careers really take off.
Secondly, singing has taught me about anger.
One of the exercises we do as singers is to tap into our anger. Why? Because anger releases enormous amounts of energy, and as singers, we need to learn how to tap into that energy.
We can’t tap into that anger if it is pent up. Pent up anger is frozen, whereas released anger vibrates. And it’s that vibrating energy we’re looking for.
That doesn’t mean we try to be angry when we’re singing – it means that our body remembers what sort of energy it needs to produce the sound we’re trying to produce.
If we want to have executive presence, then tapping into the energy of anger is extraordinarily efficient. I have seen shy, hug-the-wall types transformed when they express their anger – and it’s incredibly exciting to witness. They suddenly look and sound like leaders – not because they are angry, but because they are tapping into the energy that anger gives them.
Thirdly, singing has taught me about persistence.
I started singing lessons in 1990, in London. I have now been taking singing lessons for thirty-three years. There have been moments of complete discouragement. Moments when I had to pull my technique apart and start all over again. Moments when nothing seemed to work.
But I just kept going. And last night, I realised that when you just keep going, you will reach your goal. Work always pays.
Fourthly, singing has taught me about alignment.
Singing is all about alignment. It’s about getting the body, the mind, the breath and the imagination all working together. If any of those elements are out, the singing is out.
On 1 May 2022, I left my well-paid job with an asset manager to go full time on my coaching business. Since I left, my singing has improved far beyond what I could have imagined.
Why? Because my life is now in alignment. I love coaching; I love writing; I love singing; I love creating one-woman shows; I love creating spaces where women can share their experiences.
And because my life is in alignment, everything works so much better.
You don’t have to be a singer to understand these things. They apply to many other disciplines. But these four elements – facing your fears, finding the energy of anger, persisting and finding alignment – are critical to having a life that takes off in ways you could never imagine.
For details of Cecilia’s mastermind course January www.ceciliapoullain.com
(Image generated by AI).
