293. Why speech and drama?

In this episode I share a special address delivered as Guest of Honour at the 80th Annual Barbara Sisley Awards, celebrating Queensland's leading speech and drama students.

Drawing on experiences from radio, television news, corporate communications, TEDx, social media, and even an unexpected encounter with Oprah, I reflect on how speech and drama shaped every stage of my career.

Whether you're a parent, teacher, student, or someone looking to find their voice later in life, this episode is a celebration of the lifelong gift of communication.

Transcript

Hello welcome to That Voice Podcast.

I am recording right on the wire today, because last night I was the guest of honour at the 80th annual Barbara Sisley Awards.

Now it’s not quite the Oscars, it’s an awards ceremony to celebrate the best speech and drama students in Queensland.

I’m a speech and drama kid and it really took me back.

I also gave a short address and that’s what I’ll be re-enacting for you on this episode of That Voice Podcast. Why speech and drama?

Now if you’ve never had any speech and drama training… neither have the vast majority of people I work with. Speech and communication is absolutely a skill you can learn at any age at any stage and I have a lot of proof of that.

If you’re a parent thinking about activities for your children. Speech and drama is your best bang for buck.

This address shares what speech and drama mean to me and it landed so well last night, so I wanted to share it with you too.

“Read the section I’ve marked – just do your best.”

Mrs Miller handed me a worn copy of George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl. My little 8-year-old heart was pounding. This was a big deal. I had my heart set on speech and drama lessons and everyone knew Mrs Miller was the best in town. You essentially had to audition to work with her. When I started reading, her eyes lit up and a smile spread across her face. I kept going – reading with as much expression as I could muster.

At the end, she said, “Sal, that VOICE!”

I was hooked. Speech and drama became my favourite extracurricular activity, and Mrs Miller became one of the most important mentors in my life. She sparked and nurtured a love of using my voice to express myself – through poetry, prose, characterisations, school speeches and just sharing what was on my mind.

Over the years, our lessons morphed into part speech training and part therapy sessions – unpacking everything from sibling spats to failed school captain bids, the latest boy trouble, and the agony of why I got an A instead of an A+. My teenage perfectionist vibes were strong.

One of the deepest sadnesses in my life is that Mrs Miller passed away during COVID-19 lockdowns and I never got to say goodbye. Mrs Miller set me on a life path that allowed me to step into my soul’s purpose and mission. That first day, she handed me the kind of medicine that had nothing to do with George’s concoction – it was the magic and medicine of my own voice.

Now, I want you to experience the magic of yours.

+++

That’s the introduction to my book Voiceprint which is dedicated to my speech and drama teacher, Carole Miller.

She’s the reason I am where I am today.

And a speech and drama teacher is likely the reason you’re here tonight.

Teachers carrying on the legacy of Barbara Sisley – it’s a lineage I’m incredibly grateful for.

Nearly every skill I’ve used throughout my career can be tracked back to speech and drama.

At my first on-air shift in breakfast radio news – 96.5 Wave FM Wollongong. I remember reading with such confidence.

It’s 5.30 good morning I’m Sally Prosser.

And my lovely boss almost choked on his coffee.

He said “Gosh Sal, this isn’t Bell Shakespeare, you’ve got parents getting kids off to school with one ear on the radio… calm the farm.”

And I actually knew how to do that.

I’d been mastering vocal manipulation for years. From Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter’s bitter to an Irish accent for Angela’s Ashes. It’s a little rusty!

When I was running the channel 7 TV News in Rockhampton I had to voice scripts right on deadline, approach strangers with a microphone and do live crosses. I remember during one flood I was sandbagging my house before running off to the studio, and I had the whole suit jacket up top and thongs on my feet. It was high stakes, it was thinking on the fly, it needed to be a one take wonder.

And took me back to sight reading sections in the eisteddfod or the improvisation part of exams. They terrified me at the time, but those skills came in very handy in news.

When I was spokesperson for the city’s water company – at the front line of a press pack covering burst water mains and sewage overflows. I was so thankful I knew what intercostal diaphragmatic breathing was and I could get it together.

When I was faced with memorising a 12-minute Tedx Talk earlier this year … it was actually pretty easy.

Those of you in senior grades know the sheer volume of text you need to memorise.

When I saw Oprah Winfrey on the streets of Brisbane, there was a moment where I thought who are you to just walk up to THE Oprah and hand her your book!?

But years on the stage had prepared me for that moment.

So I stepped into character and walked right up.

Now, having confidence, experience in the craft and knowing how to use your voice is one thing.

Learning to use your voice when not everybody likes it is quite another.

I got that lesson by going viral on TikTok.

Cut to Chapter 9 of Voiceprint -

It’s easy to be bold and open when everyone loves you. But just like a stronger magnet pulls in more metallic trash, inevitably reaching a bigger audience opens you up to the slings and arrows of the masses.

Here’s a taste of my comments section:

You’re so god damn annoying. It’s worth my time to tell you how annoying you are. It’s therapeutic. PS Nobody cares.

Covid has really given the ‘special’ people something to get their 15 seconds of flop. Hasn’t it?

Her hair, face, voice and everything irritates me.

In one video, someone photoshopped the poo emoji onto my head and called me Australia’s most condescending woman. I commented that it was apt as I used to be a spokesperson for a sewerage company. He replied asking what ‘apt’ meant. I didn’t want to explain it for fear of sounding condescending.

Only a couple of social media videos and comments really cut deep. The ones that criticise the core of who you are and what you stand for.

In early 2022, I posted a TikTok about pronunciation. I was coaching a lot of TV news reporters at the time who were dutifully wanting to correctly pronounce key words in their stories – and I thought it would make for an innocent, helpful talking point.

Well, people were keyboard-ready.

Yeh, I’ve always had bad vibes about that lady.

Don’t let this woman tell you how to speak.

She’s dangerous.

The comments were in direct contravention to the reason I do this work and create content. So, there I was – lying in the foetal position on my coach’s couch rocking my bottle of merlot.

“Why are they so mean?! They don’t know me!”

“Sal, listen to me,” the counsellor handed me a tissue. “You gotta live life in your disco ball. Keep on shining, keep on dancing. You decide who comes to your party, and the rest are a reflection right back on them.”

She followed that up by this banger – “Anyone pointing a finger has three pointing right back on themselves”.

+++

That advice marked a major turning point for me in caring what other people think. And I hope that advice lands for you tonight.

To the parents here, you have given your children an exceptional advantage to anything they go onto in life.

To the teachers, you might not hear this enough... you are changing lives. You are helping young people find their voice, you are giving people the tools to their livelihood, you’re building the leaders of the future.

And to the students here tonight:

Enjoy this moment.

Celebrate your achievements.

But know this - the awards are not the most valuable thing you will take home tonight.

The most valuable thing you will take home tonight is your voice.

Especially in this era of AI.

Nothing can rise to the emotion of the moment like the breath that passes by your beating heart and vibrates your vocal cords to leave your voiceprint.

That auditory DNA. A sound souvenir that can only come from you.

Life will throw your curveballs.

There will be moments when you doubt yourself.

And when that happens, remember you have the speech and drama marvellous medicine.

You have your voice.

So always rally the courage to use it.

And get out there and make your mark.

Thank you.