In this episode of Unleashed, Melanie Espeland talks about the importance of using one's voice to make a powerful first impression. Melanie, an executive coach and life coach, shares her structure for building an executive presence. The structure includes two pillars: the literal (physical world) and the figurative (mental and emotional world). Voice Is The First Impression The literal pillar focuses on the speaker's voice, which includes nonverbal communication, posture, and body language. The figurative pillar includes authenticity, confidence, and vision. Authenticity is crucial as it involves being connected to oneself and having clarity about who they are and how they want to show up. Confidence is separate from executive presence as it involves believing in the effectiveness of their actions and their ability to connect with their audience. Vision is influenced by watching great leaders speak and media training work, and it involves articulating one's thoughts, needs, and future focus or thesis in a clear, consistent, and well-understood manner. In summary, Melanie emphasizes the importance of using one's voice to make a powerful first impression in various aspects of life. She provides a series of voice exercises that can be done at home and offers tips on how to use one's voice to make a powerful first impression. By understanding and practicing these techniques, individuals can build their own executive presence and improve their overall professional image. Voice Exercises - Training the Tool Melanie jumps into the exercises to demonstrate how they work. One important exercise is warming up the voice, starting with humming the sound as an H. This will help with projection and open up the mouth for the arm. The speaker also suggests doing a simple vocal warmup, such as a e Oh, ah, to start articulating around the mouth, tongue, and facial articulators. She compares the voice to an instrument, and the body is an instrument, and the voice is the sound it creates. To tune up the voice appropriately, the speaker suggests stretching beforehand to avoid injury or muscle hamstrings. Melanie also emphasizes the importance of giving the jaw and tongue muscles a little bit of love and attention. She suggests using a lion and mouse exercise to warm up the face and facial muscles, making them small and tight, and then expanding them. This helps the face constrict and expand, working those muscles and wake them up. The jaw needs a little bit of love, as the jaw and tongue are the most overworked muscles when it comes to speaking. To relax the jaw, the speaker suggests yawning or letting it relax naturally. Melanie explains the importance of a vocal warmup, which can range from two minutes to an hour, depending on the individual's needs and skill level. She suggests building this routine into your daily or every other day routine, making it whatever length works for you. She also shares specific exercises that can elevate your voice, such as tongue placement. One of the most surprising exercises is the tongue placement exercise, specifically for American English. This exercise is specific to American English speaking and is not necessarily accurate for other languages. Melanie  demonstrates different placements of their tongue, such as the back of the mouth, middle of the mouth, and front of the mouth. She demonstrates how different they sound with their tongue in different general placements and  encourages practicing these techniques over time to improve their voice and feel more confident and comfortable speaking.  In conclusion, building in a vocal warmup is essential for both personal and professional success. By practicing these exercises, individuals can enhance their voice and become more confident and effective in their communication. Developing The Mind-Body Connection Melanie explains how to create a mind-body connection, using your fingers to direct your body and physically move your tongue where it needs to be. Practice