THE IRREDUCIBLE VOICE

'Why Real Voice Can't Be Designed, Only Lived
Written by Alex Searle

​Your voice is not your brand.

In the past, we say 'voice' as an extension of the 'brand'

That was an inglorious tone-of-voice PDF or a set of content pillars. It's the five dead words your brand strategist wrote on a whiteboard to describe your personality.

Nope.

Your voice is the specific, irreducible way you see things.

It's the particular combination of what you've lived, what you've read, who you've lost, what's broken you open, what you've built from the rubble.

It can't be designed. It can only be lived.

What you can do is practise using it. That means:

- Write more than you publish
- Say the uncomfortable thing
- Notice when you reach for a polished phrase instead of the true one

The most interesting voices I've encountered - in business, writing, facilitation, leadership - don't sound like anyone else. Not because they tried to be different, but because they stopped trying to sound like what they thought they should sound like.

So, find the thing only you can say, then say it.

When you do, you'll hear something incredible: your voice. ∎