Name a famous actor – Helen Mirren, Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Orlando Bloom –
and the chances are that Patsy Rodenburg, one of the world’s leading voice
coaches, has helped them. Ralph Fiennes, who has worked with her since the
1980s, calls her a “constant source of strength and inspiration”; Dame Judi
Dench and Sir Ian McKellen are also big fans.
But Rodenburg, 53, is far more than a voice coach working with the cream of
Britain’s actors, impressive though that undoubtedly is. She teaches
something that might be best described as charisma to a range of
professionals, from doctors to business people and politicians. They
initially come to Rodenburg for voice work, but that’s only part of the
picture. She teaches them how to project themselves, and how to release
their star quality.
Rodenburg, who has served as vocal coach for more than 100 West End and
Broadway productions, has been obsessed all her life with charisma, that
elusive quality which gets a person noticed – whether it’s on stage, in the
office or on the street. She calls it “presence” and in her new book with
the same name she passes on its secrets to the rest of us. She believes
we’re all born with presence, but it gets lost as we struggle to cope with
urban life, painful experiences and general busyness. It’s well worth the
effort to get it back, she says, because it can make people more effective
at work, improve the way we get on with our children, and even help in
dangerous situations.
She explains how her approach can help people to rediscover their natural
charm: “One woman, who held a senior position in a major credit card
company, came to me because when she tried to speak in board meetings people
said they couldn’t hear her. Like many women she operated very well in
one-to-one situations but at meetings she felt completely bulldozed by her
boss and that he was taking all her ideas.
“In fact, there was nothing wrong with her voice. When we talked about what
was happening she realised that when her boss started to talk she would sink
back in her chair, look down and withdraw, which gave him space to
intimidate her.”
Rodenburg had a session with her in which she explained that it was important
for her not to tune out at difficult points in the meeting, but to stay
alert and engaged. For instance she was advised to observe her surroundings,
to bring her totally into the present using all her senses, and make her
connect to the world (see box, below). Rodenburg says: “When she went into
board meetings she practised the techniques I’d taught her, which use the
whole body and the breath.”
She explained that when people are nervous their breathing becomes shallow and
this effects how effectively they communicate – they put across their
arguments badly but, also, they become poor listeners because they lose
concentration, and tune out of the discussion.
“It was hard for her at first,” Rodenburg says, “she had to ring me a few
times to discuss strategy. After a few weeks she began to find opportunities
to interrupt her boss and get her point across. Eventually, he stopped
bullying her and turned his attentions elsewhere. It turned her professional
life around and she got promoted.”
The Rodenburg approach involves the whole body, mind, heart and spirit. That
may sound a bit airy-fairy, but her approach is hands-on and involves
exercises, breathing techniques and hard work. It is an approach that even
an A-lister can learn from.
Rodenburg explains: “Even actors who are household names get terrified. I
remember being with a huge star half an hour before he was due to go on
stage at the National Theatre. He was so lost in panic that he became
detached. I very rarely use touch but I knew him well enough to put my arms
around him and I felt his energy come back. The physicality earthed him.”
And as if working with top actors and business professionals were not enough,
Rodenburg has also worked with serial killers, child murderers and
prostitutes, none of whom has any inkling of her starry connections. She
combined her 30-year career at the National Theatre, the RSC and the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama with stints working in Broadmoor and
Holloway.
She started working in prisons soon after leaving drama school where she
decided that she would rather be a very good teacher than an average actor.
“It is heartbreaking that people don’t reach their full potential. When I
started teaching in Holloway prison, I realised that these were girls
Rodenburg herself has bags of presence: her steady gaze is sometimes hard to
hold and her voice so easy on the ear you barely notice it.
Her presence has got her out of some dangerous situations. As a young teacher
she used to be locked in a classroom with teenage boys who had been excluded
from mainstream school. She remembers: “I used to say to them, I know you
are armed and it makes me a bit nervous, so just put the weapons there. And
they did – there were no guns in those days, just knives and chains. I’ve
always been good with naughty boys for some reason – naughty girls are so
much harder.”
By the time she had finished with the excluded boys, she had them were
speaking the language of Shakespeare and Coleridge. And you can bet they
spoke it beautifully: Rodenburg is a stickler for Received Pronunciation and
a critic of the kind of reverse snobbery which leads some schools to neglect
it.
She is taken aback by the suggestion that tough lads might dismiss her as a
bit of a luvvie: “I’ve never had a discipline problem – touch wood! I’ve
never been a soft touch. People who are very rude and confrontational are
used to everybody around them either facing them off or backing away. If
instead you talk to them and challenge them they aren’t used to it and after
a while they just come to you.”
Presence by Patsy Rodenburg is published by Penguin, £10.99
Taking centre stage
HOW TO PREPARE FOR A MEETING
Get out of the office and walk, preferably in a park; really observe your
surroundings. This will reinvigorate you.
Before the encounter practise shaking hands, visualise meeting the other
person and making eye-contact.
Before you go in to the interview or boardroom, check that your shoulders are
released and your head is up.
Look at the person talking to you and keep breathing. People often get so
nervous they stop breathing and don’t hear what the questioner is really
asking. Breathe from your lower abdomen; don’t lift your shoulders or upper
chest.
Enter the room with energy. This doesn’t mean walking fast, but with purpose.
Imagine your voice is going all the way to the person you are addressing.
DAILY CHARISMA PRACTICE
Build a sense of your own presence by practising for a few minutes every
morning, perhaps while you are standing making a cup of tea. Look around the
room and notice details. Centre yourself in your body with your knees
unlocked and come slightly forward on to the balls of your feet.
