Author carries communication skills into public speaking
As Shakespeare observed, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women, merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts.” Or, in the case of Dr. Miluna Fausch, one woman.
Fausch found her voice as a very little girl, swinging and singing as high as she could in the yard of her Hope, Indiana home, performing TV commercial jingles and Top 40 hits with Casey Kasem. Even then, she dreamed of becoming a superstar singer ─ or maybe a racecar driver, which explains her 2003 SL500 Mercedes Benz roadster. In red, like her hair.
Depending on how you define “superstar,” she either did or did not achieve her goal. But, if you look in the dictionary for anyone who departed her smalltown, conservative upbringing to earn a bachelor’s degree in music business, with a minor in voice performance, who went on to sing and act on stages all over the country, who survived the removal of a fistsized tumor in the bone adjacent her brain, and rebuilt her voice without the benefit of hearing in her right ear, Dr. Miluna Fausch is, decidedly, the definition of “Superstar.”
Fausch has long believed the depth and breadth of her experiences warranted a book. Not necessarily about what she’s been through, or even what she’s learned about endurance, resilience, and performance, but about what she could teach others. Particularly how to find, refine, and use your voice, for good.
Her book, “UpLevel Your Communication: Evolve your Presence and Speech to Change Everything,” is designed to help readers understand the influence they could have in their sphere or beyond, if only they could articulate it. Published in March by Advantage Media Group, under the Forbes Books imprint, this is an accessible read for people seeking efficacy in landing the job, the funding, the initiative, the product launch, the influence, or who just want to be heard.
“My showbusiness training and experiences have been invaluable in the work I do with my clients,” said the Monterey resident, who now serves as an executive voice presence and pitch coach. “We work on how to build a better voice, how to lead a meeting in front of a camera, how to conduct a media interview essentially, how to present like a rockstar.”
How, says Fausch, do we give a speech that connects our heart to our audience? This, she says, paired with a keen sense of how to show up, present an air of confidence, check our energy, read the room, and make conscious decisions about how to say what we mean, is what she calls her superpower: the delivery.
“We are supposed to be able to find and fully express our voice in the world. If I show up looking like a million bucks, when I open my mouth, will my voice match? If we can find and refine our voice,” she said, “it will give us not only confidence but also certainty. And we can always build a better voice.”
Mitzi Perdue, 81, whose father cofounded and was president of the Sheraton Hotel chain and whose late husband, Frank Perdue, built his father/son chicken business into a dynasty, is renowned, in her own right, as a businesswoman, artist, designer, author and master storyteller. When planning to deliver a TED Talk, she worked with Fausch to strengthen her voice to deliver the strength of her message.
An articulate business Although Fausch has a long playlist in the performing arts, her work also is driven by a love of entrepreneurs and the art of business. Armed with a Ph.D. in holistic psychology, she approaches business consultation from the perspective of motivation ─ what drives goal-oriented behavior, why we do what we do, and why we don’t.
“As a businesswoman,” she said, “I help women CEOs, entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals grow their business by helping them to clear subconscious beliefs that hold them back, so they can increase confidence and grow profits. As a performing artist, I help women eliminate vocal habits that diminish their personal and professional power.”
It is no coincidence, says Fausch, that chapter one in her book starts by discussing communicating with compassion because that, she says, is her own story and her biggest lesson.
“My book is applicable to business people, professionals, leaders, performers, really anyone who wants to develop their style of communication. A readable text, with eight chapters and an encore, it can be completed, cover to cover,” she said, “during a cross-country flight. By the time they land, readers will understand the power inherent in purposeful, intentional, speaking and presenting.”
Her book is widely available and can be purchased locally at River House Books at The Crossroads Carmel, Pilgrim’s Way Books in Carmel, Bookworks, and Luminata Books & Gifts in Pacific Grove, Downtown Book & Sound in Salinas, and at Carmel, Pacific Grove, and Monterey libraries.