Liza Donnelly on Finding Your Voice

“It’s about connection with others.  And it’s also about staying connected with  yourself. As to why you’re doing this.  Why are you writing? Why are you drawing? What are your motivations?  And try to keep attentive to that. And so, by extension, you need to listen to yourself and you need to listen to others.”

—Liza Donnelly, New Yorker writer and cartoonist

When I work with clients on speaking out and having a voice, I usually mean it literally. In this wonderful keynote for Medium Day, Liza Donnelly, reminds us that self-expression is both vital and infinitely creative. Liza draws as she speaks, so we witness the creative, visual, and conversational voices all at once.

What are all the ways in which we have a voice? Certainly, dancers express themselves, tell stories, engage an audience. So do poets, novelists, visual artists, performance artists.

This week, notice all of the ways we express ourselves. And think about adding some new forms of expression. This week, I will focus on using my body more fully to express myself as I often feel a bit cut off after sitting for too long.