On The Breath

S1 Ep 7: from People Pleaser to Authentic Communicator, With Allison Kinnear

How the word POLITE can be an acronym for Pissed Off Later In The Evening! Alli shares how her air of confident extroversion masked high anxiety when she worked at Google. We discuss how we've learned to listen to the voices in our heads, and how setting boundaries improves relationships.  Here are some key 'how to's' for lasting change, as well as tips for slowing down communication in sexual situations and beyond.  Plus some humorous anecdotes on the appeal of deep male voices...
Allison Kinnear is a Women's Empowerment Coach and Speaker. For over 22 years she has worked with thousands of people as they navigate their vulnerabilities as parents, employees, and leaders. She loves working with groups in the high-stakes professional world to solve the underlying issues surrounding vulnerability-based leadership. She frequently gives talks on overcoming Impostor Syndrome, effectively managing stress, and building a culture of trust in the workplace.
HOW TO FIND ALLI 
Alli's website: Allison Kinnear
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-kinnear-ba376091/Facebook: Allison Kinnear, LLC
HOW TO FIND SJ & THE VIDEO OF THIS PODCASTIf you'd like to learn more about my one-on-one coaching or global online programs, here's my website and here's my free online class. Here's the video of this podcast interview. This and more, including public speaking tips and reaction videos, can be found on my YouTube Channel. 

S1 Ep 6: The Healing Power of Beatboxing, With Carlos Aguirre

Chatting to actor, rapper and teaching artist Carlos Aguirre about beatboxing, BBC plays, voiceover, embodied performance, learning the hard way that less is more, and mental health. Carlos asks me to share some personal moments: when my accent has worked against me. Best of all, Carlos exposes us to his not to be missed virtuosic beatboxing skillz!
...an On the Breath Podcast Interview!
Carlos Aguirre (actor, musician, vocal percussionist, educator) has been performing and educating in the Bay Area for over 20 years. He has shared the stage with The Roots, Eryka Badu, Black Eyed Peas, Mary J. Blige, Jam Master Jay, and L.L. Cool J among others. He is fresh off a guest appearance with the Broadway Tony Award Winning production of "Freestyle Love Supreme" and is currently producing his original rap and beatbox adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart as well as recording and releasing new music. Aguirre shares his experience by teaching at various schools and at-risk environments throughout the Bay Area.
HOW TO FIND CARLOS
Follow him for all the updates and check out the link in bio on his Instagram: @emceeinfinite
HOW TO FIND SJ & THE VIDEO OF THIS PODCASTIf you'd like to learn more about my one-on-one coaching or global online programs, here's my website and here's my free online class. Here's the video of this podcast interview. This and more, including public speaking tips and reaction videos, can be found on my YouTube Channel. 

S1 Ep 5: The Voices I Love, with SJ Harrison (feat. Maggie Smith, Haluk Bilginer, Lee Sun-Kyun and more)!

In this celebration of voice, I share 8 of my favorite ones with you! We explore how the most interesting voices may not be classically beautiful. Listen to some elder actors who have lived with their voices a long time, and compare their younger voices with their current ones. We'll also hear some some mid life actors and I'll tell you why I find their voices sexy. Paul Jennings, who did the voiceover for Raphael in Soul Caliber II makes a personal appearance.
Included in this podcast are the voices of Eartha Kitt, Haluk Bilginer, Maggie Smith, Takehiro Hira, Lee Sun-Kyun, Alan Rickman, David Harewood and Paul Jennings (see RESOURCES below to access the source material)
HOW TO FIND SJ & THE VIDEO OF THIS PODCASTIIf you'd like to learn more about my one-on-one coaching or global online programs, here's my website and here's my free online class.  Here's the video of this podcast. This and more, including public speaking tips and reaction videos, can be found on my YouTube Channel .
RESOURCESHaluk Bilginer - Eastenders 
Haluk Bilkginer Agâh Makamı - Haluk Bilginer ft. RUBATO (Şahsiyet Orijinal Dizi Müzikleri) 
Haluk Bilginer - The Reluctant Fundamentalist 
Lee Sun Kyun - Netflix - My Mister Ep 7Alan Rickman -Sweeney Todd - Song Pretty Women 
Amazon Prime - Song of Lunch - Based on Christopher Reid’s narrative PoemMaggie Smith - In conversation with Maggie Smith: "I led a perfectly normal life until Downton Abbey" | BFI
Prime of Miss Jean Brodie -Maggie Smith #21 - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) - A teacher, first, last and always 1969
As Prof McGonagall - professor mcgonagall being a queen
Eartha Kitt - Speaking Freely: Eartha Kitt
David Harewood: David Harewood: The Chilling Story Of How A Hollywood Star Lost His Mind | E185
Takehiro Hira in Giri/Hanji on Netflix, Ep 2 - the recap at the beginning
Soul Caliber II Raphael -Soul Calibur 2- All Raphael's Voice Clips

S1 Ep 4: The Power of Being Yourself, With Danusha Laméris

Best friends since the age of nine, it's my pleasure to present to you this intimate conversation with poet Danusha Laméris. One of my favorite moments of this interview is when Danusha says "Every poet was a person who once felt they didn't have a voice". We discuss how our lifelong friendship has helped us grow into powerful voice, how Danusha has learned to be herself in front of an audience, being feminine while feeling empowered, how taking oneself seriously doesn't mean being serious, and how Danusha prepares to speak.
"Small Kindnesses", by Danusha Laméris went viral during the pandemic. Danusha Lameris' poetry uplifts the minutia of the every day to the gorgeous - worlds within worlds, as well as coaxing the redemptive from the darker aspects of our human lives.
Danusha Laméris’ first book, The Moons of August (Autumn House, 2014), was chosen by Naomi Shihab Nye as the winner of the Autumn House Press poetry prize and was a finalist for the Milt Kessler Book Award. Her second book, Bonfire Opera (Pitt Poetry Series, 2020), was a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize and the winner of the Northern California Book Award in Poetry. Some of her poems have been published in: The Best American Poetry, The New York Times, The American Poetry Review, The Gettysburg Review, Tin House, Ploughshares, and The Sun Magazine. She’s the winner of the Morton Marcus Poetry Prize, and the Lucille Clifton Legacy Award. She lives in Santa Cruz, California and is on the faculty of Pacific University's low-residency MFA program.
HOW TO FIND DANUSHAInvestigate being part of Danusha's Hearthfire Writing Community, which she co-hosts with James Crews.  You can find her on her website and buy her books right here! 
HOW TO FIND SJ & THE VIDEO OF THIS PODCASTIf you'd like to learn more about my one-on-one coaching or global online programs, here's my website and here's my free online class. Here's the video of this podcast. This and more, including public speaking tips and reaction videos, can be found on my YouTube Channel. 

S1 Ep 3: Overcoming my Stammer to Become an Award Winning Speaker, With Carl Richards

Did you know that there are many well-known speakers who once had a speech impediment? Carl Richards is an award-winning speaker from Canada, podcast strategist and coach. Carl shares deep wisdom from his personal experience of stammering as a kid. We discuss how empowering it is to be aware of childhood experiences that may be holding us back today. Carl shares how he came out onstage and won an award in the process and asks me a question that leads me to speak openly about my personal life.
CARL RICHARDS' BIO
Carl Richards has spent more than 25 years behind the microphone, on radio and on stage, entertaining and influencing audiences world wide. He’s a 3x best selling author, TEDx Speaker and emcee, host of the Speaking of Speaking Podcast and the founder and CEO of Carl Speaks and Podcast Solutions Made Made Simple. Carl helps coaches, consultants and other subject matter experts become the got authority by launching world class podcasts. He lives with his spouse in Gananoque, Ontario Canada, where he enjoys camping and boating in the 1000 Islands.
HOW TO FIND CARLYou can find Carl at https:www.podcastsolutionsmadesimple.com and https:www.carlspeaks.ca. Carl also has his own podcast Speaking of Speaking: Speaking Of Speaking
HOW TO FIND SJ & THE VIDEO OF THIS PODCAST
If you'd like to learn more about my one-on-one coaching or global online programs, here's my website and here's my free online class. Here's the video of this podcast. This and more, including public speaking tips and reaction videos, can be found on my YouTube Channel. 

S1 Ep 2: I Found my Most Empowered Voice During the Pandemic, With Ajanta Chakraborty

Ajanta Chakraborty is co-founder of Bolly & Culture Groove. In this interview with my friend, we celebrate the marriage of art and business and address the shame people have around earning money with their art towards successful entrepreneurship. Ajanta shares with us how she and her husband Vivek became accidental authors, that 3 year olds have the attention span of an ant, and more personal moments such as the discomfort around being misunderstood in the U.S. due to Indian English having a different syllabic emphasis than local speech. We also talk about energetic resonance and surrounding ourselves with people who support your voice.
Ajanta Chakraborty is the co-founder of Bollywood & Culture Groove, an India Dance, Education, and Fitness company that spreads the joy of Indian culture through movement and literature. Ajanta is also an award-winning co-author of a bestselling children's book series with 13 titles called Maya & Neel's India Adventure. Ajanta actively works towards raising awareness about ethnic dance & fitness formats, helping parents and educators raise multicultural kids, and helping corporates provide exciting cultural experiences to their employees. Her work has been featured on NBC, ABC, FOX, Elle Magazine, Neilsen Media, Sun-Times, Univision, Al Jazira, and more.
HOW TO FIND AJANTAAjanta is based in Chicago. Visit Home - Bollywood Groove & Culture Groove
 You can find her books at Maya & Neel's India Adventure Series - Amazon Bestsellers! - Bollywood Groove & Culture Groove
HOW TO FIND SJ & THE VIDEO OF THIS PODCAST
If you'd like to learn more about my one-on-one coaching or global online programs, here's my website and here's my free online class. Here's the video of this podcast. This and more, including public speaking tips and reaction videos, can be found on my YouTube Channel. 

S1 Ep 1: How I Learned to Use my Voice in Advertising, With Mark Montgomery French:

Mark Montgomery French, film composer, podcaster, music historian and YouTuber discusses his most empowered and disempowered moments with voice, including a very wise thing that his mother did when he was 10, his wedding, busting the myth that you can't make money with your art and how clarity of thought powers public speaking. Mark explains how he found a positive way into teaching without teaching in an institution. He also asks me about changing my accent to be understood!
San Francisco-native Mark Montgomery French is an award-winning film composer with the group Spiky Blimp, an award-winning Creative Director and Co-Producer of Glide Memorial Church’s Sunday Celebration, host of the YouTube music review show “Still Got It” and the podcast “All Your Favorite Music is (Probably)..." staff writer at PopMatters, and the manager of critically acclaimed queer country band Secret Emchy Society and classic power-punk band The Furys. He’s also a music historian noted for his talk All Your Favorite Music is (Probably) Black, the series _28 Days, 28 Black Music Documentaries, and Uppity Music—Your Guide to Unsung Black Departure Albums. He was formerly the co-leader of the ’90s progressive funk band Endangered Species.
HOW TO FIND MARK
Mark is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and gives public talks locally and online. You can find him on his website and here is his podcast, All Your Favorite Music is (Probably)...
HOW TO FIND SJ & THE VIDEO OF THIS PODCASTIf you'd like to learn more about my one-on-one coaching or global online programs, here's my website and here's my free online class. Here's the video of this podcast interview. This and more, including public speaking tips and reaction videos, can be found on my YouTube Channel. 

Welcome to On The Breath

"On the Breath is my opportunity to introduce you to a wide range of experiences and professional choices, seen through the lens of empowering one's own self expression - not only are the people diverse, but the voices are as well." - SJ Harrison