by Kris Windley | Featured Contributor

So we’re told that we need to find our voice to write well, and that’s totally true. It’s my whole mission for life: convincing women to embrace their genuine Voice and share it confidently.

But…it can be awkward. It can be uncomfortable, and it can (at least at first) show some lumps and bumps we’d rather hide.

It’s a lot like going to a fancy schmancy event, preparing to put on your lovely dress…and then deciding to peel off the SPANX and go au naturel.

Can you say vulnerable?

Vulnerability is TERRIFYING! It’s scary to think that people will see all of my squishy bits in all their glory, but it’s who I am. It’s what I reeeeally look like, and when you embrace it – you will start to feel a freedom akin only to a formerly corseted suffragette tying her own boots for the first time.

Here are some tips for ditching your Writer’s SPANX and embracing your own Voice.

1. Just get rid of the constricting torture device that the world has convinced you to inflict upon yourself. It serves no-one but the creators of the girdle. Someone, somewhere decided that marketing and business language should sound a certain way…and they were wrong. Your marketing should sound like you. Period.

2. Recognize the beauty of your curves and the new flexibility you have. You are legitimate and your expertise is in the very humanity those devices aim to contain & restrict. It’s also the most beautiful and unique thing you have to offer!

3. Embrace your vulnerability because it is the most beautiful and loveable thing about being human. And it’s brave as hell.

Hey look – I get it. Sometimes we want to be able to stand up in front of a thousand people in a body con dress and not worry that our middle is awkward…but this isn’t the Oscars, and even if it were, I don’t want to quit breathing or pretend to be someone I’m not.

If your Voice needs a workout for you to be comfortable, that’s cool too. I spend a lot of my coaching time helping women to best communicate their Voices with toned up style and skills, but it’s always about you being and speaking as you – not as a marketing robot with perfectly honed metal abs.

xo

K

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Writer, Writing Coach, Marketing Consultant and BizKitten Voice-Maker – Kris Windley from With a K Writing Services in Moncton, NB Canada.

She’s sick of women feeling like we need to ask permission to stand up and speak – really speak – from our expertise and experience, and she’s made it her mission to empower women in business all over the world to say:

“My Story and my Voice are legitimate, and I have EVERY right to share them. In fact, I have a responsibility to share them with my clients and my community, because I am an expert and my Voice is important.”

Before she became a BizKitten Voice-maker, Kris was a teacher. She taught Writing and Public Speaking to High School students before she left the public system to work with students with learning disabilities.

She created a new writing curriculum, wrote marketing copy and taught at a private school specializing in literacy skill development for students with Learning Disabilities. It changed her life and how she sees business, learning and the power of Voice.

Her unique writing style and genuine marketing philosophy have made Kris a sought-after writer, consultant and speaker for women in business. She is here to help women stand up and speak confidently in their own Voice, without asking for permission or feeling guilty.

Have you found your Voice yet?

Kris writes weekly for Keyboards and Kickstands – her blog at www.withakwriting.com – where she offers writing and marketing tips for women in business.

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Kris Windley