Story #047
Finding Your Voice (It’s Already There)
Max J Miller
For twenty years, I made other people sound like themselves.
CEOs who couldn’t access their
Last week, I told you how I discovered that my writing still showed signs of hiding, hedging, and withholding. Translation: I’m still discovering my own authentic voice.
I’ve prided myself as a ghostwriter for my skill at capturing the unique voice of each of my authors. Whenever someone asks me how I accomplish that, I tell them that it is a process of subtraction. As I mentioned last week: “You don’t really ‘find’ your true voice. You remove what isn’t yours.”
That’s easier said than done.
How Do I Find My Voice?
Most people think voice is something mystical they must discover. In practice, voice emerges through subtraction, not invention.
The work is not to invent it.
The work is to let it stand without apology.
If you suspect that the signal of your own true voice is still lost among the noise of messages and perspectives inherited from family, friends, and culture, consider this: Your voice is already present. It’s in your journals, your conversations, your strong opinions, your private frustrations.
When I help someone “find their voice,” I’m mostly doing three things:
Interrupting their habits of self-censorship
Pointing out where they come alive
Refusing to let them sand down what’s interesting
Here’s a process I use with clients. It works.
Try this Exercise
Step 1: Choose the Right Prompt
Answer this out loud, not in writing (record yourself on your phone. voice memo, video, whatever):
“What do people my age secretly know but rarely say out loud?”
Do not make it inspirational.
Do not make it kind.
Make it true.
Set a 7-minute timer. Speak continuously. No notes.
Step 2: Transcribe Verbatim
Get the words down exactly as spoken:
Fragments
Repetition
Imperfect sentences
Do not clean it up yet.
Step 3: The Three-Cut Edit (This Is the Key)
Now read it once and make only these cuts:
Cut #1 — Delete All Explaining
Anything that sounds like:
“What I mean by this is…”
“Let me clarify…”
“In other words…”
Gone.
Cut #2 — Delete All Permission-Seeking
Remove phrases like:
“Perhaps”
“It seems to me”
“I could be wrong, but”
“This may not resonate with everyone”
If the sentence can’t stand without them, rewrite it until it can.
Cut #3 — Promote One Sentence to a Declaration
Find the line that makes you think:
“That feels a little dangerous.”
Move it to the top.
Let it lead.
That sentence is your voice announcing itself.
Step 4: Read It Aloud Again
If it now sounds like:
Someone you’d lean in to hear
A person who has nothing left to prove
A voice you’d recognize in the dark
You’re there.
If not, repeat Cut #2 again. Almost always, that’s the culprit.
This exercise is a first step in discovering your voice. But it is a great place to start.
Do this exercise this week. Please send me your results—I’ll reply personally.
Next week, I’ll share mine, and we’ll take the next step: turning that voice into a practice.
Your voice is already there. This week, we let it stand.
Shine,
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