Finding Your Teaching Voice
We learn how to speak by listening.
We copy sounds. We repeat words. We try things on. Over time, we piece it together. And even then, no two voices sound the same. We have different accents, different rhythms, different tempos. We emphasize words differently. We pause differently.
Teaching works the same way.
When you first start teaching, you borrow voices. You repeat cues you’ve heard. You teach like instructors you admire. You experiment. That’s not a problem — that’s how learning works. Just like language, teaching often starts with imitation.
But at some point, if you want to truly lead others, you can’t be questioning whose voice is coming out of your mouth.
As teachers, we wear a lot of hats. Some days we show up as the cheerleader. Some days we’re the calming presence in the room. Other days we’re the motivator, the guide, the person helping someone work through something hard. None of those roles are wrong. The work is figuring out how you show up in them.
And here’s the part that doesn’t get talked about enough: your teaching voice isn’t fixed.
Think about listening to a video of a child speaking, then listening again a few years later. Or hearing your own voice from years ago. Or noticing how your parents’ or grandparents’ voices have changed over time. Voices evolve.
Teaching does too.
The way you cued exercises when you first started might not be how you cue them now. The words you used early on might not land the same today. That doesn’t mean you were wrong then. And it doesn’t mean you’re wrong now. It means you’ve grown.
There isn’t one “right” teaching voice. But there is yours. And learning to recognize it, trust it, and allow it to change is part of becoming a confident teacher.
This is one of the reasons I’m so passionate about working beyond the manual. Manuals teach exercises. Experience shapes voice. And having space to reflect, ask questions, and hear yourself teach over time is what allows that voice to develop.
So if you ever catch yourself thinking, I don’t sound like I used to — that’s not a problem. That’s growth. And it’s worth paying attention to.
