Voice and Performance expert Laurece West trains business and creative professionals in speaking and communication skills, strategy, and mindset to significantly increase their impact in media, interviews, client interactions, boardrooms, courtrooms, classrooms, sales, proposals, negotiations, presentations, inspirational talks, and keynotes. Laurece works with individuals and teams, as well as students, at the Durham Arts Council, the Duke Institute for Brain Science, and the U.N.C. School of Media and Journalism. Additionally a singing coach, Laurece is the author of Creating a $20 Million Dollar Voice, the Professional Singer’s Road Map: How to Go from Good to Great to Legend.

Q & A

Laurece West

Leadership Girl (LG): What is the name of your business?

Laurece: Laurece West Studios

LG: Tell us about your business.

Laurece West: I train both singers and speakers to communicate with skill, ease, creativity, and confidence to reach and inspire their listeners.

I work with individuals and deliver interactive training to business groups and academia. Interactive training includes voice, body language, improvisation, mindset, communication and presentation skills as well as secret sauces: The Art and Science of Presenting, Powerful Presentations, Ace Your Interviews, Speak with Ease and Confidence, Stronger Voice, The Bottom Line (sales), Career Invigorating Speaking, Clear Communication for Non-Native Speakers, Ease Workplace Conflict, Build Strong and Effective Teams, Police Officer Communication Training, Appreciating Diversity, and Communicate to Connect. (Titles are trademarked.)

As a teaching artist for the Durham Arts Council, I offer programs to students K-12 in four counties – the workshops Speak with Ease and Confidence and Ace Your Interviews; the residencies Improv Performance the InterPlay Way and Powerful Presentations; and the performances Jazz Singing – the Swing and the Style and R&B Singing – the People and the Power. (Titles are trademarked.)

Each training is interactive, allowing people to learn skills by actively doing – participating in improv, speaking, moving, singing, expressing themselves, questioning, telling their stories, and laughing.

LG: Who do you serve?

Laurece: People who speak for business communication, non-native speakers, and singers on a professional track.

LG: What is your website’s url?

Laurece: www.laureceweststudios.com

LG: How did you get into your current business? What opportunities or needs did you see?

Laurece: I am from a talkative and musical family with four generations of professional musicians, fine artists, and teachers. I play a number of instruments, studied singing for 12 years in New York, becoming a recording artist and performer. I have been coaching voice and performance for 24 years. For 16 years I only worked with singers, which required coaching on vocal health and the speaking voice to ensure optimal singing. When I moved to North Carolina 8 years ago, I started coaching speakers as well. Each client is unique and a pleasure to train – entrepreneurs, voice-over artists, grad students, undergrads, internationals, and singers in all popular styles. I help each client create a beautiful voice, free their creativity and self-expression, give peak performances, connect deeply with their listeners, and create new career opportunities.

LG: What have been your biggest challenges?

Laurece: Changing the mindset that dreaming alone is sufficient.

Gaining new voice and performance skills is similar to developing athletic skills both in time and sweat equity. Second nature habits and limiting beliefs, many years in the making, need to be replaced with new efficient neuromuscular singing and speaking skills, an elevated mindset, empowerment, and strategy.

Designed from Olympic and professional athletic coaching, our Elite training is a high density of sessions to problem solve, ensure rapid skill acquisition, integration, and career acceleration.

LG: What has been your greatest reward?

Laurece: The satisfaction of my clients, happy with their amazing transformation and up-leveling.

Read the results they experience in Google Reviews and Praise Pages.

LG: If you could change something, what would it be?

Laurece: Everyone would awaken spiritually to love, respect, and accept all peoples and cherish the earth through constructive thought and actions.

LG: Who are your ideal clients?

Laurece: Highly motivated, fast paced, and extremely ambitious people ready to take action consistently to excel professionally.

LG: Social Media, Yay or Nay?

Laurece: Yay!

LG: What is unique about your business?

Laurece: I can quickly diagnose voice challenges and provide solutions so people gain vocal health, strength and flexibility. I support clients to make lifestyle changes so they are empowered to perform at peak. In addition to solid skills and an elevated mindset, my clients learn InterPlay improvisation to free their words, stories or songs and develop the ability to respond under pressure with their unique brilliance, creativity and confidence.