ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on the work of Matthew Syed who challenges theories associated with talent and practice. It discusses some popular myths about 'talent' and explains how practice is key in developing all one does as a teacher. The chapter considers how this practice can be built into teachers' daily work so that it is an integrated part of all teachers to do. It also considers the inner challenges all face as humans, teachers and professionals to have strong, confident and stress-free careers. The chapter describes how the basics of sound are produced and how the teachers can apply these to the development of an effective classroom voice. In order to develop a great teaching voice, teachers need to practise purposefully. Several layers of purposeful practice are: It's designed specifically to improve performance; it can be repeated a lot; Feedback on results is continuously available; it is highly demanding mentally; it is not much fun.
