She’d learned in college, and again in business school, that professional communication was supposed to be stripped of emotion: formal, efficient, all business. That advice turned out to be wrong, or at least incomplete, and it took an intimidated intern to prove it.

In this episode of Conversations with Peacock Voices, Margaret sits down with Jennifer, a marketer who’s built her career across startups and, more recently, a Fortune 500 tech company, to talk about what it takes to keep your voice landing the way you mean it to, especially when the room, the company, or your own life keeps changing around you.

About Jennifer

Jennifer Staretorp has spent most of her career in startups, learning to build marketing programs from scratch and make them work with whatever she had. She’s been through two acquisitions, and at one point sat on an executive team reporting straight to the board. These days she’s in marketing at a Fortune 500 tech company, which meant relearning almost everything about how to get a message across. What struck Margaret talking to her is that none of this happened because Jennifer set out to master corporate communication. It happened because she had to, one difficult room at a time.

What we talk about

- The jump from scrappy startup communication to Fortune 500 succinctness, where you might only get one bullet point to make your case

- Preparing to be heard: how Jennifer curates decks and docs, narrates alongside visuals, and practices out loud before it counts

- The added weight of walking into male-dominated rooms with less time and more pressure to make it count

- The physical toll of presenting through pregnancy: compressed lungs, shorter sentences, mid-meeting breathing breaks

- Why she still loves marketing after all these years, and the human-centered principle she returns to again and again

- Navigating an acquisition: when to conform to a new system, and when to teach a larger company how to reach the audience it’s missing

- The intern story that changed how she communicates, and finding herself now on the other side of that exact frustration

A few moments worth sitting with

“Best case scenario, you may only get one or two words in at a meeting, or you get a bullet point. So you have to be even more thoughtful about what it is you’re sharing and the impact of that and how it will be used by someone else.”

“I need to make sure that my voice is heard in arenas where women don’t often get the opportunity to speak.”

“I eventually learned that she thought I hated her. She was intimidated by me because I didn’t use emojis in my communications to her... and that was really like having a cold bucket of water dumped on me.”

Takeaways

- Prepare like the room won’t give you a second chance. Curate what you share, and practice saying it out loud, before it counts.

- Read the room’s constraints, not just the room. A five-word inbox and a five-minute meeting both call for a different version of you.

- How you say it can undo what you meant. A message stripped of warmth can read as coldness you never intended.

- Adaptability is a skill, not a compromise. Looking through someone else’s eyes first is what makes your message land.

Jennifer closes the episode by naming Michelle and Barack Obama as her favorite voices, citing their warmth, richness, and calm. It’s a fitting choice from someone who’s spent her career learning that how you say something can matter as much as what you say.

Listen to the full conversation on the podcast, or watch it on YouTube.

Ready to bring more intention to how you speak? Explore Peacock Voices’ coaching and workshops at peacockvoices.com.

In this episode, she tells Margaret about the moment a senior leader called out her voice for giving away her power mid-sentence, and how that changed the way she reads a room and leads with empathy and authority at the same time.

What does a Mozart violin concerto have to do with surviving a hostile board meeting? More than you'd think.

In this episode, Margaret sits down with Workflow Coach Lieve Hendren to explore the surprising overlap between vocal performance and high-stakes leadership communication. Lieve shares how years of panic attacks before presentations — despite being a trained singer — led her to discover that joy isn't a reward you earn at the end of a hard day. It's the prerequisite for showing up with your full voice at all.

Margaret draws on her own experience as a violinist to make the case that silence is just as powerful a tool as sound — and that the same principle applies whether you're on stage or in a boardroom. Together they dig into reflective listening as a strategy for navigating hostile conversations, why knowing your message matters more than perfecting your delivery, and how to create a repeatable process for presence so your best voice shows up on purpose, not by accident.

Lieve is the author of The Joyful Flow Formula and creator of the Focused Flow Planner Journal. She works with executive directors, nonprofits, and mission-driven innovators, and pursued a vocal performance career before building her coaching practice.

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🟦 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peacockvoices/

🎬 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@peacockvoices

🌐 Website: www.peacockvoices.com

🤓 Ready to start with the basics? Get our FREE video resource featuring our 3 favorite breathing techniques: https://peacockvoices.kit.com/freevideoguide 

👋 Work With Us! www.peacockvoices.com/consultation

In this episode of Conversations with Peacock Voices, host Margaret welcomes three-time Emmy-winning producer and former television host Francisco Hernández-Cáceres. 

Francisco shares how his 15–20 year career in television evolved from being on-camera to running a production company focused on translating university and academic research into engaging, accessible video content—including documentaries and training videos—with an emphasis on reducing polarization and bringing communities together. 

He connects this mission to his personal history as a gay kid in El Salvador during the civil war and reflects on how division shaped his understanding of human connection, voice, and language. 

Margaret and Francisco discuss the differences in how he speaks Spanish versus English, including shifts in vocal tone, confidence, and humor, and how fatigue and word-finding can affect vocal control in a second language. 

Francisco opens up about past insecurity around his accent, taking accent reduction classes, and how improv helped him focus less on perfect pronunciation and more on emotional connection. 

They explore the entertainment industry’s mixed messages about accents, Francisco’s experience feeling celebrated when working in English-language media, and the idea of “clarification” rather than accent reduction. 

The conversation also examines how Francisco’s communication style has changed as he moved from fast-paced morning show environments to behind-the-camera leadership—shifting from talking to be heard toward listening and making words count. 

He describes directing professors at Harvard for a workplace training video on constructive disagreement, using improv and playful techniques to help them relax and speak authentically on camera. 

Margaret and Francisco talk about tone, intent, and approaching difficult conversations with a learning mindset rather than a need to win, as well as how emotions and personal triggers can affect communication.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

01:15 From TV to Academia

03:38 Why Unity Matters

05:52 Bilingual Voice Shifts

11:17 Accent Identity and Industry

15:09 Embracing Uniqueness

18:12 Behind the Camera Now

19:38 Listening and Directing

23:39 Depolarization Conversations

27:05 Authenticity and Emotions

32:59 Favorite Voice

35:34 Closing Thanks and Farewell

LINKS

🌐 Website: www.peacockvoices.com

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peacockvoices 

🟦 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peacockvoices/

🎬 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@peacockvoices

🤓 Ready to start with the basics? Get our FREE video resource featuring our 3 favorite breathing techniques: https://peacockvoices.kit.com/freevideoguide 

👋 Work With Us! www.peacockvoices.com/consultation

Voice expert and coach Margaret Izard Oskoui addresses common feedback like “too intense,” “too abrasive,” or “not collaborative,” arguing the issue is often not directness itself but how it’s delivered. She explains that direct communication is efficient and reduces misunderstanding, but different vocal deliveries can make the same words land very differently. To help direct communicators sound inclusive and collaborative without watering down content, she teaches four practices: consistent inflection, “continuous sound” (a legato-style, less rhythmic speech pattern that avoids sounding like barking), creating volume with “wide air, wide sound” for a more inviting “vocal hug” rather than directional volume, and regular practice combining these techniques before meetings or conversations so the body is set up to communicate with warmth and clarity.

Watch: How to Use Inflection to Keep Listeners Engaged 

Read: Inflection: Speak with Confidence and Keep People Listening

Read: How to Practice: The Peacock Voices Guide for Sustainable, Long-Term Vocal Change

00:00 Direct Feedback Problem

00:22 Directness Is A Strength

01:07 Tone Changes Meaning

02:15 No Fluff Needed

03:27 Use Inflection

05:03 Continuous Sound

06:37 Vocal Hug Volume

08:01 Practice And Combine

09:33 Results And Wrap Up

LINKS

🌐 Website: www.peacockvoices.com

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peacockvoices 

🟦 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peacockvoices/

🎬 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@peacockvoices

🤓 Ready to start with the basics? Get our FREE video resource featuring our 3 favorite breathing techniques: https://peacockvoices.kit.com/freevideoguide 

👋 Work With Us! www.peacockvoices.com/consultation

In this episode of Conversations with Peacock Voices, host Margaret speaks with Justin Berkowitz, executive director of the William Ferris Chorale and director of operations for Art Song Chicago, about his path from voice performance to arts administration through ticketing and development work at Lyric Opera and event programming at The Executives Club of Chicago.

They discuss how singers’ skills translate to nonprofit and corporate settings, including extreme preparation, flexibility, and managing mistakes without fear of immediate consequences.

Justin shares strategies for handling donor meetings and board dynamics, using vocal tone, resonance, humor, and structure to guide room energy. The conversation also covers vocal sustainability in loud networking spaces, singer technique such as soft palate “lift,” hydration and rest (especially the day before), pacing speaking, and how diet, reflux, and aging affect the voice. Justin names opera director David Gately’s distinctive low speaking voice as a favorite and credits his mentorship and kindness.  

00:00 Meet Justin Berkowitz

00:12 Two Nonprofit Roles

01:38 From Singer to Admin

05:11 Transferable Singer Skills

07:37 Perfectionism vs Workplaces

10:59 Flexibility in Fundraising

16:27 Steering Board Meetings

19:05 Voice Presence and Control

21:52 Surviving Loud Receptions

25:45 Singer Technique for Stamina

28:02 Opera Power Without Mics

28:28 Resonance And Soft Palate

30:46 Voice Care On Long Days

33:23 Hydration Starts Yesterday

37:35 Diet Myths And Reflux

43:24 Voice As Athletic Training 4

7:01 Favorite Voice And Lessons

LINKS

🌐 Website: www.peacockvoices.com

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peacockvoices 

🟦 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peacockvoices/

🎬 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@peacockvoices

🤓 Ready to start with the basics? Get our FREE video resource featuring our 3 favorite breathing techniques: https://peacockvoices.kit.com/freevideoguide 

👋 Work With Us! www.peacockvoices.com/consultation

Host Margaret interviews Leigh Folta, a former professional choral and opera singer with vocal performance degrees. Leigh now works in arts administration running a discount ticketing program in greater Boston. Leigh traces her path from teaching lessons in Los Angeles to ticketing at Lyric Opera of Chicago, a brief move into development managing a board, and back to ticketing and organizational partnerships. 

They compare communication demands across customer service and board work, emphasizing listening, translating ideas into action, and adjusting to differing motivations and expectations. 

The conversation explores how posture and breath affect speaking, how breath functions as “punctuation,” and how low, supported breathing can help parents stay calm and model regulation and clear communication for children. Leigh describes intentionally speaking to her children using adult language and tone to build confidence and self-advocacy.

 

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

01:07 From Teaching to Ticketing

03:19 Customer Service vs Board Work

06:30 Nuance and Vocal Storytelling

09:59 How Voice Shifts by Situation

12:34 Motherhood and Speaking Style

15:07 Breathwork for Calm and Control

19:03 Breath as Punctuation in Speech

21:50 Reading Aloud and Voice Modeling

23:36 Voices And Inflection

24:32 Default Voices In Daily Life

26:17 Talking To Kids Like Adults

29:42 Baby Voice And Authority

31:34 Voice As A Physical Skill

35:16 Alexander Technique And Adaptability

40:15 Communication Skills For Any Career

41:24 Favorite Voice Anika Noni Rose

LINKS

🌐 Website: www.peacockvoices.com

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peacockvoices 

🟦 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peacockvoices/

🎬 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@peacockvoices

🤓 Ready to start with the basics? Get our FREE video resource featuring our 3 favorite breathing techniques: https://peacockvoices.kit.com/freevideoguide 

👋 Work With Us! www.peacockvoices.com/consultation

In this episode of Conversations with Peacock Voices, host Margaret Izard Oskoui, a voice expert and coach, provides insights on how early-stage entrepreneurs can use their voices effectively in pitch competitions and investor meetings. Margaret explains the significance of vocal characteristics and offers a four-step process: learning your voice, understanding vocal characteristics, speech diagramming, and practicing. This episode aims to help entrepreneurs create engaging, consistent, and impactful pitches to secure funding. Listeners are encouraged to visit www.peacockvoices.com to explore the online course for Entrepreneurs.

https://www.peacockvoices.com/courses

00:00 Introduction: The Struggles of Pitching

00:17 Meet Your Voice Coach: Margaret Izard Oskoui

01:06 The Importance of How You Say Your Pitch

02:41 Step 1: Learn Your Voice

03:27 Step 2: Vocal Characteristics for Success

04:03 Step 3: Mastering Speech Diagramming

05:19 Step 4: The Power of Practice

06:10 Conclusion: Perfecting Your Pitch

06:31 Deep Dive: Pitch Virtuoso Online Course

LINKS

🌐 Website: www.peacockvoices.com

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peacockvoices 

🟦 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peacockvoices/

🎬 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@peacockvoices

🤓 Ready to start with the basics? Get our FREE video resource featuring our 3 favorite breathing techniques: https://peacockvoices.kit.com/freevideoguide 

👋 Work With Us! www.peacockvoices.com/consultation

In this episode of Conversations with Peacock Voices, host Margaret welcomes Jeri Bingham, founder of the 'Hush Loudly' podcast and an expert on introversion. They discuss what it means to be an introvert in an extroverted world, how introversion affects workplace dynamics, and strategies introverts can use to thrive professionally. Jeri shares personal anecdotes, tips for managing energy levels, and highlights the importance of acknowledging and leveraging introvert strengths in various social and professional settings. The conversation also touches on creating work environments that cater to both introverted and extroverted employees. Celebrations like World Introvert Day and Black Introvert Week are mentioned, aiming to raise awareness and appreciation for introvert identities.

Check out Jeri’s Podcast! https://hushloudly.com/

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

00:27 Discovering Introversion

01:34 Jeri's Professional Background

02:53 Understanding Introverted Processing

06:23 Challenges for Introverts in the Workplace

11:34 Strategies for Introverts in Meetings

14:43 Managing Energy as an Introvert

22:08 Interviewing as an Introvert

31:13 The Balance of Extroverts and Introverts

33:00 Navigating Networking Events as an Introvert

36:48 The Power of Meaningful Connections

40:58 Effective Communication and Reading the Room

44:06 The Impact of Listening and Understanding

51:30 Favorite Voices and Their Influence

55:13 Closing Thoughts and Upcoming Events

LINKS

🌐 Website: www.peacockvoices.com

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peacockvoices 

🟦 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peacockvoices/

🎬 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@peacockvoices

🤓 Ready to start with the basics? Get our FREE video resource featuring our 3 favorite breathing techniques: https://peacockvoices.kit.com/freevideoguide 

👋 Work With Us! www.peacockvoices.com/consultation

00:00 Introduction to Peacock Voices

00:21 The Power of Authentic Communication

00:34 Podcast Overview and Guest Insights

01:04 Technical Talks and Mini Trainings

01:28 Who This Podcast is For

01:51 Understanding Your Voice

02:22 Season Highlights and Guest Topics

03:11 Transforming Communication Skills

03:37 The Promise of the Show

04:05 Join the Journey

LINKS

🌐 Website: www.peacockvoices.com

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peacockvoices 

🟦 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peacockvoices/

🎬 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@peacockvoices

🤓 Ready to start with the basics? Get our FREE video resource featuring our 3 favorite breathing techniques: https://peacockvoices.kit.com/freevideoguide 

👋 Work With Us! www.peacockvoices.com/consultation