Former journalist gives regional communities a voice
Annabelle Homer gives regional and rural Australians a chance to speak up with her business Voice It.
Founded in 2020, Voice It empowers regional South Australians to embrace interview and public speaking opportunities through accessible voice coaching and media training sessions.
“In the cities, the market is saturated with voice coaches… but in the country, there is a real lack of those services.
“There was a gap in the market, and I thought I’d pursue it,” said Homer.
Individual and group sessions that combine journalistic principles with Homer’s 12 years of AMEB speech and drama training are delivered to adults, school leaders, children, and businesses across the state.
“The mission is to give people confidence and skills to be better and more engaging storytellers,” said Homer.
“Everyone can talk, but then there’s a skill to actually being able to communicate memorably and really engage an audience”.
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Homer visited the Northern York and Landscape Board (NYLB) in 2023 and 2024 as a part of her media training sessions to build staff confidence and skills to speak on the radio.
“[Staff] need to share messages about declared weeds to look out for and how to increase biodiversity… so they often get opportunities to speak on the radio,” said communications coordinator Sarah Johnson.
The sessions focused on tone, projection, filler words, and vocal energy through warmup exercises, breathing activities, and mindset shifts.
Homer also trained the NYLB in 2022 on how to start their podcast, which interviewed families on the financial and mental hardships of drought.
“That’s been a really positive and popular podcast,” said Johnson.
Additionally, Homer hosts her own podcast that highlights local business owners in the Clare Valley.
Originally intending to record a couple of episodes to advertise Voice It, she said the podcast has been a “brilliant” promotional tool highlighting that she can do what she preaches.
The podcast’s reach has also had a “massive” impact on the community.
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“People who have been interviewed said that they can’t get over the amount of people that have approached them saying ‘I heard you’ve been interviewed on that podcast’,” she said.
“People from overseas had gotten in contact with them… they’re being stopped in the street by people they’ve never spoken to before.
“They’re connecting more with their community, which leads to more support and better business, so it’s the flow on effects from that.”
Homer’s work has shortlisted her as a 2025 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award finalist.
The winner receives a $15,000 Westpac grant and professional development opportunities, with a chance to represent the state at the national awards later in the year.
Homer pitched to use the grant to offer subsidised programs targeting travel costs for people living remotely.
She also has plans to work with regional skills training organisations to help people get back into the workforce as well as visit more schools to show students “you can have fun… public speaking is not such a daunting exercise”.
However, Homer highlighted that the awards process was already a “fantastic” experience.
“Having the opportunity to be part of the alumni and to mix with other like-minded people has been fantastic for me to create a more strategic vision as to where to take the business.
“I encourage any female business owner or anybody that has an idea to really go for it in 2026,” she said.
The SA Rural Women’s Award winner will be announced on April 8.
