Voice and Speech 2

Speech Training - Building Your Voice, Tips from a Professional

By Thomas Murrell

Having a clear and confident voice is an essential business skill to be an effective leader, manager and communicator.

Whether you are presenting in front of a group, performing in the media or speaking on the phone a good voice can be a great asset.

Here are 10 tips on developing a more confident and persuasive voice.

1. Build Clarity by Warming Up.

The human face can pull more than 7,000 unique expressions with 44 different muscles! Get into a routine to warm up your most important muscles. Use specific exercises to
loosen up your jaw, lips and tongue. Being physically prepared will give you confidence.

2. Practice Difficult Phrases.

Once you've warmed-up do a couple of tongue twister exercises to put it all together. Examples include 'red leather, yellow leather' and a big black bug bit a big black bear'.
Try saying these quickly them slowly.

3. My Voice Comes From My Belly.

Now the juices are flowing, it's time to get some tone and timbre in your voice. This comes from your diaphragm. Practice breathing and fill your belly like it's a balloon.

4. Posture.

Your posture is important for voice projection. Warm up your neck, shoulders and rib cage. Get in a comfortable stance with your feet firmly planted. Remember your stance when you feel most comfortable. Use hand gestures if this suits your style.

5. Relax and Smile.

The more relaxed you are the more confident you will feel and appear. Remember most audiences want you to succeed. Smiling at the audience helps you relax. Harness your adrenaline in a positive way.

6. Be positive.

A positive attitude is very important. Visualize how it felt when you last made a really successful presentation. Remember this moment. Feel and use this positive feeling. Be psychologically ready.

7. Speak from the Heart.

Use emotion and feelings in your voice and words you choose. Eighty percent of voice tone is emotion and this will help you touch your audience.

8. Evaluate and Seek Feedback.

Always evaluate your performance and seek to improve each time. Ask for feedback from others who you are comfortable with.

9. Take Care of Your Voice.

Always take care of your voice. A healthy diet, adequate sleep and behaving in moderation are essential to protect your voice.

10. Be Yourself.

Develop your own style and be yourself. Relax and enjoy the experience.

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries. You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com. Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom's blog athttp://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com

Voice and Speech

How to Develop a Perfect Speaking Voice

Edited by David J, Glutted, Khbirder, Eric and 19 others

4

Article

EditDiscuss

We have all heard it at one point in our lives. We have heard the person whose voice sounds so beautiful that we enjoy listening; to them speak regardless of what they say. While developing vocal intonation and diction (the tone and manner of speaking properly) can be a lifelong task, a beautiful sounding voice can be obtained in a short amount of time and perhaps take around a year or two to perfect.

EditSteps

1. 1

   Lie on your back with your knees in the air and your eyes closed. Pay attention to how your body feels as you breathe. Seek out and eliminate any tension by "breathing into" that location. The idea is to relax areas of your body that affect your voice. Important areas to focus on are

   jaw, neck, shoulders, chest, upper and lower back, and diaphragm. Breathe deeply to expand your lung capacity.
   

   
2. 2
   Prop your head back a bit and release your jaw so that it gapes open. There should be no tension at all in your neck, chest, shoulders or jaw. Take in a deep breath, and as you breathe out, vocalize. It will sound like an open-mouthed moan. As you vocalize, pay close attention to your jaw, neck, shoulders, back and chest. Most likely, they will tense up when you vocalize. Keep practicing until you can vocalize without tensing your muscles.
   
   
3. 3
   Repeat step two, but this time hold a note, any note. This will perhaps create tension in your jaw or neck areas. Continue to practice until you can perform this with no tension.
   
   
4. 4
   Repeat step two, but make different sounds. Slowly move your tongue, mouth and lips around as you vocalize different pitches. It should sound something like baby talk, but do it slowly. Try to eliminate any tension that arises in your jaw (especially in your jaw), shoulders, neck, and back.
   
   
5. 5
   Recite a poem or lines from a play. Try to maintain your relaxation and resonance. Listen to how different your voice sounds. The longer you practice on the floor, the easier it is to maintain your good speaking habits.
   
   
6. 6
   Sit upright. Chances are, there will be some tension in your key vocal areas. Pay special attention to your neck and your shoulders. Breathe into your tense areas to relax them. Repeat steps 2 through 5 while sitting upright.
   
   
7. 7
   Extend these habits to everyday conversation. It will be more difficult to maintain relaxation when you have to think of what to say, but with practice it will come.
   
   

EditTips

• Your jaw and lips are the most important parts to relax because they form your resonating chamber, like the soundhole in a guitar. If your mouth is too closed, you must exert more effort to achieve the same volume. Having your jaw and lips relaxed and free-moving will make your voice sound more natural and less strained or muffled.
• Use your natural vocal pitch:
  • Guys, a forced low voice sounds terrible. Don't try to force your voice to low registers. Also don't try to relax your vocal cords to the point that you have a monotone, low drone. Some men just have a higher-pitched voice and it can be quite sexy if the technique above is used to capture some lower resonant notes. Examples include rapper Q-Tip and actors Marlon Brando and Christopher Walken.
  • Girls, don't force your voice high. It should be expressive and melodious, but at the same time it should be full and beautiful sounding rather than thin and whiny. Who is to say that Marilyn Monroe's voice is sexier than Sade's?
  • Try different singing exercises, as it is a great way to learn proper breathing and vocal technique.
• Good posture is essential to a good voice, and there is a separate article to help with that:How to Improve Your Posture.
• When your vocal cords create sound, you should feel vibration in your chest, back, neck and head. This vibration will create resonance and give your voice a full, delicious sound. This is what you are trying to achieve, so spend a lot of time on relaxing these areas.
• If possible, perform these exercises in a closed room without carpet so that you can hear yourself better.