Most people are unaware that they can improve their speaking voice and that the techniques for doing so are simple and basic. And while good voice training will actually improve many other aspects of your life, not all those who teach voice understand the two essentials.
Many of us who teach voice are classically-trained singers. While I don’t teach singing anymore, I use similar principles in teaching others how to find their ‘real’ speaking voice.
Good voice training involves learning, first and foremost, how to breathe with the support of your diaphragm because your ‘real’ voice must be powered or amplified from the chest.
If you are part of the 99% of the population who are renowned for using only the upper portion of the chest to breathe, then your speaking voice is being powered by means of your voice box, throat, mouth, and/or nose. What results is a voice which is probably higher in pitch than it should be and will not display a warm, resonant sound. Those who have had training use the chest cavity as well as the other four resonators to power the voice.
The next step is then to find the optimum pitch of your speaking voice. In most cases, the pitch (highness or lowness of sound) of your speaking voice will drop to some degree. It may be a slight change or it may be a significant drop in pitch. (If you go to my website, you can see Craig's 'before & after' video clip -- you will hear a tremendous change in the pitch of his voice.)
When I discovered my real voice in graduate school, my drop was at least 4 whole steps. I went from sounding like a teenager to a mature woman – not old, not young – ageless. And, my speaking voice is improving as I get older which is interesting because after 40, nothing on your body improves with age!
Once you find your real voice, you will then learn how to increase your volume without shouting, eliminate nasality, speak in living color to your audience (and not at them) and control your nervousness in any form of public speaking.
Good voice training is a life-changing experience. When you have total control over your speaking voice, your voice then becomes an asset and not a liability; and, you will discover an increase in your level of confidence as well as other benefits that have nothing to do with your voice or public speaking. You may find that you sleep better at night, or hit a golf ball better, or even notice a drop in your blood pressure because breathing diaphragmatically eliminates more of the toxins in your body. Shallow or lazy breathing, again typical of 99% of the population, actually increases your toxins as well as your level of stress.
You will be truly amazed to discover the difference in your voice, in your business and in your life just by taking a breath!
The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels is President of Voice Dynamic and offers private, corporate and group workshops in voice and public speaking training as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement.
For more information on voice and presentation skills, click here for her 4-minute video presentation.
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