Your physical voice is a system of organs and muscles; just as there are routines you can follow to become a better athlete, there are exercises and routines that will result in better voice control and strength.
Please understand that I will recommend some pages of the website and exercises for voice practice to some students more than others, but there is no such thing as a bad voice. There are such things as poor posture, shallow breathing, and frustration, anxiety, and tension which can keep your voice from being its best. A "little" or "breaky" voice is rarely due to long-term physical causes. So many voice "problems" are due to feelings of insecurity and tension that express themselves physically.
Many of the exercises described and linked in this section are aimed at getting students comfortable with the present tone and tenor of their voice in a relaxed mode, then experiment with volume and and clarity. Every student's voice is a potentially powerful tool to communicate information, share emotion, entertain, connect, and reach out to others.
If you like, you can put the time into these exercises, try out the several options, and settle on the combination that works for you. You can also choose to forego the exercises and stay the same--you'll likely get through your research and presentation just fine.
If, however, you are dissatisfied with past public speaking experiences, selecting some of the exercises that appeal to you and following them will allow you to be proactive--you are taking an action in order to increase the likelihood of a positive outcome in a future event. You have anticipated a potential obstacle and in your imagination you can envision facing it head-on or slipping over, under, around, or through a hurdle.
Please understand that I will recommend some pages of the website and exercises for voice practice to some students more than others, but there is no such thing as a bad voice. There are such things as poor posture, shallow breathing, and frustration, anxiety, and tension which can keep your voice from being its best. A "little" or "breaky" voice is rarely due to long-term physical causes. So many voice "problems" are due to feelings of insecurity and tension that express themselves physically.
Many of the exercises described and linked in this section are aimed at getting students comfortable with the present tone and tenor of their voice in a relaxed mode, then experiment with volume and and clarity. Every student's voice is a potentially powerful tool to communicate information, share emotion, entertain, connect, and reach out to others.
If you like, you can put the time into these exercises, try out the several options, and settle on the combination that works for you. You can also choose to forego the exercises and stay the same--you'll likely get through your research and presentation just fine.
If, however, you are dissatisfied with past public speaking experiences, selecting some of the exercises that appeal to you and following them will allow you to be proactive--you are taking an action in order to increase the likelihood of a positive outcome in a future event. You have anticipated a potential obstacle and in your imagination you can envision facing it head-on or slipping over, under, around, or through a hurdle.
Voice Techniques
Correct use of the voice is helpful no matter what form your presentation takes.
There are three main reasons why students are troubled by their voices during presentations.
Fear of letting go and being too loud. This leads to suppression, the sound and sensation of the voice being at the back of the throat.
Fear of forgetting some important portion of the presentation. This fear actually does lead to forgetting something--forgetting to breathe! It is a self-fulfilling prophecy! We run out of breath partway through an important phrase and have to take time to deliberately monitor our breathing which we usually do automatically. Because we are now aware of our breathing and thinking about it, we may forget the next idea or supporting detail we wanted to share because we're focused on getting our breathing back on track.
Fear-fueled rush to the finish. Conditions of stress and anxiety cause us to speak rapidly in order to "get through" the speaking ordeal as rapidly as possible. This causes errors in pronunciation, stumbling, false starts, stuttering, and even on occasion students biting the insides of their cheeks, lips, or tongue in their fast-paced presentation.
Using your voice should be natural, comfortable, and easy.
Correct use of the voice is helpful no matter what form your presentation takes.
There are three main reasons why students are troubled by their voices during presentations.
Fear of letting go and being too loud. This leads to suppression, the sound and sensation of the voice being at the back of the throat.
Fear of forgetting some important portion of the presentation. This fear actually does lead to forgetting something--forgetting to breathe! It is a self-fulfilling prophecy! We run out of breath partway through an important phrase and have to take time to deliberately monitor our breathing which we usually do automatically. Because we are now aware of our breathing and thinking about it, we may forget the next idea or supporting detail we wanted to share because we're focused on getting our breathing back on track.
Fear-fueled rush to the finish. Conditions of stress and anxiety cause us to speak rapidly in order to "get through" the speaking ordeal as rapidly as possible. This causes errors in pronunciation, stumbling, false starts, stuttering, and even on occasion students biting the insides of their cheeks, lips, or tongue in their fast-paced presentation.
Using your voice should be natural, comfortable, and easy.
How Your Voice Works
The voice is often a mystery, in part because unlike other physical activities we cannot directly observe the our vocal apparatus at work. The variety of factors and influences that go into making sounds and words is complex and fascinating from medical and musical perspectives. Reasoning by analogy, your voice combines a wind instrument with a stringed instrument played atop or within a sound-shaping chamber.
Within your neck, two passages run in parallel. The trachea, or windpipe, carries air from the nose and mouth into the lungs, while the other, the esophagus, carries food and liquid to the stomach. At the top of the windpipe is a box of cartilage called the larynx; it is the frame for strong, fibrous bands of mucous membranes that move apart and together and vibrate, changing the flow of air.
Vocal cords open and close rapidly (hundreds of times a second) to release air, creating vibration picked up by listeners as sound waves. The more rapid the vibration, the higher the frequency.
The quality of your voice, what makes you sound like you, is created by the way the cords are positioned, the amount of air moving through them, and the resonance of your chest, throat, and the nasal cavities in your skull. You may think controlling these factors is difficult, but many infants and toddlers learn it intuitively.
Nose Knows
A harsh, trembly sound is often categorized as nasal. People often use a nasal voice to imitate a lecturing teacher or "know it all." When a high proportion of air is flowing through the nasal cavity when we speak, this is the "Nasal Professor" effect.
In contrast, a student with a cold (or a student who has listened to recordings of their own voice and been displeased by the nasal quality) will expel too little air through the nose, resulting in a low, dull effect. People often change to a low-nasal voice to imitate a "tough" or dull-witted character, like a boxer or bodyguard.
When experimenting with and practicing your desired sound, you will often be aiming for the "Goldilocks" zone, or middle way--not too much, not too little, but just right. As an added benefit, your practice will give you better dexterity in changing the quality of your voice when reading aloud, telling stories with friends, or acting on stage or on camera.
In contrast, a student with a cold (or a student who has listened to recordings of their own voice and been displeased by the nasal quality) will expel too little air through the nose, resulting in a low, dull effect. People often change to a low-nasal voice to imitate a "tough" or dull-witted character, like a boxer or bodyguard.
When experimenting with and practicing your desired sound, you will often be aiming for the "Goldilocks" zone, or middle way--not too much, not too little, but just right. As an added benefit, your practice will give you better dexterity in changing the quality of your voice when reading aloud, telling stories with friends, or acting on stage or on camera.
Tongue, Palate, and Throat
How you initiate or begin your presentation has an important effect in how the rest of the presentation will go. If you start speaking in the back of your throat, that is where the sound will stay. If you begin with a nasal (through the nose) delivery, there it will continue. If you begin from the chest, it will stay there as well. The first words of your introduction literally set the tone of your speech.
Larynx (voicebox)
soft spot under chin (behind jaw) tightens.
do not stretch your neck upward and forward.
lips loose, not rigid--some people think it will make the words more crisp or concise.
All four tendencies cuts down on airflow, like pinching a garden hose.
The Physical Foundations of Voice and Pronunciation
The Five Vowel Tour Warm Up
Good vowel production is the essence of creating beautiful sound. Every vowel is created in a unique way and imparts a slightly different timbre to the voice. Proper production of each vowel is important for resonance (carriage over distance) and intelligibility (differentiated syllables and coherent words).
Each vowel requires a slightly different configuration of the tongue, jaw, and lips to create the right resonance space. Many European native speakers do not understand how each vowel should be created because they rarely need to give it any thought until they are learning the vowels of Asian cultures.
Often, students in a rush fail to differentiate the vowels sufficiently, resulting in a lack of tonal color variation and reduced intelligibility. Vowels are just as important for intelligibility as are consonants.
The progression along the U-shaped curve in the illustration below from [i] [e] [a] [o] [u] as movement along the “Vowel Spectrum.” Vowels next to each other on the Vowel Spectrum are produced similarly. It is easier for singers and language learners to develop a sense of how a vowel should feel if they can relate it to a close-by vowel because they do not have to deal all at once with the multiplicity of variables that differentiate the vowels
Each vowel requires a slightly different configuration of the tongue, jaw, and lips to create the right resonance space. Many European native speakers do not understand how each vowel should be created because they rarely need to give it any thought until they are learning the vowels of Asian cultures.
Often, students in a rush fail to differentiate the vowels sufficiently, resulting in a lack of tonal color variation and reduced intelligibility. Vowels are just as important for intelligibility as are consonants.
The progression along the U-shaped curve in the illustration below from [i] [e] [a] [o] [u] as movement along the “Vowel Spectrum.” Vowels next to each other on the Vowel Spectrum are produced similarly. It is easier for singers and language learners to develop a sense of how a vowel should feel if they can relate it to a close-by vowel because they do not have to deal all at once with the multiplicity of variables that differentiate the vowels
Vowel Spectrum Exercise:
The nonsensical series Beet--Bait--Bet--Bat--Bot--Boat--Boot and variations serves as a warm-up for flexing the jaw, tongue, and palate. Once you've warmed up with a few repetitions, you can add in dipthongs (Bite--Bout--Boy) where the articulation point travels or transitions within the mouth cavity.
The nonsensical series Beet--Bait--Bet--Bat--Bot--Boat--Boot and variations serves as a warm-up for flexing the jaw, tongue, and palate. Once you've warmed up with a few repetitions, you can add in dipthongs (Bite--Bout--Boy) where the articulation point travels or transitions within the mouth cavity.
The Smiling Exercise:
One way to create many options for voice tone and inflection is a technique used by opera trainees. Opera singers, such as the famed Idina Menzel, are trained to smile while singing. The muscle action required to smile will also raise the soft palate (the flexible part of the roof of your mouth), allowing for greater range of vocal expression.
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The Yawning Exercise:
Technically, according to the International Conference On Yawning (I am not making this up), a yawn is "a reflex of simultaneous inhalation of air and stretching of the facial muscles, followed by exhalation of breath." I know you are glad to have that cleared up. Yawning can be connected to any number of conditions, including stress, lack of stimulation (which can be code for boredom), and being overworked (another code for tiredness). Watching some yawn (or, for that matter, just hearing someone yawn or even thinking of yawning) can trigger you to yawn as well. Maybe even reading about yawning can provoke a yawn--are you yawning?
For the purposes of public speaking, however, a yawn can be very useful.
For the purposes of public speaking, however, a yawn can be very useful.
Breathing
Breathing is inhalation and exhalation. Controlling the exit of air from the lungs as though you are a swimmer or diver. You have a limited amount of air in your lungs and you want to finish exhaling it just as you finish a phrase or question during your presentation. Wait time when you've asked an audience a question, a transition between slides or graphics, or a video or animation sequence give you an opportunity to "tank up" on your air supply.
Breathing is a natural function. Unfortunately, over, time, most of us fall out of the habit of using our full lung capacity and develop shallow breathing. It is so common that "taking a deep breath" feels unusually good during meditation or de-stressing exercises.
As we grow up, we mistakenly limit ourselves to filling up the chest, which is only a small part of our lung capacity. This can also act as a trigger for feelings of tension
Rather than going out at the chest, proper deep breathing means filling your lungs all the way down. Look at a sleeping baby--the stomach rises and falls as the lungs lengthen in the body cavity. Often we are not aware of the restrictions we place on ourselves, but in this case we can attune our attention to the physical sensations as we take a breath.
Breathing is aided by:
Good Posture--standing straight, head level (jawbone-to-chin lower mandible parallel to the ground), shoulder blades back and down. It is possible to speak if you slump or stand out of kilter, but it takes a lot more effort, and your public speaking consists of several minutes of prepared remarks followed by responses to audience questions; good posture conserves energy for this important task.
Inhaling Naturally--Raising your shoulders and puffing out your chest (and possibly even sucking in your stomach) like a Herculean weightlifter is called "accessory breathing," and it requires more control and effort for only a modest gain in breath volume. If you are in the habit of dramatic movement in your upper torso, try a quieter, more subtle way. "Diaphragmatic breathing" allows the muscle sheet between your chest cavity and abdomen to contract, creating a difference in pressure that allows the lungs to inflate while providing extra space for the expansion.
Exhale Easily--There is always air in your lungs; if you forcefully exhale as much as possible, physicians estimate we still have 20%-25% of the volume we have when the lungs are completely full. The goal is not to empty your lungs, just let your stomach and diaphragm return to their natural position.
The Slow Leak Exercise: rest your hand against your stomach and use your diaphragm to fill your lungs with air. Now close your teeth, place your tongue against your bottom teeth, and release the smallest amount of air you can while making a tse sound. Let the air leak out of the lungs until there is neither a feeling of pressure or vacuum. Practice until you can make the sound for 30 seconds or longer.
Blowing Out Candles: rest your hand against your stomach and use your diaphragm to fill your lungs with air. Now, imagine you're facing a cake (what flavor? Hush!) with a row of glowing candles about 4 inches away from your lips. Your goal is to softly blow out the candles one by one with discrete streams of air (close your lips and open them again between each imaginary candle) without knotting or jerking your stomach muscles.
Torso Swings: Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and put your hands on your waist. Moving your chest and shoulders only, keeping your body still from the waist down, try the Slow Leak or Blowing Out Candles exercise--if you were relying heavily on your stomach muscles rather than your diaphragm in the earlier exercises, your muscle tension will keep your torso from swinging smoothly.
Breathing is a natural function. Unfortunately, over, time, most of us fall out of the habit of using our full lung capacity and develop shallow breathing. It is so common that "taking a deep breath" feels unusually good during meditation or de-stressing exercises.
As we grow up, we mistakenly limit ourselves to filling up the chest, which is only a small part of our lung capacity. This can also act as a trigger for feelings of tension
Rather than going out at the chest, proper deep breathing means filling your lungs all the way down. Look at a sleeping baby--the stomach rises and falls as the lungs lengthen in the body cavity. Often we are not aware of the restrictions we place on ourselves, but in this case we can attune our attention to the physical sensations as we take a breath.
Breathing is aided by:
Good Posture--standing straight, head level (jawbone-to-chin lower mandible parallel to the ground), shoulder blades back and down. It is possible to speak if you slump or stand out of kilter, but it takes a lot more effort, and your public speaking consists of several minutes of prepared remarks followed by responses to audience questions; good posture conserves energy for this important task.
Inhaling Naturally--Raising your shoulders and puffing out your chest (and possibly even sucking in your stomach) like a Herculean weightlifter is called "accessory breathing," and it requires more control and effort for only a modest gain in breath volume. If you are in the habit of dramatic movement in your upper torso, try a quieter, more subtle way. "Diaphragmatic breathing" allows the muscle sheet between your chest cavity and abdomen to contract, creating a difference in pressure that allows the lungs to inflate while providing extra space for the expansion.
Exhale Easily--There is always air in your lungs; if you forcefully exhale as much as possible, physicians estimate we still have 20%-25% of the volume we have when the lungs are completely full. The goal is not to empty your lungs, just let your stomach and diaphragm return to their natural position.
The Slow Leak Exercise: rest your hand against your stomach and use your diaphragm to fill your lungs with air. Now close your teeth, place your tongue against your bottom teeth, and release the smallest amount of air you can while making a tse sound. Let the air leak out of the lungs until there is neither a feeling of pressure or vacuum. Practice until you can make the sound for 30 seconds or longer.
Blowing Out Candles: rest your hand against your stomach and use your diaphragm to fill your lungs with air. Now, imagine you're facing a cake (what flavor? Hush!) with a row of glowing candles about 4 inches away from your lips. Your goal is to softly blow out the candles one by one with discrete streams of air (close your lips and open them again between each imaginary candle) without knotting or jerking your stomach muscles.
Torso Swings: Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and put your hands on your waist. Moving your chest and shoulders only, keeping your body still from the waist down, try the Slow Leak or Blowing Out Candles exercise--if you were relying heavily on your stomach muscles rather than your diaphragm in the earlier exercises, your muscle tension will keep your torso from swinging smoothly.
Projection
When sound is carried by exhaling breath our message--song, speech, nonsense noises (yes, you) is broadcast or projected. In times of tension and anxiety, problems of projection are often revealed as an airy, thin sound or a breathy, husky sound.
Gug and Goog's Excellent Adventures Exercise: Imagining you are introducing two friends, Gug and Goog, in a crowded room or across an empty room.
"Gug, meet Goog. Goog, this is Gug."
"Gug, Goog has always wanted to be a gold miner."
"Goog, Gug is a tugboat captain."
or other combinations that include a narration of Gug and Goog's recent adventures. Keep trying until you hear and feel the minor differences in syllables is clear to a listener or on a recording. Your speech will be less airy and of naturally fuller volume.
Getting From Nay to Nah Exercise: These two words are also good at ensuring the vocal cords vibrate in different ways to differentiate the broadcasted sounds. They are also forms that communicate negative responses in different English dialects. You can create an imaginary dialogue between two speakers, one who uses "nay" and the other "nah" to signal disagreement:
"Do you want to go to the movie?"
"Nay, let's go horseback riding."
"Nah, let's go shopping."
"Nay, let's go to the park."
"Nah, let's go roller skating."
Keep trying until you hear and feel the minor differences in syllables is clear to a listener or on a recording. Your speech will be less husky and of naturally clearer enunciation.
When sound is carried by exhaling breath our message--song, speech, nonsense noises (yes, you) is broadcast or projected. In times of tension and anxiety, problems of projection are often revealed as an airy, thin sound or a breathy, husky sound.
Gug and Goog's Excellent Adventures Exercise: Imagining you are introducing two friends, Gug and Goog, in a crowded room or across an empty room.
"Gug, meet Goog. Goog, this is Gug."
"Gug, Goog has always wanted to be a gold miner."
"Goog, Gug is a tugboat captain."
or other combinations that include a narration of Gug and Goog's recent adventures. Keep trying until you hear and feel the minor differences in syllables is clear to a listener or on a recording. Your speech will be less airy and of naturally fuller volume.
Getting From Nay to Nah Exercise: These two words are also good at ensuring the vocal cords vibrate in different ways to differentiate the broadcasted sounds. They are also forms that communicate negative responses in different English dialects. You can create an imaginary dialogue between two speakers, one who uses "nay" and the other "nah" to signal disagreement:
"Do you want to go to the movie?"
"Nay, let's go horseback riding."
"Nah, let's go shopping."
"Nay, let's go to the park."
"Nah, let's go roller skating."
Keep trying until you hear and feel the minor differences in syllables is clear to a listener or on a recording. Your speech will be less husky and of naturally clearer enunciation.
Rate
Rate simply refers to your speed--the number of words you speak per minute. If you speak too fast with a machine gun delivery, the audience will struggle to follow your ideas and connections.
Everybody runs at a different pace. If you are by nature high strung and restless, you may walk fast, eat fast, and talk fast. On the other hand, you may rarely rush, and your heartbeat and breathing are the same pace as your speech--slow and deliberate.
Tune in to your natural speed, and be aware of it. Presentation day is not a time to reject your natural pace, but rather you should monitor it with the understanding that when we experience positive excitement or negative tension our natural tendencies tend to be reinforced and accentuated. The high-energy student speaks even more rapidly, creating a whirlwind of words, while the low-key student leaves long pauses that members of the audience may find to be irresistible invitations to "help" by finishing sentences or supplying words.
If your natural rate is fast:
Nerves and excitement can easily push your speech into overdrive or afterburner. You might be fine one-on-one or in familiar situations, but when you step in front of an audience adrenaline surges, increasingly your pulse rate and your natural body clock. Your mouth, throat, and tongue, mirroring your body's tempo, work to articulate a rush of words and your lungs shift from diaphragmatic deep breathing to accessory shallow breaths. Pauses that you worked into your rehearsals to give the audience time to think get skipped, then shortly after you're breaking off in mid-story for a deep, shuddering breath of air.
Therefore, on presentation day, take a moment to breathe deep before you start. One method is to briefly touch or brush your stomach to stay attuned to the muscles there--are they allowing deep breathing, or is all the movement in your chest and shoulders?
When you pause for a breath or at a transition in your story, study your audience--are you reaching them? Do they look like they're having a hard time following your train of thought? You do not have to press on with your prepared remarks; it is better for the audience, your message, and you if you double back and summarize or review what you've said, then bring them along on the journey.
If you're naturally deliberate in your speech:
When you speak more slowly than the natural tenor of your voice, the sound is distorted by cavitation across the vocal cords, causing your voice to broadcast with a slight waver. In a pressure situation, that waver is usually a sign to your audience that you are nervous. If you sound nervous, they may become tense out of empathy. Either because of their nonverbal cues or your own realization that your voice is wavering, this creates a feedback loop wherein because you sound nervous you become nervous.
If you usually pause to let listeners understand your meaning, on presentation day you may insert more pauses, creating a situation where an effort to share an idea or information causes disconnection through too many pauses.
Another common pattern in students who normally speak with deliberation is to start filling silences with "ahh" or "umm."
Therefore, on presentation day, one effective approach if you hear yourself wavering or injecting "ahh" or "umm" is to focus on your message. If you apply yourself to the ideas and details you want to share, you will fall back into your regular habits of speech, which is how your classmates and family will know you are back on track. If you're on your normal pace, they can focus on your message instead of worrying about your frustration, anxiety, or tension.
Rate simply refers to your speed--the number of words you speak per minute. If you speak too fast with a machine gun delivery, the audience will struggle to follow your ideas and connections.
Everybody runs at a different pace. If you are by nature high strung and restless, you may walk fast, eat fast, and talk fast. On the other hand, you may rarely rush, and your heartbeat and breathing are the same pace as your speech--slow and deliberate.
Tune in to your natural speed, and be aware of it. Presentation day is not a time to reject your natural pace, but rather you should monitor it with the understanding that when we experience positive excitement or negative tension our natural tendencies tend to be reinforced and accentuated. The high-energy student speaks even more rapidly, creating a whirlwind of words, while the low-key student leaves long pauses that members of the audience may find to be irresistible invitations to "help" by finishing sentences or supplying words.
If your natural rate is fast:
Nerves and excitement can easily push your speech into overdrive or afterburner. You might be fine one-on-one or in familiar situations, but when you step in front of an audience adrenaline surges, increasingly your pulse rate and your natural body clock. Your mouth, throat, and tongue, mirroring your body's tempo, work to articulate a rush of words and your lungs shift from diaphragmatic deep breathing to accessory shallow breaths. Pauses that you worked into your rehearsals to give the audience time to think get skipped, then shortly after you're breaking off in mid-story for a deep, shuddering breath of air.
Therefore, on presentation day, take a moment to breathe deep before you start. One method is to briefly touch or brush your stomach to stay attuned to the muscles there--are they allowing deep breathing, or is all the movement in your chest and shoulders?
When you pause for a breath or at a transition in your story, study your audience--are you reaching them? Do they look like they're having a hard time following your train of thought? You do not have to press on with your prepared remarks; it is better for the audience, your message, and you if you double back and summarize or review what you've said, then bring them along on the journey.
If you're naturally deliberate in your speech:
When you speak more slowly than the natural tenor of your voice, the sound is distorted by cavitation across the vocal cords, causing your voice to broadcast with a slight waver. In a pressure situation, that waver is usually a sign to your audience that you are nervous. If you sound nervous, they may become tense out of empathy. Either because of their nonverbal cues or your own realization that your voice is wavering, this creates a feedback loop wherein because you sound nervous you become nervous.
If you usually pause to let listeners understand your meaning, on presentation day you may insert more pauses, creating a situation where an effort to share an idea or information causes disconnection through too many pauses.
Another common pattern in students who normally speak with deliberation is to start filling silences with "ahh" or "umm."
Therefore, on presentation day, one effective approach if you hear yourself wavering or injecting "ahh" or "umm" is to focus on your message. If you apply yourself to the ideas and details you want to share, you will fall back into your regular habits of speech, which is how your classmates and family will know you are back on track. If you're on your normal pace, they can focus on your message instead of worrying about your frustration, anxiety, or tension.
Articulation
Nervousness can sometimes cause poor articulation and slurred, mumbling, too-fast, unclear speech. Tension of the tongue, jaw, and lips can cause problems, even cramping--"tongue tied" is not far from the truth.
Sometimes it helps for the metacognitive function of our mind to ask, "Where is my tongue?" Taking a moment to sort out the sound we want and how the sound is generated can get us back on the right track.
Nervousness can sometimes cause poor articulation and slurred, mumbling, too-fast, unclear speech. Tension of the tongue, jaw, and lips can cause problems, even cramping--"tongue tied" is not far from the truth.
Sometimes it helps for the metacognitive function of our mind to ask, "Where is my tongue?" Taking a moment to sort out the sound we want and how the sound is generated can get us back on the right track.
Recording Yourself
Using technology tools such as Chromebook cameras and recording software can be helpful in practicing voice exercises.
Many students are put off by how their voice sounds in a recording versus what we ourselves hear when our voice is transferred through bones and internal tissues and combined with what our eardrums pick up.
Listeners only hear what you broadcast into the air, and due to the Doppler Effect, sound traveling away from you sounds different from sound traveling toward you--most students complain their voice sounds flatter when recorded.
Because of the gap between what our audience hears and what we hear, it helps to give ourselves recordings to collect and analyze to understand the way we sound.
Many students are put off by how their voice sounds in a recording versus what we ourselves hear when our voice is transferred through bones and internal tissues and combined with what our eardrums pick up.
Listeners only hear what you broadcast into the air, and due to the Doppler Effect, sound traveling away from you sounds different from sound traveling toward you--most students complain their voice sounds flatter when recorded.
Because of the gap between what our audience hears and what we hear, it helps to give ourselves recordings to collect and analyze to understand the way we sound.
What is the best thing I can do for my voice right now?
Three words: Drink. More. Water.
If you are interested in being able to speak after long silences without clearing your throat multiple times, or avoiding early-morning husky voice or late afternoon tired-out airy voice, have a cup of water after finishing this paragraph.
Water is vital for your voice because it helps your body provide lubrication that protects the vocal cords. The cords vibrate the whole time you're speaking or singing, and some studies indicate they vibrate when you're immersed in reading or listening attentively to another person's side of a conversation.
Juices, tea, soda, and milk are liquid and provide helpful vitamins, minerals, and calories, but they are not the same immediately before or after public speaking. You see, a little phlegm is good for your vocal cords, like the analogy of a thin coating of oil on the moving parts of a mechanism or engine. However, the added ingredients of liquids other than water may cause your body to produce thicker, stickier mucus or generate more saliva. Even though the liquids you drink do not come into contact with your vocal cords (so long as you're swallowing properly), the tissues are adjacent to one another and react to changes--hot drinks can swell tissues, while cold drinks cause them to contract, causing changes to your natural sound and working against the voice skills you've practiced.