Category Archives: Tips for Speakers

The Importance of Vocal Training for Speaking

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Your voice is your primary communication tool, and yet, the most overlooked by public speakers! In this video I talk about the importance of vocal training for speaking and the various ways a well trained voice contributes to your success as a speaker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os81BGK6rsE

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What holds you back as a speaker? It could be your voice!

The voice conveys so much information about who you are. If properly trained, your voice can become a powerful instrument to convey not just words, but the energy, the ideas, and the consciousness behind the words. A strong, resonant voice is confidence-building, commands attention, conveys trust and integrity, and establishes more easily a connection with your audience.

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“Fantastic! This is not a typical public speaking course. It is aimed at awareness and control of the sound of your voice. The benefits are instant and will last a lifetime. Thank you for the invaluable information.” –O.B., Udemy Student

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8 Tips to Keep Your Voice Healthy and Strong

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by Ramesha Nani

baby_strongThose of us who speak often and for extended periods of time have all experienced vocal fatigue. While this feeling of tiredness when we talk improves only when we stop talking for some time, it is often quick to return as soon as we begin to speak again.

For someone who teaches, gives presentation, preaches, sells products on the phone, etc., vocal fatigue can be a real problem. Because of the demands of the job, they’re not likely to be able to stop and give their voice a break, allowing it to rest and heal. Unfortunately, this can eventually lead to more serious issues, like nodules, polyps, or contact ulcers, which are caused by vocal abuse (and overuse).

In this article I’m going to offer a few suggestions to prevent vocal abuse and to deal with it when it occurs.

  1. Get vocally “fit”. The vocal cords are, essentially, muscles. Just like any other muscle in the body, they need exercise to be kept in good shape and to make them strong and flexible. Using the voice for public speaking, as opposed to simple everyday conversation, can be compared to running a marathon, as opposed to taking a morning stroll. It takes strength and endurance. A serious public speaker needs to view speaking as an athlete views training for a sport: train the voice, warm it up before every talk, do everything you can to take care of it.
  2. Love your voice! As much as possible it is best to avoid “voice killers”, like smoking, sleep deprivation, alcohol, shouting, and too much caffeine. Be a good steward to your voice and it will serve you well in the long run.
  3. Water your vocal cords. Drink plenty of water! Your voice works best when you’re well hydrated. Remember that caffeinated beverages tend to dehydrate you. If you live in a dry environment, you can moisturize your throat using steam. Lean over a pot of boiling water with a towel covering your head and breathe deeply for about 10 minutes (don’t burn yourself!).
  4. Breathe! Many public speakers don’t breathe correctly. They take shallow breaths with their upper chest, instead of engaging their diaphragm, abdominal muscles, and floating ribs. Lack of proper breath support will most certainly lead to vocal fatigue, because it puts too much strain on the muscles around the throat. Full breathing allows the throat to stay relaxed and produce a full, resonant sound.
  5. Breathe more! The tendency to not breathe often enough is also very common. Training yourself to slow down and take frequent breaths throughout your talk will yield gains in clarity and vocal health, and will help keep nervousness under control!
  6. Stand (or sit) up straight. Besides being more pleasant and magnetic to look at, standing or sitting up straight frees up your abdomen and diaphragm, allowing you to speak with better breath support and avoid vocal fatigue.
  7. Speak in your natural range. Many speakers force their voice down to an unnaturally low range. This doesn’t allow the vocal cords to work correctly and they will tend to tire rather quickly. It also makes your voice raspy and not particularly attractive or magnetic.
  8. Learn to use the voice correctly. The best gift you can give your voice is vocal training. Neglected and overlooked by so many speakers, vocal training can be the key to bright, powerful, and confident presentations. Would you give a talk dressed in rags? Your voice is the garment of your words. It’s what people hear first, before any idea or concept is presented to them. Vocal training also ensures voice longevity. If you’re in for the long haul as a speaker, you need your voice to work at its best for years. Start now!

Preventing Nervousness from Affecting the Voice

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by Ramesha Nani

Don't Fear Public Speaking 3d words next to a thinking person working to overcome fear of giving speeches to an audience or stage fright

Have you ever had the unfortunate experience of feeling nervous before giving a talk?! You’re about to go on stage and you can hear the sound of your heart pounding in your chest. You tell yourself to stay calm, that everything is going to be alright, that you know your stuff and you’re absolutely confident about what you’re going to say.

Finally you get on stage and start speaking, hoping to somehow camouflage your nervousness, but realize with dismay that your voice is shaking, exposing the fear that you’d hoped to conceal, making the situation even more uncomfortable.

Does this scenario sound familiar? Is there a way to avoid it? How?

While there are ways to cure nervousness and stage fright, they require a commitment of time and energy, as well as a desire to grow and improve. I’ve found meditation a very helpful tool to allow me to work with my emotions and thoughts, and be able to view things from a center of peace and calmness. You can learn a simple and effective meditation technique here.

Our subject here, however, is what we can do to control our voice so that it doesn’t give away the fact that we’re terrorized!

I remember an experience I had a few years ago, when I was studying to become a school teacher. As part of my training, I taught a few classes while the supervisor sat in the back to evaluate my performance and to see if I was fitting to be a teacher. I remember how nervous I was during those sessions! I was supposed to teach a class for about an hour, “pretending” like the supervisor wasn’t there (easy to say!). At the end of each session, the supervisor commented on my performance and often remarked how confident and relaxed I looked and sounded. In thinking about it later, I realized that my years of voice training had given me the ability to control my voice when feeling nervous, and prevent it from shaking or sounding altered in any way.

There are two skills that are necessary to be able to control your voice and prevent it from shaking:

  1. Learn to speak with a full sound (video)
  2. Learn correct breath support (video)

When a voice is placed correctly, your throat muscles are able to do their job without unnecessary tension. The resulting sound is full, strong, and resonant.

Correct breath support provides the vocal cords with a steady flow of air, preventing the sound from cracking. Breathing correctly also helps to calm and center you when you’re feeling nervous and overwhelmed.

If you follow the suggestions in the videos above, you will be well on your way to learning how to sound confident and comfortable, even when you’re not.

The Voice of Confidence And Trust

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by Ramesha Nani

Asha TalkingWhat gives confidence to your presentations and talks? And what makes your audience feel that they can trust you? There can be many factors: your content, your knowledge of the topic, your personality, your magnetism and charisma, etc.

All of the above have one common denominator: time. It takes your audience some time to find out that your content is good, that you’re knowledgeable, that your personality is fun and trustworthy, and that you’re a magnetic speaker.

There is one element that deeply impacts your audience as soon as you begin speaking: the sound and quality of your voice. In just a few seconds, your voice can convey confidence or reveal concealed insecurity; it can give people a relaxed feeling of receptivity and trust or betray an attitude of self-interest and greed.

How can we convey confidence and make our audience trust us through the sound of our voice?

A voice considered well placed has two main characteristics: fullness of sound and resonance. Interestingly, these are also the hallmarks of confidence and trust. A full, strong voice conveys confidence. But that’s not enough to make your audience receptive and trusting. Radio speakers are good examples of voices that are full but not necessarily relaxed and resonant. They may convey confidence, but if they don’t also have roundness and resonance they tend to be rather “invasive” and restless, and these are not feelings that foster receptivity and trust.

You can make your voice full by training your vocal cords to close completely when producing a sound. If the vocal cords aren’t completely closed, some breath may “leak through” and produce an airy sound instead of a full one. Here’s an exercise that will help you develop a full voice.

Vocal resonance can be developed by allowing your voice to use your face and sinuses as sounding boards. When this happens, your voice automatically becomes smoother, rounder, and even louder. You are able to project your sound far, even without the use of a microphone.

Developing your voice’s resonance can sometimes take a while. You can start the process by practicing this simple exercise.

Please keep in mind that changing the sound of your voice, which you’ve had for as long as you’ve been alive, may take time, dedication and patience. Give yourself time to practice these simple exercises. If you’re really serious about learning the correct and most effective use of your speaking voice, you can check out my online Voice Training Programs for Speaker, or take my online course on Udemy called YOUR SPEAKING VOICE: Hidden Keys to Influence & Confidence. (This link will give you 87% OFF the regular price, only until March 6 2016 at 11:59 PST)

Release the Voice Inside

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Release the Voice Inside!

by Ramesha Nani

Voice IssuesOne of the most common vocal issues that speakers run into is the habit of speaking in a lower range than what is natural. This creates problems, such as vocal fatigue and hoarseness. It also makes the voice sound harsh and strained, conveying a sense of discomfort and tension.

I’ve been trying to understand why so many speakers do this, and recently a few of my students gave me the answer.

S. contacted me a few months ago to get some help with his speaking voice. He is a yoga teacher, and was frustrated with the sound of his voice. As I listened to him, I understood what was going on: his voice was not placed correctly, and he was speaking in a lower vocal range than what was natural and appropriate for him. This made the sound soft and muffled, even though I could tell that he was making a valiant effort to project it. I remember comparing it to driving a car with the emergency brake on!

After a couple of sessions, S. shared a profound insight with me. He had come to the realization that there was a deeper reason that he was not projecting his voice; years of insecurity and fear of saying the wrong thing. He said that working on developing his voice made him aware of the importance of facing his fears and insecurity. Working on his voice was a catalyst that brought unresolved issues from the past to the surface so that he could see them and release them.

G. asked me for help with her speaking voice. She was working on a project and needed to record some affirmations to go with the beautiful music played by her husband. She’s a singer and has a lovely soprano voice. However, observing her speaking voice I noticed that she was unconsciously forcing her voice to speak in a lower range, making it sound strained and almost masculine. Not only was her beautiful voice unrecognizable, but she was blocking energy and inspiration from flowing through her voice, speaking in a monotone which rendered the reading rather dull.

I asked her to raise her pitch and allow her natural sound to flow freely. I recorded her voice before and after, to help her notice the difference in sound and energy. When she heard it, she burst into tears. She told me that when she was a little girl she was a student at a catholic school. During her time there, she was often reprimanded for her loud voice, and was forced to speak more softly, or even better still, to not speak at all! As a result, over the years, she got used to stifling her voice, which forced her down to the bottom of her vocal range. This can be compared to living for years in a room with a low ceiling that prevents you from standing up straight.

When she spoke in her natural range, the difference was amazing. There was so much more energy, confidence, and light coming through her voice. It made what she was saying more compelling and interesting, even though she was reading exactly the same passage as before.

These experiences, and many others, have convinced me beyond any doubt that developing your speaking voice has much deeper ramifications than we might think. Our voice is so much a part of our personality; it’s our personal trademark. Every human being is special and unique, with a sound that’s also special and unique. However, most of us have covered this precious jewel with the mud of bad vocal habits, tension and negative emotions. Working on your voice can help remove that mud, allowing the jewel of your natural, true sound to shine once again.

Voice Can Affect a Presidential Canditate’s Success

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Yep! The voice IS your primary tool of communication…

Voters tend to prefer politicians with deeper voices, according to an analysis that political scientist Casey Klofstad conducted of the 2012 election for the House of Representatives. He says deeper voices might be perceived as a sign of strength and competence, helping candidates win the seat. Susan Miller, a vocal coach who has also analyzed the voices of politicians, says variance in pitch is another key factor in making a voice pleasing to the ear….

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Turn On Your Voice Amplifier!

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Man-Megaphone-3Have you ever tried to cover the hole of a guitar’s sounding board and then play it? Did you notice what happens? The sound, usually resonant and rich, becomes thin and barely audible. This exactly describes what happens to speakers who haven’t learned to use their natural “voice amplifiers”: their voice sounds thin and weak, and when they talk to a big group or in a large room, they end up straining their voice in order to be heard.

If we could hear the voice as soon as it comes out of the vocal cords we would be surprised by how thin and soft it is. That’s why Mother Nature gave us a variety of natural, powerful amplifiers to make the sound of our voice louder and more resonant. The main amplifier is the chest. If you place your hand on your chest while you’re speaking, you will feel it vibrate. That’s because the voice uses the chest as its primary natural sounding board, and most everyone is able to use their chest as a sounding board without even knowing it.

But there are additional, less obvious sounding boards/amplifiers located in the facial area, namely the sinuses and nasal cavities. A big part of training your voice for speaking has to do with “activating” these facial sounding boards by learning how to send your voice into those areas, which voice teachers call the “mask”. Sending your voice into the mask has several distinct advantages:

  • Your voice becomes amplified
  • Your voice sounds richer and more resonant
  • Tension in the throat is greatly reduced
  • With a relaxed throat and a strong, resonant voice, you’re more free to convey an increased sense of confidence and clarity to your audience

So, how do you activate your mask? One of the best ways is to hum as often as possible throughout the day. While you’re driving, or walking down a noisy street, or at the grocery store you can be humming without being heard by other people (hmmmmmmmm). As you hum, keep your throat and lips relaxed. You should feel your lips “buzzing”. This simple exercise will gradually train your voice to move from the lower area of the throat to the upper throat and nasal cavities, where it belongs. Then, when you speak, try to bring the resonance of your voice more and more into your mask, the same as when you’re humming.

Don’t worry about sounding “fake”; you’ll need some time to get used to your new sound. But this is how, physiologically, our voices are “designed” to work. Unfortunately, over years of misuse we’ve acquired the bad habit of tensing and straining the voice, making retraining necessary.

Relax, unlock the full potential of your voice, and reclaim your lost vocal identity!

Why Does My Voice Get Hoarse?

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Hoarse voice“My voice gets tired and hoarse when speaking for long periods of time and/or to a large audience.”

This is probably the most common vocal issue public speakers who have untrained voices run into. Why?

It takes real vocal endurance to speak to large groups of people for extended periods of time. Think about what athletes go through in order to develop physical strength and endurance. They learn correct technique and train for increasingly long periods of time every day. They follow a strict diet, take high quality supplements, and get plenty of rest. Their whole life revolves around maintaining peak physical condition. They don’t mind the sacrifice because not only is it their passion, their livelihood depends on it.

Almost every speaker and teacher I know spends a lot of time perfecting the content of their talks or classes, making it engaging, compelling, and fun. What very few realize, though, is that the first thing listeners are aware of when you start speaking, is the sound of your voice. If you find yourself straining in order to speak more loudly, or pushing your voice down in pitch to give it more authority, or if your voice gets hoarse and tired after prolonged talking, you are most certainly not using it properly.

So far we only talked about vocal endurance and the physical issues that can develop when the voice is used improperly, but there are other, more subtle repercussions as well.

When you strain your voice in order to speak loudly, or force it lower in pitch to sound more authoritative, the resulting tension will come through in the sound of your voice, subtly conveying a feeling of stress and lack of confidence. Your listeners may feel slightly uncomfortable without really understanding why, since on a more conscious level they might be enjoying the content of what you have to say. What has happened is simply that your voice image doesn’t match the quality and energy of your message.

Coming back to the physical aspect of the voice: if you have still more speaking to do later that same day–or even the next, you’ll have to strain and force your already tired voice even more, and so the vicious cycle continues.
Over time this can be fatal to your voice, leading to injuries such as nodules, polyps, or contact ulcers, which are caused by vocal abuse. It’s well worth the time and effort to learn to use your voice properly, so you can speak without tension and with increased resonance–a natural voice amplifier that increases not just volume, but also overtones, making the sound richer and more beautiful. The end result is that you sound louder without having to “push” your voice.

Do You Like the Sound of Your Voice?

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child-covering-ears1“I don’t like the sound of my voice, especially on a recording”

This is a very common complaint. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who, after listening to their recorded voice for the first time, said “Wow, what a great voice I have!” Listening even to one of your own voice messages can be a humbling experience, because you suddenly realize what your voice really sounds like.
Although this can be discouraging, there’s no need to despair. First of all, you have to realize that what you hear when you speak is not the same as what others hear, because you hear your voice not only from the outside, but from the inside as well. Of course, what you hear on the inside sounds fuller and richer due to the resonance within your sinus cavities.

Once you begin the process of learning how to use your voice correctly, you will find that gradually your sound becomes deeper and richer in overtones. It’s like adding an extra sounding board to a string instrument. All of a sudden, sounds that were thin and weak become alive with resonance and beauty. As your voice develops, and you learn to relax your throat more completely, you unfold the natural potential of your sound, allowing your voice to convey more clearly who you are and what you seek to communicate. When this happens, you will automatically start to like the sound of your voice, because you will find it more and more suited to give depth and resonance to what you have to say.

If you make your living as a speaker, teacher, salesman, preacher, counselor, or something similar, you belong to the category of professionals for whom the voice can make a huge difference in their work. Especially if you do much work using the telephone, your voice can become one of your best tools for conveying trust, honesty, and integrity.

“Your voice is your personal trademark. It serves as a calling card, presenting you and your ideas and your personality to a judgmental world.” (Dr. Morton Cooper, Ph. D, speech and voice doctor)

Here’s an exercise that will help improve the sound of your voice*
Stand or sit upright. Become aware of your shoulders and make sure they’re relaxed, away from your ears. Inhale gently and slowly through your nose, inflating your midsection and making sure your shoulders stay relaxed. Then exhale gently and slowly through your mouth, feeling the midsection slowly deflate. Repeat 3-5 times. Now inhale again as before; as you exhale, make a prolonged humming sound “hmmm” followed by “aaaaaaah”, as your midsection slowly deflates. It’s very important that you keep your lips relaxed while humming. You should feel a buzzing sensation there.  When you switch to “aaah” you should just lower your jaw. Don’t tense your throat or lips.

The purpose of this exercise is to bring more rsonance into your face (mask). This accomplishes two things: it makes your voice louder, richer, and smoother. It also takes tension away from the throat, making it possible to speak without getting tired.

*Special tip: Don’t pick a note that’s too low in pitch. Any note above C3 (for guys) and C4 (for women) would be ideal.

 

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