The Importance of Vocal Training for Speaking

Posted on August 25, 2017November 1, 2019 by Ramesha Nani

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

►Online Course for Speakers

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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The Voice of Confidence And Trust

Posted on March 10, 2016March 10, 2016 by Ramesha Nani

by Ramesha Nani

Asha Talking What 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

Posted on January 28, 2016March 10, 2016 by Ramesha Nani

Release the Voice Inside!

by Ramesha Nani

One 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.

Turn On Your Voice Amplifier!

Posted on December 29, 2015January 19, 2016 by Ramesha Nani

Have 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!

Increasing Your Vocal Range

Posted on September 26, 2015January 19, 2016 by Ramesha Nani

by Ramesha Nani

People often ask me how they can increase the range of their voice. While range can be worked on and increased, it’s actually more a matter of discovering the range inherent in each individual voice. All that is necessary is to learn how to access that range.

Our voice has two main “sections” called registers: the low register, also called chest voice, which most of us use when we speak; and the high register, called head voice, which some of us (mostly men) are completely unfamiliar with.

In trying to develop their high range, singers usually have the experience of hitting a “ceiling” they can’t go beyond unless they push and force their voice up. This is accompanied by tension, discomfort and, if continued long enough, a sore throat and possible loss of the voice.

How to proceed?
Before I talk about what you can do to develop your higher range, I want to mention that these are merely suggestions to give you an idea of what is possible. However, if you want to learn the delicate art of switching from one register to the other seamlessly, it is recommended that you find a voice teacher and have one-on-one sessions. A good teacher is capable of hearing even the subtlest nuances of your voice and guiding you through a process that can otherwise be difficult and frustrating.

At the beginning, use an arpeggio exercise (1-3-5-8-5-3-1) rather than a scale.
Start on a low note (typically low A) and move your way up a half step at a time.
Sing fast and soft. This will prevent tension in the throat.
The first note is the most important: make it as full as you can, by enunciating the vowel very clearly.
As you go higher, try to consciously create a round sound by expanding your throat (like when you yawn) but in a relaxed way.
When you are approaching what seems to be the top of your range, sing very softly, open your mouth wider by lowering your jaw, and stay as relaxed as possible. Your voice may sound “airy” and weak, almost like falsetto. It will naturally become fuller with practice, as long as you don’t push to make it sound fuller.
Stop as soon as you feel pain or discomfort.

It may take some time before you’re able to switch between registers seamlessly. Be patient! The most important point is to practice without tension and to not overdo.

Watch this video showing you how to develop your upper range:

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