8 Tips to Keep Your Voice Healthy and Strong

Posted on May 3, 2016May 3, 2016 by Ramesha Nani

by Ramesha Nani

Those 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.

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.
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.
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!).
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!

Why Does My Voice Get Hoarse?

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

“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?

Posted on October 6, 2015January 19, 2016 by Ramesha Nani

“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.

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:

(limited time)