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Do you ever struggle to make
yourself heard? Do people ask you to repeat yourself? Is the dial for your
speech volume turned down? If so, we will show you some
simple, practical steps to develop your vocal projection and speak louder.
You might have heard of
'speaking from the belly'. This means using your abdominal muscles as bellows
to propel air out of your lungs and past your voice-box, making air molecules
vibrate, and creating sound. The strong abdominal muscles support the sound,
which means you can project your voice forwards with power and volume.
The three most important
factors affecting speech volume are the amount of air in your lungs, the way
you use your belly muscles and your posture. Our voice
training experts will show you how to achieve an appropriate posture, how
to breathe in enough air and how to pump it out again gently - projecting your
voice.
You need to breathe well in
order to speak well, but if you are constantly stressed (and who isn't these
days?) you can easily develop bad breathing habits, which can cause problems
with your voice. Millions of people breathe poorly, and therefore speak
ineffectively.
So are you a
bad breather? Do you ever find yourself running out of breath towards the ends
of sentences? Do you gasp, yawn or sigh regularly? Do you ever feel
light-headed or develop a tight throat while speaking? Do your shoulders and/or
your chest rise when you breathe in? If you recognise any of these symptoms you
probably need help with your breathing technique.
Some of the signs of
stress-based breathing are more subtle, however. Many of our clients don't know
they are breathing badly until we show them. We love the "Eureka!" moment that
follows, when people eventually start to breathe well (and feel calm) for the
first time in years.
Breathing well is also vital
to create volume. If you don't breathe well, you will probably try to use your
throat muscles to power your voice, which is very ineffective and can result in
vocal health problems.
Deep down your body knows how
to breathe well, and we will help you remove the effects of stress and remind
you what to do.
Muscle tensions can affect
your posture and influence the way you speak. They can also hold your belly
tight, restricting your ability to support your sound. You can only project
your voice if you relax your abdominal muscles before using them as bellows. If
they are tight and contracted, the bellows won't work properly.
Lots of people habitually
hold their belly in - often without being aware of it until we point it out. If
this is your habit you will not be able to use your voice effectively, and this
may cause voice health problems.
We will show you how to
project your voice and create volume without shouting or straining. With our
techniques you will always be heard and you should never suffer from a tired
voice again. We will help you find a comfortable, yet upright posture so your
sound can flow out freely. And we'll train you to use the appropriate muscles
for creating volume and power.
To learn more about how
Simply Speaking can help you project your voice, why not sign up for our mini
e-course, which contains loads of practical
voice training tips to get you started.
Or contact us now for a free initial voice assessment
and our voice training experts will explain how you can start increasing your
speech volume today. |
