What you say matters! It is the main way that we convey our emotions, needs, and ideas. At Jacob Burton Studios, we are all about getting your voice to serve you better. You should sound like the confident and intelligent person that you are!
So, who needs to work on their speaking voice? Voice Over artists? Actors? Yes! Working in voice over, stage and film takes a particular dedication to not only having control of your voice and speech but also the ability to change and adapt based on the needs of your performance. But guess what? Anyone who is sharing or presenting their ideas should have that dedication to their voice! Let’s be honest: HOW you speak will determine how people listen to what you say.
I’ve been intrigued by the power of speech for as long as I can remember. When I was growing up, I remember a relative telling me a joke about “Warshington.” Yes, “WaRshington.” I still don’t remember the joke or the punchline because I knew how to spell Washington and there was definitely not an “R” in there! Someone explained to me that it was a regional accent ‘ism,’ but I was stuck on it. That relative of mine was smart, so why were they blatantly disregarding the spelling of the word and pronouncing it with this uncalled for “R”?! It made me question their intelligence and ultimately miss the punchline to their, probably hilarious, joke. Okay, I couldn’t have been more than eight years old. But still! The logic holds true. Our speech has the potential to get in the way of how people perceive us and can even distract others from what we are saying.
Maybe you have self confidence but when you are presenting your fantastic ideas, people aren’t engaging. It all comes down to articulation, intonation (the rise and fall of pitch), projection, breath and pace. That’s a lot to “come down to.” With some work, it is all attainable.
Articulation…
Articulation isn’t all tongue twisters and visions of an actor in a black turtleneck chanting “Red Leather, Yellow Leather” awaiting their entrance in the wings. It’s releasing tension in all of the facial muscles. It’s learning to use the tongue properly to form consonants. It’s engaging the tongue, lips, cheeks, and jaw in a way that serves your speech. And… there may be a few tongue twisters.
Intonation…
Does all of your speech rise in pitch at the end of a sentence? Making everything you say sound like a question? Please tell me you heard that in your head. That can make it very difficult for listeners to follow along to your brilliant idea. Some other common intonation struggles are speaking monotone or repeating the same melody in everything you say. Perhaps you have noticed that newscasters often use the same melody no matter what they are saying. Sometimes, all it takes is a little awareness of the habit to make a change and other times it takes some work at the piano to realize how much range we really have in our speech.
Speaking Up…
If people can’t hear you, well… this one is self explanatory. Let’s dive a little deeper. Someone who mumbles or speaks very quietly can be perceived as someone who lacks self confidence. Are you thinking “umm..I DO lack confidence!” Well, work on sounding confident and you just might find some self confidence buried in there! It’s like getting dressed up when you’re feeling unmotivated. Work from the outside in. Look good, feel good; sound confident, feel confident!
Projection…
Safely projecting is also a common issue, even for stage actors! In the world of microphones, it seems we are called on less to project. However, even speaking in a noisy room requires us to project more than we realize. Often you end up yelling and potentially losing your voice in these scenarios. To focus on projecting safely, we need to focus on resonance and breath support.
Resonance…
Our voice resonates in our body and then, past our vocal folds, in our face. Step one, find solid body resonance. This is likely to be in our chest. There are lots of techniques to find this resonance but you can start by exploring on your own. Chest resonance is a great place to start! Place your hand on your chest and hum. Do you feel vibrations? If not, try a lower hum or visualize sending your voice there. It comes easier for some than others and that’s okay! When you do feel vibrations in your chest, congratulations! That’s chest resonance! Now, let’s find the resonance that occurs above the vocal folds. A great place to start is a hum that buzzes in the lips. Feel that vibration? Great! Try a really nasal hum! Tap on your sinuses to help isolate those resonators. Working on all the ways that our voice can resonate is essential. When we are projecting we want to be able to tap into a fully resonant sound, then kick it into gear with strong breath support.
Breath Support…
Breath support is everything. It helps with stamina, tone quality, and projection. Finding good posture, learning to breathe low, and then sustaining that beautiful breath while you speak is the key to projecting. And speaking. And probably, peace of mind.
Speaking from your diaphragm is the key to having good breath support and being heard, but it takes some technique and exploration. Practice on your own and hear the difference. Try it on a ‘hah’ and try going back and forth between a casual sound and a fully supported diaphragmatic sound. You should get the sensation of saying: “‘hah’, ‘HAH’, ‘hah’, ‘HAH’” without a change in volume. Put full resonance and solid breath support together and they’ll be hearing your ideas, for sure.
Pace…
Another thing to be mindful of is your pace. Many of us can be culprits of speaking too quickly (ie: me after my morning cup of coffee). It’s important to give people time to process that amazing idea of yours. It’s more than just that though. Knowing your audience and using your pace to break up your speech or presentation in a way that is engaging, is a useful tool to have at your disposal. It can even become second nature if you practice! What are some other speaking tips you ask? Record yourself. Listen back. Ask some friends for feedback on how you sound. Then, determine what adjustments could serve you best. Articulation, intonation, projection, breath, and pace are your tools to lead with your voice, find your confidence, and share your great ideas.
