This article is about the voice: what the voice should be like, how to develop it, and how to improve it.
Today we use three main languages of communication: voice, gestures, and the language of emotions.
Voice is the main tool of a charismatic speaker. Many public figures did not have a strong voice by nature. They had to specially train it to make it stronger and more pleasant to hear. Pleasant, because there are pleasant and not so pleasant voices.
It all depends on the tone, how high or low the voice is.
The higher the voice, the more emotional and irritating it sounds.
The lower the voice, the more confident and convincing it sounds.
Another indicator of pleasantness is volume. The voice should fill the space in which it sounds. It should envelop the listener or listeners, immerse them in its information field. This creates the effect of depth and confidence.
And, of course, the strength of the voice is also important. The voice shouldn’t be loud, but it should still give the impression of being strong. If you train your voice, it will give you the ability to speak very loudly when the situation requires it. But during presentations or negotiations, or in your personal life, you don’t need to speak loudly. You will speak with moderate force, but the audience will still feel the potential of a strong voice.
Based on this, we can already voice the characteristics of the voice you should strive for: a low, voluminous, and strong voice. It’s also important to monitor the pace of your speech – this also affects the perception of you as a speaker. The faster the pace, the closer the speech is to emotional and irritating. And, accordingly, a moderate but not slow speech is closer to pleasant, reasonable, and respectful.
But how do you train your voice? What exactly do you need to do?
The first thing is the right type of breathing. We use three conventional types of breathing: upper (shoulders rise), middle (chest expands), and lower (abdomen). The most effective type of breathing is the third type, i.e. belly breathing. It allows you to develop a larger volume of air in your lungs, which provides the air capacity you need to complete a thought. With a small volume, such as upper breathing, you will have to pause where you shouldn’t in order to take in air and complete the thought. Therefore, breathe through your belly and practice this type of breathing every day. Do yoga, sports, dancing and breathe with your belly.
The second is speech with the right type of breathing. Say poems and tongue twisters with lower breathing and voice power. Add simple physical exercises. In this way, you develop both breathing power and diction.
The third is vocal exercises, pronouncing simple sounds without straining the ligaments and abdominal muscles. Exercises to relax your muscles and pronounce sounds and words in a smooth and voluminous voice. For example, pronounce vowel sounds and sing them as if they were a chorus. Then add consonants and sing them as well. Pronounce the sounds with maximum relaxation of the throat muscles.
Fourth, you can do speeches or poetry in a low and voluminous voice, along with exercise. This can be combined with sports or dancing or yoga. Your main task is to make sure that your speech is clear, audible, strong, and there is no shortness of breath.