Your Voice is your Tool and developing a great voice takes time and dedication. But there’s nothing to stop you starting to improve your own voice right now. I am sure there are many tips you may have tried or seen nevertheless I would like to share with you three steps that you can try right away…...
Remember the three P’s
Patience and Practice makes a skill Perfect
Step 1- Breathing
Deep and relaxed breathing greatly improves the quality of voice
Firstly we are going to try and relax and take a few deep breaths. And when you breathe in deeply try not to move your shoulders too much but breathe in from your belly (or stomach).
Ready? OK ...Breathe in ..... deeply ... remember to use your stomach ... and now wait a few seconds .... then breathe out slowly .... and count out aloud as you do it ...
... 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6... 7 ... 8 ... 9 ... 10 ...
... 11 ... 12 ... 13 ... 14 ... 15 ... 16 ... 17 ... 18 ... 19 ... 20.
Try and count all the way to 20 as you breathe out.
OK normal breath in again ... and out.
Now lets try the deep breathing exercise again and count slowly all the way to 20.
So ... Breathe in ..... deeply ... and ... wait a few seconds .... then breathe out slowly .... and count out aloud as you do it
... 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6... 7 ... 8 ... 9 ... 10 ...
... 11 ... 12 ... 13 ... 14 ... 15 ... 16 ... 17 ... 18 ... 19 ... 20.
.... try and count all the way to 20 as you breathe out.
Step 2- Read out Aloud
Reading is not only stimulating and entertaining, but is also a very useful way of developing good speech.
Find yourself a room where you won’t be disturbed..or overheard!
Read the following paragraph or any excerpts
. It was a beautiful day in more ways than one when Harry finally decided to ask Sally to marry him. The weather had now settled down and although there were still a few clouds in the sky, it was a very bright, blue sky that greeted them as they left the motel. They knew at that very moment that they were meant for each other
Now read it again but this time think about how much your mouth is opening. Try and open your mouth as wide as possible when you speak each word. In fact try and speak each word individually and not as part of a sentence. Try and make each word sound clear as possible. Try and "spit" out each of the words.
I know you may feel that it sounds somewhat strange! The purpose of reading this is to make each word have a beginning and an end. More often than not, when we speak we "slurrrrrr" our speech and do not take enough effort to pronounce each word clearly enough.
Please repeat the paragraph one more time. This time reading it as a whole piece of text (not individual words without meaning) and making it sound as exciting (and emotional) a moment for Harry as you possibly can.
Step 3- Tongue Twisters
Tongue twisters are great for vocal agility and it’s FUN. It helps in exercising the jaw and facial exercises
Try and read out the following twisters
“Three grey geese in a green field grazing”
Now read it aloud and FASTER. Don’t worry if you get mixed up with some of the words. Just try it again a few times till you can say it aloud 10 times in 30 seconds. And remember to open your mouth as much as possible
Now let’s try another tongue twister. Of course you know the routine now..so try this one
“A proper coffee pot”
Are you starting to feel as if your jaw, mouth and tongue are getting some exercise?
If not then you need to try the two tongue twisters again!
What you have been doing (in a simplistic way) by the above exercise is a warm up. Many presenters, actors and public speakers spend lots of time in vocal exercises like that before going on stage or reading the news or giving a presentation so that when they start speaking to the audience they have already warmed up their voice and are able to "hit the road running".
These exercises will help you change the way some of your words sounds to the ear (vowel sounds) and also help you pronounce words more clearly (consonant sounds). You can use these exercises to soften or even (over time) lose an accent. Happy voice exercising………………………..
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