Buzz
Do you find your voice strange? Are you worried about your voice cracking? Believe it or not, you can change your current voice, even if you're an adult. Nearly every aspect of your voice, from depth to volume, can be altered with enough practice. A person’s way of speaking involves pronunciation issues, which can all be modified and improved.
Steps
Assess Your Current Voice
Understand the different elements that make up your voice. The first step to improving your voice is to grasp the characteristics of your current one. There are 6 main factors that shape your voice:
- Volume: How loud do you speak?
- Clarity: Do you mumble or speak unclearly?
- Quality: Do you have a nasal, breathy, or hoarse voice?
- Overall Pitch: Is your voice high-pitched or low?
- Pitch Variation: Does your voice stay flat, without rising or falling?
- Speed: Do you speak too fast or too slow?
Record Your Voice. To better understand your voice, you need to record and listen to it. This might not feel enjoyable at first because many people dislike the sound of their own voice in recordings, but this is the most accurate way to experience how others hear you. Use software like Garageband to record your voice, then replay it and pay attention to elements such as volume, clarity, quality, pitch, variation, and speed.
- Recording and listening to your voice helps you gain a more objective view of how you sound to others. Take note of any issues like mumbling, excessive filler words, nasal tones, and others. Be sure to write down any observations you make.
What Kind of Voice Do You Want? Review your notes on your voice and its weaknesses, then consider what changes you'd like to make. Everyone has different goals for voice improvement. For example, women with deep, raspy voices may want a higher pitch, while men with high-pitched, fast voices may aim for a lower, slower tone.
Plan Your Voice Transformation
Improve Your Breathing. Your voice originates from your breath, so a good voice requires proper breathing. Ideally, you should breathe from your diaphragm, slowly and steadily. Begin by placing your hand on your stomach and take deep breaths, feeling your belly rise and fall with each breath. Practice this breathing exercise several times a day.
- Another breathing exercise involves reading a passage with varying sentence lengths. Take a deep breath before each sentence, exhaling slowly as you speak aloud. Then, inhale again and continue with the next sentence. This exercise is for practicing breath control and shouldn't be used in everyday conversation.
Slow Down and Eliminate Filler Words. Speaking too quickly can make you seem less confident and can confuse your listeners. One quick way to improve your voice quality is by slowing down your speech. Practice by reading a text aloud, first at your normal pace, then gradually slowing down. Another exercise is reading a long string of numbers, such as a phone number, while using your hand to trace the numbers in the air. This pace is ideal for clear and natural speech.
Control Your Pitch. Depending on your natural pitch and variations, you will need to practice more or less. Check your overall pitch by speaking in a lower tone as often as you can. However, make sure to lower your pitch gradually, by about half a tone at a time. To vary your pitch within sentences, try rising and falling in tone to make your speech more expressive. Here are two exercises:
- Practice repeating a two-syllable word with varying pitch. There are four pitch variations: rising, falling, rising then falling, and falling then rising.
- Repeat a sentence while changing the emphasis. For example, say “I didn’t steal this car,” first emphasizing “I” to clarify that you didn’t steal, then emphasizing “didn’t” to show that you did something else with the car, and finally emphasizing “this car” to imply that you may have stolen something else instead.
Relax Your Mouth and Jaw. Practice speaking with a relaxed mouth and jaw. The best way to do this is by exaggerating your facial movements while speaking. Open your mouth and say “oh” and “ah,” allowing your jaw to relax. Practice this regularly throughout the day.
Practice Relaxing Your Voice. If your voice feels uncomfortable, you will speak from your throat rather than your diaphragm, causing your voice to sound tense, harsh, and forced. Follow these steps multiple times a day to relax your voice:
- Place your hand on your throat and speak normally, paying attention to when your throat and jaw feel tight.
- Yawning deeply and allowing your jaw to open comfortably. End the yawn with a prolonged “ho-hum.” Continue humming for a few more seconds while closing your lips and gently moving your jaw back and forth. Repeat this several times a day.
- Pronounce words like “hang,” “harm,” “lane,” “main,” “lone,” “loom,” exaggerating your facial movements as you say them. Yawn again if your throat feels tight.
- Gently massage your throat muscles with your fingers.
- Relax your throat by slowly repeating sounds like: “nay,” “nay,” “nee,” “no,” “noo.”
Enhance Your Voice Further
Listen for Details in Your Voice. To fine-tune the details of your voice, you need to record it again. Record yourself reading a lengthy passage, aiming to speak comfortably, slowly, and clearly. Listen to the recording and note any areas that still need improvement. Read the passage again, correcting the initial mistakes. Compare the original recording with the second one to assess your progress. Repeat this process until you are satisfied with your voice.
- Regularly practice this exercise to target a specific feature of your voice that you want to improve the most.
Patrick Muñoz
Voice and Speech Coach
Voice and Speech Coach
How to Improve Your Voice? Patrick Muñoz, a vocal coach, advises: "You need to drink plenty of water, at least 2 liters per day. Avoid coffee, which can tighten your voice, and acidic foods, which can dry it out. Dairy products will also leave a coating in your throat that affects your voice."
Listen to People with Beautiful Voices. Download podcasts and audiobooks, and take some time to listen to the voices of the authors. Pay attention to how they control their voice, articulate clearly, and vary their pitch. Part of voice training is being aware of what a good voice sounds like. At the same time, humans naturally learn from good role models, so if you listen to people with good speech, your own voice will improve significantly.
Take Voice Lessons. One of the most effective ways to improve your voice is to take professional voice training. Find a coach in your area and sign up for lessons. Once you're taught by an expert, you’ll discover many ways to pronounce words and enhance your voice.
Try Acting and Vocal Music Classes. These are excellent ways to improve your voice. Singing and speaking are quite similar, so progress in one area can lead to progress in the other. Search online for local vocal music classes in your area.
Advice
- If your voice cracks, drink plenty of water; it’s not only beneficial for your voice but also for your overall health.
- Avoid drinking too much cold water, as it may cause your voice to crack. Instead, opt for water at room temperature.
- Be confident in your voice. Don’t let insecurity hold you back from speaking. The more people hear you speak, the more they will come to appreciate your voice.
