Your Voice Has Untapped Potential

The human voice is fragile and susceptible to withering. Nevertheless, it is extremely effective, and our voice is our primary mode of communication. Our thoughts and ideas and feelings make their way through our bodies and out of our mouths. You may learn a lot about yourself by listening to your voice, and it can also make you feel anxious.

Your voice is an instrument and when our instrument is not in tune challenges can happen.  You may speak in a high or shallow pitch.  You may speak in a monotone manner, with no stresses or pauses. It’s possible that your quality of voice is too loud or too soft. You may sound too nasally or there’s a thin quality of your voice with no timbre. It’s quite possible that you don’t speak clearly; you might mumble or swallow your words. You might speak too quickly or too slowly causing others to either misunderstand or fall asleep. There are many aspects to this delicate instrument we possess and there are many reasons your voice may negatively impact your communication.

Hearing your own voice is disconcerting: it isn’t what you think you sound like on a recording and then that’s when you start to criticize yourself and lose confidence. Consequently, there aren’t many people who enjoy hearing themselves speak, and mostly it’s due to the way they think they sound. When we’re dissatisfied with our voice it becomes huge insecurity and that, in turn, keeps you back from free expression. Your voice is what you need to reflect who you are, what you think, what you feel, and how you share emotions, and it is how we connect with those around us.

The breath and the use of the diaphragm are the sources of our most delicate, precise, attractive, and natural voice. A person who uses diaphragmatic breathing to support the voice begins to command attention; the voice becomes rich and filled with color through a delicate balance of thought and emotion. When our breath is regulated, the vocal cords function at the correct tension (neither too tight which increases pitch nor too slack which impacts tone) the voice is well-supported by a balance of pressure.  Being in control of our bodies and brains, as well as generating sounds through proper diaphragmatic breathing, is what mastering our voice entails.

I’ve tried it, I’ve practiced it; I have looked at it as training in the gym only I am training my voice. Every night, I read the novel aloud for at least an hour to strengthen my diaphragmatic breathing and I practice connecting emotions through the words.  I am aware that slowing down my speech gives my voice greater authority and power. I am aware of how to utilize my breath which supports the quality of my voice and helps it sound much richer. To increase my capacity to speak clearly, I videotape myself reciting poetry, books, or sections of operas.  I then watch these recordings and look for ways to improve my pronunciation, delivery, and tempo. And of course, I always analyze my breathing.  Practice takes effort and the payoff, just like exercise, takes time but the results are so worth it, especially when it comes to increasing my confidence.

Breathing techniques, muscle and throat exercises, and frequent practice can help you strengthen your vocal apparatus (your instrument) and improve everything from speaking to a friend, in a boardroom, or in front of an audience, and even strengthen your singing voice. Many of us, including myself, battle with our voices. With a regular vocal workout, your weak voice can develop into an influential mechanism for communication. Because we all have immense untapped potential in our voices, we can improve how we sound it just takes applying techniques properly and practicing.