Suzann member for 34 weeks 8 hours Send a message

It's absolutely amazing, but it's true: Your speaking voice can instantly affect your image, your "looks," how people perceive you.

Think about it. You meet a new friend, and she's gorgeous from head to toe. And then she speaks, and your perception of her is dramatically altered. It could be that her voice is so well-modulated and pleasant that she appears even more gorgeous than she did initially. Or perhaps she speaks to you in a pinched or nasal tone - suddenly that's part of her demeanor.

If you're going to accessorize, start with your voice. It's free, you already own one, it never goes out of style, and tuning it up is mostly a matter of awareness - plus perhaps a little work on the side. If you want to make a great impression at a first meeting, or a first date, or a job interview - polish up that beautiful voice. Never mind the watch or the handbag.

First, listen to yourself speak into a tape recorder, digital recorder, or a voice capture program you may have on your computer. Remember, though, unless the recording is of high quality, cut yourself some slack when assessing your voice.

As you listen to yourself, ask yourself questions:
1. Is my vocal tone rich and resonant?
2. Do I speak slowly, or do I sound like I need to switch to decaf?
3. Is my voice thin, pinched, tinny, or nasal? (If so, we can fix that. Right now we're just taking notes.)
4. Am I speaking in a register that sounds natural? Not little girl-y (high and thin), and not self-consciously low or breathy?
5. Nasality. A big problem for many people. Do I do that? (Again, it's fixable - but only if you can hear it in yourself.)
6. Is my volume appropriate for the room, the space, the phone, the car, or wherever I am.

Ultimately you want to work with your voice recorder until you get what you want: a rich, beautiful, full-bodied sound. (Keep your accent. It's part of who you are!)

Okay, let's address item #3: a voice that's thin, pinched, tinny, or nasal. Here's what's causing that. You're speaking "from your throat," instead of breathing deeply before speaking and letting the voice float out on the breath. Breathe from your abdominal area - NOT from your upper chest. Some of us, out of habit, are shallow breathers. We don't take in enough breath with each inhale, and we might not even be aware of breathing at all.

To speak, we must breathe. Deeply. Feel your neck area, your upper chest, and your shoulders. Is there tension? That's part of the problem, too. Do what you must to relieve that tension. It could be as simple as remembering to loosen up and breathe deeply; or it might require a larger "fix," such as a stretching or yoga routine, a weekly massage, or meditation.

For the voice to sound rich and resonant, the body must be free of habitual tension.

Let's look at #5: a nasal voice. This you may not hear unless you're listening for it on your recording. A nasal voice is usually learned from childhood, and so is more difficult to hear. Others can hear it (unless they are nasal speakers, too), but it's hard for the speaker to hear it. Listen to someone whose voice you find attractive - a public figure, perhaps, or an actress, or a voice on a book-on-tape. Record that, and then play it side by side with your own voice. The important thing is to be able to HEAR the nasality.

Once you can hear it, you can fix it. A nasal voice is, like a pinched voice, a result of shallow breathing. But it's also a result of what's called "placement."

You singers know that when we talk of "placement," we're referring to the places in the body off which the sound - your voice - bounces. A soprano's voice is often called a "head voice" placement. An alto's voice often bounces off the chest cavity, and thus is sometimes referred to as a "chest voice." A nasal voice is one that literally uses the nasal cavity as its resonating chamber.

Try breathing deeply, from your abdominal area, and singing "Naaaaa" on any note. Hold it for as long as is comfortable. As you're singing on this vowel sound, look in the mirror. Do you see that your mouth is hardly opened? Drop your jaw, relax your face and throat, and sing "Naaaa" again. Does it sound a little better? On the "n" part off "Naaaa," your voice will be naturally nasal. When you drop your jaw for the "aaaaa" sound, you want to feel the placement drop from your nose into the broader mask area - the entire front - of your face. You'll want to be able to fit 3 fingers vertically into your mouth - that's how wide the mouth must be to move the placement away from your nose.

We're doing these perhaps weird looking exercises so that you can hear the difference in yourself. Once you can hear it, you're golden. You can take it from there.

Listen to speakers you admire. Surround yourself with rich sounds and laid-back music. Relax your body - especially from the head through the upper chest. And see what happens. (I've got tons more exercises and ideas in my book, Vocal Vibrance, which is available at www.vocalvibrance.com.

You can turn your voice into a priceless accessory. One that gets you listened to! One that makes you gorgeous.

--------
Photo by Jane M Sawyer