FIVE Quick Tips for Projecting Your Voice
Here it is–May. It’s been five months since we began your year through the steps—the twelve essential steps to sounding feminine.
What kind of progress are you making? Are you more aware of your posture? Can you sense the flow of your breath when you speak? Have you been tuning your pitch?
I am frequently asked, “How do I project my voice?” People tell me that once they’ve successfully found their feminine pitch register, their voices get drowned out in noisy places like restaurants and nightclubs or recreating outside.
These five quick tips can and will help! Try them!
Kermit talks with a child and learns the difference between a soft voice and a loud voice.
Five Quick Tips:
Posture
- As you know, good posture not only looks great, it gives you the added bonus of freeing up your abdominal muscles. A long, tall, femininely upright posture engages your core (think Pilates LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilates). The deep skeletal muscles (of the hips and legs) are perfectly designed to hold us upright.
- Practice standing or sitting tall. Imagine a string coming out of the top of your head. Imagine that string being pulled gently upward which pulls your head, shoulders and hips into alignment. Be aware (metacognitive) of the freedom of movement you have in your abdominals as you practice the quiet breathing exercise from Step 2 – February.
Breathing
- Sense the activation of your core (hips, legs, spine) as you expand your belly (not chest) for the in-breath.
- Now, with a reasonably good effort, shout, “hey!”.
- How did that sound? Too deep? Just right?
- One of the behaviors I’ve noticed over the years, is that men tend to lower their pitch when they get louder and women tend to raise their pitch as they get louder.
- If your pitch went too low, tune it first (see Step 3-April).
- Repeat these same steps:
- Activate your core
- Expand your belly for the in-breath
- With reasonably good effort shout:
- “Excuse me!”
- “No way!”
- “Just a minute please.”
- Come up with a list of other attention-getting words or phrases.
Intention
- Those of you familiar with my programs, know the phrase, “What you think is what you get.”
- Bring the sound of your voice forward. Imagine that you can sense your voice rippling toward the front of your mouth, as you speak, like waves crashing on the shoreline.
- Your intention, the thought of allowing your voice to come cascading forward, will fill the resonating cavities of your face with a bigger sound.
Move your mouth more
- Sometimes being better understood is not about getting louder. Speech intelligibility studies suggest that we can be more effective when communicating (especially in a noisy environment) when we move our mouths to more fully shape each consonant.
- Don’t make your listener work to understand you.
- Enunciate the consonants more clearly and with more effort than usual.
Face your listener
- Let them see your expression; use your face to enhance what you’re saying.
- And finally, smile!
- Make eye contact.
- Let your facial expression draw people to you!
Step 5: Loudness
For the month of May, your goal is to practice these five quick tips frequently. Go out of your way to practice being understood when you’re in a noisy place. Does one technique work better than another?
I’d LOVE to know how you’re doing with Step 5. Stay in touch over the month.
Keeping you and your voice close to my heart,
Kathe
Our speaking voice naturally conveys information about each of us. Our voice serves as a primary means by which we project our physical (gender & age), psychological (happy or sad) and social characteristics (confident or reticent) to those with whom we’re communicating.
Although voice is central to a wide range of human experiences, it is difficult to provide a single, useful, all-purpose definition of voice, even though several meanings of this term are in common use. Voice can be defined narrowly as sound produced by vibration of the vocal folds, or broadly as essentially synonymous with speech, or referred to collectively/metaphorically as in the Latin phrase vox populi (“voice of the people”).
The elements of phonation and articulation, pitch and amplitude variations, and temporal patterning all contribute to how a speaker sounds, and broad definitions of voice reflect this fact.
In regard to feminizing your voice, we’ve narrowly defined your voice in terms of:
This month, April, we’re looking at Step 4 in your “Year through the Steps.” We’re defining voice quality very narrowly – the manner of vibration of your vocal folds.
Our voices can sound breathy (video) or scratchy (video) or just right (video). A breathy voice (when there is no medical reason for it) is often a style of speaking that is very connected to personality (very feminine) or circumstance (speaking softly in a movie theater). What’s happening mechanically is that the vocal folds aren’t completely approximating (completely coming to mid-line) when you speak. Listen to this breathy female voice of an actress who is a voice over artist.
Breathy Female Voice
The airiness you hear in her voice is related to the manner in which she is speaking.
In this next video, listen to a young woman who has a cold (infectious or acute laryngitis) and has a scratchy voice. The sound you hear in her voice is because the vocal folds are not vibrating in a smooth and symmetric fashion. In a “normal” voice, the vocal folds are entrained to oscillate so that they come together and blow apart again at the exact same millisecond. This oscillating behavior changes when the vocal folds are inflamed due to a upper respiratory infection (URI) and the resulting sound is a hoarse voice.
SICK VOICE
I think she was putting on a sicker voice than maybe she really had. What do you think?
Normal Vocal Cord Vibration
At this point, you might be asking yourself, “Why is all this important to me?” Here’s why.
The quality of your voice reveals important information about the state of health of your vocal cords (folds). If you have specific medical problems such as acid reflux, allergies or chronic sinusitis (to name a few), the voice is often affected.
Are you hoarse after eating?
Is your voice scratchy in the morning?
When your sinuses act up does it affect your voice?
Another important consideration is that training your voice is not without its pitfalls. Hoarseness, soreness and voice fatigue often DO occur and MUST be treated effectively. Be aware of how your throat feels and how your voice sounds after you’ve been practicing your voice exercises.
Use this simple rating scale. Generally, how would you rate the quality of your voice? Breathy? Weak? Airy? If so, assign a value to it, -10 would be an extremely weak voice. I suspect that very few of you reading this would score yourselves a -10, -9, -8, or -7.
If you’re purposefully using a breathy voice to sound more feminine, are you happy with the sound? Is it functional, meaning does your voice carry in a noisy restaurant? Does a breathy voice really convey the essence of who you are? Is it really feminine?
I would rate the breathiness of the female sample video above as -1 or -2.
Then consider if your voice is scratchy or hoarse. I would rate the “sick voice” from the video above about +5 or +6. The hoarseness in her voice definitely draws attention to itself, but it’s not so severe that we can’t understand what she’s saying. Are you hoarse? If so, what does that say about you? Tired? Sick? Allergic?
How would you rate your voice over all?
Step 4: Voice Quality
For the month of April, your goal is to listen carefully to the different qualities of people’s voices according to the above continuum. Try to separate pitch and resonance, (which we’ll talk about next month) and make some decisions about what you think of their voice quality and what you feel that reveals about them (health, mood, personality).
Can you find a sample of a feminine voice you love that isn’t breathy? Can you find a sample of a feminine voice that sounds raspy but not irritatingly so?
I’d LOVE to know how you’re doing with Step 4. Stay in touch over the month.
Keeping you and your voice close to my heart,
Kathe
As a success coach, Ali Brown really knows the magic success formula for women! That’s why I decided to repost a recent article of hers. Even if you’re not an entrepreneur these tips about your personal appearance will help you feel better about yourself. And as you know, feeling feminine will definitely help you sound feminine and the confidence that results is priceless.
Posted on January 26, 2012 by Ali Brown
Running a business in the new economy means that most of us spend a big chunk of our workdays behind a computer screen. And as many can attest, the longer we work from home, the fuzzier the idea of looking presentable gets. Our definition of making a good impression means we spell check our emails, rather than practice the perfect handshake. But, what happens when we land a big client meeting, or that long-awaited media interview? Below, are a few tips on how to shift seamlessly between work-from-home solo-preneur to real-world, successful business owner. And don’t worry, you don’t have to compromise your authentic self to do it!
Do Right By Your Brand
Your brand is in essence, your point-of-view. The more confident you are expressing your spin on things, the more likely you will make a positive first impression on your ideal clients. Take a few minutes to think about what your brand represents, and how you can embody it best with your dress and overall appearance. This means different things for different people by the way: just think of how a business consultant might dress compared to an edgy hair stylist. Blue highlights could garner praise at a high-end hair show, and rightly so—but it would probably not win over a Fortune 500 client. What would make you feel in integrity with the business you’ve created AND make your target market feel comfortable buying from you?
Young, trendy industries love creative expressions of dress, but even in these scenarios, it doesn’t always mean you have full license to let your “freak flag” fly. The key here is to give an impression that you are successful and confident in your area of expertise, whatever that may be. Do some research on successful people in your field, and keep an eye on the way they present themselves. It’s likely that they’ve taken their brand and their philosophy, and added their own, sophisticated spin on it.
Focus on the Fit
Ask any stylist what their #1 rule is when it comes to dressing to impress, and they will likely agree that it’s all about the FIT of the clothing you wear. Whether your daily uniform is a tank and a cropped pants, or a cardigan and slacks, you can uplevel your appearance by simply becoming a stickler about the way clothes fit, and flatter, your body.
Note that fit has nothing to do with being thin, or hitting the gym until you’re in the best shape of your life. Every person has a particular body shape that will shine in certain styles, and will flop in others. Find out which ones work for you by investing in a book, like that of Clinton Kelly’s (co-host of TLC’s What Not to Wear) Dress Your Best! The Complete Guide to Finding the Style That’s Right for Your Body, or Kendall Farr’s The Pocket Stylist.
Pay Attention to the Details
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the challenge of putting together an outfit, and neglect the finishing touches that truly seal the deal. Here we’re talking about well-groomed hair, makeup and nails. Your hair is one of your most important accessories. It should always look styled, and frizz-free, no matter how conservative or alternative your personal style is. It’s okay to keep things natural and not overdo it on products and makeup, but the goal is to give an overall impression that you are composed and put together—and you care about your appearance.
If you think this tip is only useful for a diva, chew on this… when mental health specialists do an assessment of a new patient, one of the first things they’re required to do is gauge the dress and grooming of their patients. If a patient doesn’t look like they comb their hair or take care of basic grooming, it’s a red flag that they aren’t functioning at 100%. Grooming says a lot about how you handle your world. It shows how well you tend to details, and how invested you are in where you want to go in the world.
Don’t Wait ‘til You’re THERE
Despite what you think, you don’t have to wait until you weigh a certain number, or have a certain amount of money in the bank to start presenting yourself like a successful business owner. Invest in a suit that makes you feel like a million bucks. Get the shoes that make you want to take a presentation by storm. You don’t have to spend a ton of money to do this—focus on wearing pieces that make you feel confident in your skin.
Be Calm
It’s likely that people won’t remember exactly what you were wearing, but they WILL remember how your energy made them feel. No matter how nervous or out-of-your-element you may feel inside, make eye contact and take your time to connect with people you are speaking with. Keep your business cards in a designated place in your purse or satchel, so you don’t have those awkward moments of scrambling through your purse.
If you can step into the world confidently representing your brand, and showing that you care about your business, yourself, and your clients, then you are dressing for success. People will pick up on it, and you’ll find that they’ll be ready and willing to champion you and your business.
© 2012 Ali International, LLC
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
“Entrepreneur mentor Ali Brown teaches women around the world how to start and grow a profitable business that make a positive impact. Get her FREE CD “Top 10 Secrets for Entrepreneurial Women” at www.AliBrown.com“
