Four Tips for Using your Voice More Effectively
1. Deep breathing - If you find that your breathing gets faster or gets more shallow right before a presentation there are ways to control it. You need to find a way to slow down and deepen your breathing. This will, in turn, calm your nerves and alleviate anxiety. Here are a couple of tips to try out before going into your presentation.
- · Exhale as forcefully as possible. Blow all the stale air from out of your lungs. Do this several times
- · Take a long, slow breath through your nose, filling your lungs right up
- · Hold this breath for two seconds
- · Exhale slowly through your mouth, emptying your lungs completely
- · Repeat this for one or two minutes
2. Articulate - Saying your words clearly or “articulating” them is an important part of using your voice effectively. When you’re articulating well, your audience hears each word clearly and crisply. The easiest way to develop this skill is to slow down a bit when presenting and to practice articulating on a regular basis.
3. Volume and Pitch - It seems basic, but a lot of presenters get it wrong. Let me say this loudly and clearly: it’s absolutely essential that your audience can hear you without straining to hear. The key is to speak to your audience so that they can comfortably hear what you are saying. The same level of volume does not work in all situations. Make sure that those who are sitting in the back can hear you clearly.
4. Slow it down - Pace or tempo means how quickly or slowly you are presenting. If you’re like most people, then you probably tend to speak more quickly when presenting. This normally happens when the presenter is nervous. The best way to set and use an effective pace is to intentionally slow down for the first few minutes. This allows you to gain control of your pace and stops you from racing forward at top speed. After the first little bit, most presenters find that they’re not as nervous and the right pace just comes naturally.
