158. The Ultimate Voice Warm-Up

 A voice warm-up is the most fundamental thing to do before speaking as well as the most overlooked thing before speaking!

In this episode I share a voice warm-up, which is one of the Pep Talks in Your Pocket.

Transcript

Hello. Welcome back to That Voice Podcast. Today, I'm sharing the ultimate voice warmer. So this audio is straight from my Pep Talks in Your Pocket. The Pep Talks in Your Pocket are audio tracks, kind of like a private podcast, sharing exactly what you need to hear before speaking. And the voice warmup, which you'll hear today is the first one on the list. There's also one to warm up your lips, tongue and jaw. There's a track to help you release your nerves, a guided breathing exercise, and a pep talk to ditch the self-doubt. These are 100% free to download. The link is in the show notes. Hundreds of people have downloaded these and reached out to say how practical and helpful they are before speaking. And sure, speaking might mean presentations and proper speeches. However, people are also using them before hitting record on a video, before meetings, before client calls, before wedding speeches. Anytime you need to use your voice.

And I'm sharing the warmup with you today because a voice warmup is the most fundamental thing to do before speaking, as well as the most overlooked thing. Before speaking, do you routinely do a voice warmup before speaking? If the answer is no, you are in the majority. But would you begin a workout without a warmup? Would you begin a workshop without an icebreaker? Would you get into your meeting or client session without a little rapport building? Literally just warming up your voice before speaking will make a big difference to the quality of your voice. And it's essential for voice health in the same way as exercising without a warmup increases your chance of injury. Like in yoga, if we went straight into some kind of hardcore lizard before warming up, oh my gosh, hips, ouch. So it's the same with voice, and it usually happens over time, years and years of not warming up, using poor technique, not breathing. You'll get to your older age and not have a strong voice.

I had a client in her seventies who couldn't read at church, which is what she wanted to do, and she couldn't read because she couldn't sustain the sound required to get through the reading. Her grand kids couldn't hear her on the phone.

Taking care of your voice is part of taking care of your health. So if your health's important to you, then your voice is important to you. And I'm so glad you're here listening to this podcast. So here is the voice warmup from the Pep Talks in Your Pocket. Head to the link in the show notes and download the rest. It's totally free. And I'd encourage you to do the exercises as this podcast plays. So if you're on a bus or walking, you might get some strange looks. Don't worry about it, enjoy using your beautiful voice.

Hello. Hello. It's Sal here, and I'm so excited you have this opportunity to use your voice, but first we need to warm it up. So I'd love to take you through my five-step voice warm up. Now, step one is breathing. You're going to breathe low and deep into the tummy and exhale on the sound. S, H.

So “Shhhh”, like you're in the library.

So we're going to go in for 4 and then hold the Shhhh for about 6. I'll count you in. We'll do three rounds. So hands on the belly so you can feel where that air is coming in. And we're going to breathe in to 3, 4, Shhhh, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In 2, 3, 4, Shhhh, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In 2, 3, 4. Shhhhhh, 5, 6. Great!

Now step two, this time we're going to exhale on a hum. So feeling those vibrations and one hand keep on your belly, the other hand put on your chest. You're wanting to feel the air behind the lower hand and the vibrations behind the top hand, that beautiful heart voice. So we're breathing in, and then you're going to hum for as long as you can.

So breath in low and deep, and hmmmmmmm. Can you make those vibrations longer? Can you make them louder? Can you feel them more behind the walls of your chest?

One more time. Breath in. Hmmmmmmm. Beautiful.

Step three, vibrating our lips. So it sounds like, and your lips need to be relaxed. Imagine the air is just flowing through gently, almost like you've been to the dentist and you've gotten anesthetic.

So if you find yourself going, it's blowing. You need to let the air just pass through.

So let's try it on a low pitch with the vibrations. So it's a breath in and high pitch.

And then we'll do the elephant, which is low to high breath in

And the rollercoaster up and down. So breath in…

And don't worry if you're getting weird looks if people are around you. I always do these in an Uber and get very weird looks from the Uber driver.

Okay, step four, we're going to warm up our lips and our jaw. I call this the “surprised donkey”. What sound does a donkey make? E O surprise? Ah! So we're going to go E O Ah, really stretching the lips as much as you can. E O Ah, E O Ah, beautiful.

And step five, we're going to let it all out the air, the vibrations, opening the jaw as we say. Mayo, mayo, mayo, mayonnaise. Let's do it together. So breath in.

Mayo, mayo, mayo, mayonnaise. Again, breath in. Mayo, mayo, mayo, mayonnaise. Bit faster. Mayo, mayo, mayo, mayonnaise. Different pitch. Mayo, mayo, mayo, mayonnaise.

And the main thing you're listening for is that beautiful freedom in the voice. So you don't wanna be hearing nays so it sounds a bit crackly, beautiful, and smooth, like it's rolling out over a rainbow. One more for good luck. Breath in. Mayo, mayo, mayo, mayonnaise.

And you are good to go. You have totally got this!

How did you go? How did you like that warmup? Did it get you out of your comfort zone a little bit? Remind you of high school drama to have that audio independently ready to play. Download the Pep Talks in Your Pocket. So you've got the audio by itself, not with all the bit at the start and the bit at the end I'm doing now. The link is in the show notes and it's also on my website, sallyprosser.com.au. And reach out to me on Instagram @sallyprosservoice or @thatvoicepodcast. Let me know what your favorite part of this warmup was, and if you noticed a difference in your voice.