163. How to Project Your Voice

Does your voice feel small and soft and you struggle to be heard? Are people constantly asking you to "speak up" or "repeat yourself"?

If people can’t HEAR what you’re saying there’s no chance they’re going to UNDERSTAND what you’re saying, let alone be moved by it.

In this episode I guide you through the six steps to project your voice.

I also explain WHY how good vocal projection is essential for the health and longevity of your greatest instrument - your voice!

Transcript

Hello welcome back to That Voice Podcast episode 163, How to Project Your Voice.

This episode is for you if your voice feels small and weak and you struggle to get that volume. Perhaps people are constantly asking you to speak up, or repeat yourself, maybe in groups you’re not being heard, around meeting tables you’re not having influence. Because if people can’t hear what you’re saying there’s no chance they’re going to understand what you’re saying, let alone be moved by it.

This episode is also for you if you experience any pain or discomfort in your throat after projecting your voice or at the end of the day.

Write this down -

Good voice projection equals good voice protection.

And this is so important.

Pretty much anyone can scream – and this is not great for the voice.

If you’ve ever been to a concert or a sporting match and had a bit of a sore throat the next day, you’ll know what I mean.

If you experience this often.

A sore throat after a day of training or even just a week of work. Especially if you compete with other noises like in a warehouse or a factory or just outside in a busy area.

This is concerning.

It might not seem like much of a big deal now.

But in the future it will be.

Ongoing soreness, tension and a little pain in the throat is a sign of poor vocal production.

You are potentially placing brute force on your vocal cords.

And if this continues if you’re privileged enough to get to your 60s, 70s, 80s and onwards, you may not have a voice at all.

And I know from clients who’ve reached out to me.

Losing your voice is debilitating and really limits your quality of life.

And this is why investing in taking care of your voice should be a must.

I can present a workshop all day, projecting my voice, I can speak on coaching calls for 8 hours and while I give my voice hydration and rest. After all that I never feel any pain. And that’s because I use the technique I’m going to take you through today.

If health is important to you – and your voice isn’t strong and resonant and painfree – investing in voice coaching should be a given.

If you go to the dentist, if you go to the gym, if you watch your diet, are you taking care of your vocal health?

Good voice projection is voice protection.

And poor voice projection is vocal health rejection.

Now have you downloaded my free Pep Talks in Your Pocket? These audio tracks cover exactly what you need to hear before speaking – and tracks 2 and 4 especially will help with your projection.

I’ll link to it in the shownotes. Download these onto your phone so you have them ready before your next speaking thing.

In order to project your voice you need to know how you produce your voice.

How do you make sound. When we talk about projection. It’s not the nicest word is it? Reminds me a bit of projectile vomit, or projecting your feelings over someone. So it can be nicer to think of it in terms of carrying power. How do you achieve carrying power in your voice. How does your voice carry or reach to the ear of your farthest listener.

Projection, carrying power, loudness, it’s all about – volume.

And volume is directly related to your breathing.

More air equals louder volume.

Better control over that air equals better control over your volume.

Our voices are kind of like a horn.

The squishy bit on the horn is our lungs.

So a little horn with a little squishy bit is like Eeee

But a big horn with a big balloon shaped squishy bit is going to produce a bigger sound.

So we want to inhale a larger amount of air if we want to make a louder sound.

And we also need to have control, sovereignty over that outgoing air, otherwise it all rushes out like an inflated balloon that hasn’t been tied up and is let go in a room and it flies all around and then drops on the floor.

Quantity and control.

If you have a large quantity of air and you have control over that outgoing air – then boom you have voice projection.

So how do you project your voice. I’m going to give it to you in six steps. If you want more and you want me to hear your voice – join Soul Speakers. There are a bunch of resources on this and I can give you direct feedback on your vocal production in our monthly live coaching calls. Hearing how to do it, is a lot different from actually doing with the guidance of a professional. If you enjoy the podcast, take the next step and join Soul Speakers. The link is in the show notes.

Ok six steps to project your voice.

Step One – Relax your body. Tension is the enemy of projection. So roll your shoulders, twist through your middle, shake your hands, stretch your neck. Calm your body. This is why your voice might go soft when you’re nervous because tension makes it difficult to get to step two.

Which is – breathing down into your belly. Directing that air down into your sacral chakra. As the air flows in the tummy expands out. If you’re struggling to get this – put your hands above your head, that will help the air dive straight down to your tummy. This is an express session for you. For more on breathing – I have entire masterclasses just on breathing and they are inside Soul Speakers.

Most people take little shallow breaths up into the top part of their lungs. The shoulders rise, the tummy comes in, the boobs stick out in the case of women – and this type of breathing might make you look skinny in a photo, it’s not going to help your voice. It’s a small amount of air miles away from your powerhouse voice muscle the diaphragm, so it’s no wonder a small little weak sound comes out. This kind of breathing is actually called Clavicular Breathing because the clavicles or collarbones rise – not what we want.

We want no rising in the shoulders and expansion of your beautiful belly.

Down there we can get to step three – which is engaging the diaphgram. The diaphragm is a big muscle that runs under the ribs and attaches to the spinal cord. If you put your fingers uner your sternum and cough you’ll feel the right area. The diaphragm is in the solar plexus chakra and the solar plexus is the seat of your self esteem. Again this is why if you doubt yourself before speaking, this muscle goes to sleep a little bit, your breathing goes and your volume goes.

See how the mind, body and spirit is all connected?

So as your air travels up the windpipe and out of the body, you want to feel your diaphragm cruise on in towards your spine offering beautiful support to your sound. Not having the balloon fly off like crazy. And you can practice this by taking a belly breath with your hand on your diaphragm and say ha ha ha and on each ha you feel that diaphragm pop in.

There’s a few other things here.

Step four is making sure your vocal cords connect with power. Too much air and you get this you want those vocal cords connecting – ah ah ah. If you put your hand on your throat and hum you can feel this connection, those vibrations. Again this is an express explanation for you. I’m giving you a taste of what to expect with my coaching – and the huge scope for you to improve your voice.

Step five, is feeling those vibrations which start at the vocal cords, in your heart space. Not up in your head, not in your nose, not in the back of your throat, down in that beautiful big space the walls of the chest. This is where we get good amplification, strong resonance, so the voice carries without putting any strain on the throat – all the power is from the diaphragm and the resonance is in the heart space.

And finally step six – might seem kinda obvious. If you want to be heard you have to open your mouth. If you mumble like this and don’t open your jaw how on earth is that air meant to carry, how are those soundwaves getting out of your body and into the ear of your audience? So remember y exercises the surprised donkey? EE AW AH. Really work the jaw and open it more than you would normally especially if you’re in a loud environment like a factory or outside. There’s just so much competing with your vocal soundwaves you gotta make them big!

So altogether, your body is relaxed, wiggle and jiggle, twist through the middle.

Breathe in low and deep into your belly.

Feel the diaphragm engage to support that air as it travels up through the windpipe, through the vocal cords which are strong and connecting, and then those vibrations resonate in the walls of the chest that beautiful big space near your heart and then open jaw as you’re speaking.

This is the recipe for beautiful carrying power in your voice. It won’t sound like you’re screeching or yelling it’s flowy and full and most of all reaches the ear of your farthest listener, so everyone can hear.

And that my dear friends is how you project your voice.

If you found this episode helpful please let us know on Instagram @thatvoicepodcast and if you’d like more of this kind of content, direct feedback on your voice and a plan for keeping your voice healthy. Join my community of Soul Speakers – the link is in the show notes.