Career Tools: How to Sound Like a Pro
Tips for developing a pleasant, powerful speaking voice
From a baby's first wail to the last whisper of life, an individual's voice is a primary tool for communication. The pitch, volume, tone and tempo of the voice are key factors in how others perceive confidence and credibility, making the voice a vital part of the professional toolbox.
It pays to polish such a powerful tool, said Leda Scearce, a voice specialist at the Duke Voice Care Center.
Read More"We all speak naturally, but by paying attention and practicing certain techniques, it is possible to produce a voice that is more pleasant to listen to," she said.
This is important for professors, physicians and others who want to be heard clearly during meetings, presentations or other workplace events.
Scearce offers the following tips for developing and maintaining a professional sounding voice.
Breathe from the belly. A pleasant speaking voice begins with solid breath support to control the air that vibrates the vocal cords. Breathing deeply by using the diaphragm - the muscle between the lungs and belly - results in the abdomen naturally expanding and contracting. "Breathing from the belly gives greater control over the breath," Scearce said. Effective speakers control their exhalation so they still have breath at the end of a sentence. This level of breath support expands the range of pitch and volume a speaker can produce. "You can get much more nuanced control of the vibrations of the vocal folds with airflow than with your throat muscles," Scearce said.
Project your voice. In the confines of a conference room or spaciousness of a stage, making your voice heard involves more than simply cranking up the volume, Scearce said. It also involves using the body's cavities - the throat, mouth and nasal cavities - to amplify the vibrations from the vocal cords, much like the hollow body of a guitar makes the sound of strings louder. Relaxing throat and jaw muscles creates larger resonating chambers, resulting in a richer vocal tone that carries more easily to the back of the room. Scearce suggests exploring the sensations of vibrations in the mouth and face when humming to recognize this quality of a resonant voice. "That vibration is an indication of an efficient voice - one that is using the body to naturally amplify the sound," Scearce said.
Mix it up. Vaughn Greene, area governor for the local Toastmasters International district, said strong speakers often use a change in tone or volume or a well-placed pause to bring attention to a particular idea. "When you are talking, vocal variety serves in place of punctuation," he said. Judy Hall, a technical writer at Duke who joined Toastmasters to overcome her fear of public speaking, said the friendly feedback at Toastmasters has altered her speech patterns. "Somewhere around my fifth or sixth speech, I realized that I could use the same fluctuations in volume, pace and pitch I was using in my prepared speeches in everyday conversation to keep my voice from being too monotonous," she said.
Keep your voice healthy. Scearce advises drinking 64 ounces of water each day so that the mucus that lubricates the larynx remains slippery. She also prescribes a vocal nap of five to ten minutes for every hour of speaking. "It can be as simple as doing paperwork at your desk and allowing all phone calls to go to voice mail for 10 minutes twice a day," she said.
Smile when you speak. A smile or frown changes the configuration of lips, tongue and face, and that changes the sound of the voice. "The larynx is hardwired to the emotional center of the brain, and humans are adept at hearing emotions through the voice," Scearce said. "Adopting what I call the `laugh posture' - the way you feel just before you laugh - can make your voice more pleasant."