How to Improve Your Speaking Voice

Welcome back to the Body Talk Brief, where we will provide biweekly tips on the science of communication and what you can do to strengthen your communication skills.

If you’re just joining us, you can learn more about Body Talk and what we can do for you here.

Body Talk is the global leader in evidence-based training on the psychology of communication.?

We deliver communication courses, coaching, virtual learning and live events with our clients worldwide, with over 120,000 people trained from 46 countries over the last 22 years!

When we use our voice well, it can help us get our message across with clarity and confidence.

But what if you don’t like the sound of your own voice? What if you struggle with speaking too softly or too quickly? How can you connect with others if you are unable to use your voice with confidence?

In this edition of the Body Talk Brief, we’re covering how to improve your speaking voice, inspired by the Body Talk podcast with David Tyler, a communication expert, speaker, and voice-over talent based in Montreal, Canada, with decades of experience in TV & radio broadcasting and voice-over.

David began his year in radio broadcasting, a medium that is almost entirely reliant on your voice, and he has been helping companies communicate their ideas for over 30 years.?

David’s five tips for improving your speaking voice:

1. Learn how to breathe. - It sounds silly, but it’s true. Most people don’t even think about it. A lot of people breathe in through their mouth, and that creates a problem by drying out your vocal cords. Breathing through your nose helps prevent your vocal cords from becoming fatigued. It also helps you to relax, particularly if you’re nervous about speaking in front of people.?
2. Slow down. - People get excited! They have a ton of information in their head that they want to share. But in order to effectively communicate, you have to slow down.
3. Find the musicality of your voice. - David calls it the 6 colours of your voice: pitch, pace, prosody, timbre, tone, and volume. These are all things that you can use if you want to find variety and draw people into what you’re saying.?
4. Resonance communicates confidence. - David identifies this tip as the most important one. Resonance communicates to your audience that you know what you’re talking about.
5. Be quiet. - Sometimes you need to say nothing. When you provide your audience with space, you’re inviting them in. Let the audience think about what it is that you just said so that they can participate in what you’re saying, even if they aren’t speaking out loud. At Body Talk, we call it “the power of the pause.”

These tips may sound simple, but public speaking is a challenge for most people. Statistically, people fear public speaking more than death.?

So how do we deal with those nerves?

1. Memorise the first two minutes. - Once you’ve made it through the first two minutes, you’ve had an opportunity to calm down and connect with your audience. This will give you heightened confidence and an edge.?
2. Know that people want to see authenticity. - It’s okay to stop. If you need to take a moment to slow down and breathe, you can. People are going to pay attention to you. They will appreciate your humanity.
3. Understand what your audience is there for. - What do you need to communicate to them? What is your overall objective? Reconnect with those ideas.

Nerves aren’t a bad thing. Nerves mean that you care.?

The ultimate goal of any kind of communication we have is to connect with people. As David says:

“Stop communicating, and start connecting.”

Thank you for joining us for another edition of the Body Talk Brief.

Check out our ultimate guide to Advanced Presentation Skills for a more thorough introduction to what we do and tangible advice on how to apply Body Talk to your life. And as always, you can contact us here or email us at [email protected].?

Can we help with your communication skills training? We run fun and interactive courses, workshops and masterclasses to increase your team’s confidence, influence and authority. Check them out here.

And don’t forget to subscribe for more biweekly top tips on the science of communication!