Mastering Your Voice on Zoom: How to Make Your Voice Sound Great

Welcome to Part 1 of my series, "Mastering your voice on Zoom." In this series, I focus on how to make your voice sound better on Zoom or other virtual meeting spaces. The emphasis is not on tech, adjusting the settings, or using expensive microphones. I share what you can do with your body to make your voice sound great.

I’ll give you practical easy vocal exercises and techniques that will elevate your virtual presence and ensure your voice resonates with confidence and clarity. Improving the sound of your voice is not only attainable, its easy and is a skill that can be cultivated and refined.

Here’s how!

?

There are four systems at work in your body that create the sound of your voice: respiration, phonation, resonation, and articulation. In order to improve your voice, optimize each of these four areas so that you develop a richer fuller sound. In part 1 of this article, we’ll focus on respiration and articulation. ?

Operation Improve Your Respiration

It sounds so simple, but proper breathing is critical for good vocal production and a warm resonant sound. Taking full deep breaths from your lower body before you start speaking is key because respiration is the foundation of a powerful voice. The sound of your voice is fully dependent on your ability to control your breathing. If you feel nervous and anxious when making presentations, effective breathing can help you quickly by easing the anxiety while setting a confident tone.

Here are a few benefits of taking deep relaxed breaths from the lower body.

1. The best voice you can produce comes from a relaxed body. Deep breathing relaxes and calms the body.
2. Strong breath support gives you a strong tone, makes you sound more confident, and makes it easier for others to hear and understand you.
3. A nice deep breath allows you to produce a resonate tone. It has a domino effect on your voice. It starts with air coming up through your body and making the vibration of your vocal folds create a sound that resonates through your chest, which lowers the pitch and tone, making you sound warm and clear.
4. A well supported breath minimizes vocal strain and injury and reduces stress.

Of course, respiration is important for life, but it is also the key to a good strong voice. Allow your full deep breath to carry a deep, resonant sound to your listeners.

?

Breath Control Exercise #1

Take a deep breath in through the nose, expanding your lower body. Don’t lift and tense your shoulders, instead keep them relaxed allowing the lower body muscles to do the work. Gently let the air out through the mouth.

?

Breath Control Exercise #2

Take another slow deep breath in through the nose, this time on the exhale, vocalize the sound “shhh” or “ssss.” Keep your neck, shoulders, and upper body relaxed. Take in at least 3 deep breaths. Focus on maintaining a continual even flow of air both as you inhale and exhale. ?

Breath Control Exercise #3

For the last breath exercise, you’ll need a paragraph to read. So, take a slow deep breath from the lower body and read a full paragraph as your exhale. Keep a steady, even flow of air as you read. Try not to stop or break the flow. The goal is to control respiration as you speak.

?Expanding the lower body as you inhale can easily change the sound of your voice. This type of breathing gives you energy and allows you to speak within a natural comfortable pitch without stress, strain, or injury. ??

?

Operation Improve Your Articulation: Do It With Precision

Articulation is the key to being clearly understood. You have several articulators that help you shape breath and sound which include the jaw, mouth, lips, teeth, and tongue. To ensure clarity and that your messages land well, don’t be lazy with your articulators.

Tongue twisters are the fastest and easiest way to help you improve articulation. But beware, all tongue twisters are not created equally. Alliterations using the letter “m” will make the most of all your articulators.

• Mama made me mash my M&Ms.?
• My mommy makes me muffins on Mondays.
• Male monkeys mopping malls in March.

These tongues twisters are very effective because they engage the lips, tongue and jaw in very specific ways. As you speak these sentences, take note of how your lips, jaw, and tongue move. Even though your teeth only move based on what your jaw is doing, the teeth play a significant role in how you sound and the clarity of your speech. Your lips should feel a slight buzz, which makes them move quickly and easily.

?

Lip trills are also a great way to get your lips moving. Take a deep breath in through the nose and as you gently blow it out through your mouth, let your lips vibrate freely. Remember when you blew bubbles under water as a kid? That’s the feeling you’re going for with lip trills. The deep, lower body breath and relaxed mouth helps you create a warm resonant sound. It’s so easy.

?

Effectively controlling your breath and making your articulators move freely are a great start to improving the sound of your voice both on and offline. With conscious awareness of respiration and articulation, you’ll not only hear a difference in your voice, but you’ll feel more relaxed and less anxious when it’s time to give that big presentation.

?

Remember, mastering your voice evolves over time. Hone your vocal skills by incorporating a few simple exercises and techniques. This refinement will amplify your virtual presence, ensuring your message resounds with clarity and significance.

A full video demonstrating the techniques in this series can be found on my YouTube channel: The Power In Your Voice With Dr. Cindy Milligan

Secrets to Sounding Great on Zoom - Ways to Improve Your Speaking Voice

?