Cannot project my voice!

[Drtgirl]

I'm not even sure who to ask about this! I have a very difficult time projecting my voice, and people always end up leaning in to hear me better. One on one talk is usually OK, but if we're in restaurant or other noisy place forget it. If I try to get louder it sounds like I'm yelling. Is there anything I can do about this? Maybe there are some speech exercises or something...

Thanks!

[lph]

Sorry, I have no advice, but I know several people who either don't like to or can't project their voices so I'll be interested to hear what tips you might get. My dh just really dislikes raising his voice, while a man I work with, otherwise confident and outgoing, is so softspoken that I have difficulty hearing him when he's across the table. I'm a natural loudmouth myself...

Do you like to sing?

[badgercat]

I've struggled with a related issue my whole life--I'll be at a gathering, trying to jump in on a conversation, not getting noticed, and eventually I'll either just end up saying something like "HOLD ON, I have something to add," or (in the case of family gatherings) my mom will notice me getting red in the face and jump in in a less-awkward fashion that lets me be noticed. I can "project" just fine--I was drum major of my high school marching band --but there's just something about the quality of my voice in group conversation that just doesn't carry. It's very strange. However, whereas I have trouble getting (and keeping) people's attention in conversation, it sounds like people are *listening* to you already, they're just not *understanding* you. Am I interpreting your troubles correctly?

Do you speak fairly quickly? I'm a graduate student in audiology so I work regularly with individuals with hearing loss, and one of the things we always tell people when giving advice on how to improve communication is to ask conversation partners to speak more slowly, not more loudly. One doesn't need to speak exaggeratedly slow, but slowing down just a tiny bit subconsciously forces clearer (ie more enunciated) speech. It also helps if you can face the person(s) you're speaking to, and not obstruct their view of your face. Even those of us who hear perfectly well use cues from facial expression and the shape of each other's lips to improve understanding all the time without even thinking of it.

I'm no expert on voice issues--I'd defer to my counterparts on the speech-language pathology side of the field for that --but those are the things that come to mind that might help improve communication, from my experience. Noisy restaurants and such are challenging environments even for folks with normal hearing.

[OakLeaf]

Same issue. When the mike isn't working at the gym (which is often), I have to turn the music to almost nothing so my participants can hear me.

I was always trained to imagine my voice being between my lips and my teeth. That seems to help some. But not a lot.

Then there's slippery elm lozenges to soothe my throat after class.


ETA: Badgercat, I have the same issue as you, too, and I agree that they're completely unrelated - I don't even attribute that one to my voice at all. I think it's related to my general appearance of insignificance, the same thing that causes people to plow into me when I walk down the sidewalk as though I weren't even there. I wish I knew what to do about any of it. I don't think I feel insignificant ...

[beccaB]

I have a real struggle with this on my school bus, projecting my voice over the hum of noise. I hate that strident sound my voice gets and I usually go home at the end of the day with tired vocal cords.

[Trek420]

I'm told my voice can be loud. I've found when most people think they're raising their voice they're raising the pitch. End result can be louder but less clear. If you think of singing lower notes, don't think volume, think lower.

Breath from your gut and relax the shoulders throat.

If there's a voice or singing coach, try choir or even toastmasters in your area.

[shootingstar]

Badgercat's advice about slowing down when speaking, is good advice. It was part of my problem.

I took an intensive course on group presentation skills and this was 1 of my problems. It was also discovered that I tended to drop off the timbre of my voice at the end of certain sentences especially when speaking alot.

It helps to shorten your sentences. I also have to consciously drop word sentence joiners, such as "and", etc.

I have a naturally alto voice, probably because when I speak English I tend to lower my voice. It's not a high soprano like voice. Same with all my sisters.

Whereas my partner has a naturally softer voice..for a guy. For a guy, it actually can be advantageous, they don't sound as "bombastic", aggressive.