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.

[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.

[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.

[lph]

This may be completely random, but we were talking about professional storytellers at home the other day, and my son said "yeah, mom, you could do that!" He meant to praise my skills at reading aloud to him - I try to vary my voice, project an atmosphere, that sort of thing.

And I suddenly remembered that I found reading aloud to him very physically tiring to begin with, when he was small. I'd read for 15-20 minutes and just feel like I was too exhausted to speak anymore, my ears would be ringing and my throat, stomach and lungs would just be tired. Probably old hat to any public speakers or singers out there, but I just realized for the first time that it is a strength and conditioning thing as well as technique.

[sfa]

Three things my Mom (a professional singer) taught me that she learned from her vocal coach: breathe from your gut, support your breath with your diaphragm, and open your throat like you do when you have to throw up. That last one is particularly graphic, but really helps you think about opening yourself up to let the voice out.

I did these exercises with my Girl Scouts last year when we were working on a theater badge, and even the normally very quiet kids could make themselves heard across the room without straining their voices.

Sarah

[PscyclePath]

What Trek420 and SFA said... Many years ago in ROTC we learned how to drill troops from the far side of the football practice field, so you learn to project your "command voice." Breathe from your gut, speak a little more slowly and clearly, and "broadcast."

Hey, it still works for me ;-)

[solobiker]

I am very soft spoken too. Ioften have to repeat myself and even then people often do not hear me. To me..when I am speaking at a "normal" level I feel as though I am shouting. My husband picks on me a lot saying that he sees my lips moving but does not hear anything. I have been trying harder but it is something I have to focus on. I will work on some of the above mentioned advice. Sorry to hijack this thread for a bit.

[snowroo]

I'm a speech path.

Sf is right. Volume is achieved by increasing subglottal pressure, which is the fancy way of saying supporting the breathe from your belly. Don't suck inyour gut. Relax it. Think of the little kids who wail and you can hear them from across town. Nice relaxed potty bellies. Stand tall, breath down, belly should move out as breath comes in.

Taking a big breath from your chest isn't as effective. You can get volume by increasing muscle tension at your vocal folds. This runs the risk of slamming the folds together (like clapping really hard -ouch). Like yelling. Or talking over loud music at a party. You go hoarse from doing this and over time can stay like that from little callouses that form.

The throat puke posture is affecting resonance. Makes a bigger space fore the sound to resonate. Makes for a fuller sound.

In general, to Increase volume, work on breath support. To work on clarity, speak at a slower rate, which will make it easier for your listeners to hear, discriminate and process your speech.

To get the hang of belly breathing, try it lying down. Lace your fingers over your belly and breath in. Your fingers should move.

[snowroo]

Sf is right. Volume is achieved by increasing subglottal pressure, which is the fancy way of saying supporting the breathe from your belly. Don't suck inyour gut. Relax it. Think of the little kids who wail and you can hear them from across down. Nice relaxed potty bellies. Stand tall, breath down, belly should move out as breath comes in.

Taking a big breath from your chest isn't as effective. You can get volume by increasing muscle tension at your vocal folds. This runs the risk of slamming the folds together (like clapping really hard -ouch). Like yelling. Or talking over loud music at a party. You go hoarse from doing this and over time can stay like that from little callouses that form.

The throat puke posture is affective resonance. Makes a bigger space for the sound to resonate. Makes for a fuller sound.

In general, to Increase volume, work on breath support. To work on clarity, speak at a slower rate, which will make it easier for your listeners to hear, discriminate and process your speech.

To get the hang of belly breathing, try it lying down. Lace your fingers over your belly and breath in. Your fingers should move.

[snowroo]

Sf is right. Volume is achieved by increasing subglottal pressure, which is the fancy way of saying supporting the breathe from your belly. Don't suck inyour gut. Relax it. Think of the little kids who wail and you can hear them from across down. Nice relaxed potty bellies. Stand tall, breath down, belly should move out as breath comes in.

Taking a big breath from your chest isn't as effective. You can get volume by increasing muscle tension at your vocal folds. This runs the risk of slamming the folds together (like clapping really hard -ouch). Like yelling. Or talking over loud music at a party. You go hoarse from doing this and over time can stay like that from little callouses that form.

The throat puke posture is affective resonance. Makes a bigger space for the sound to resonate. Makes for a fuller sound.

In general, to Increase volume, work on breath support. To work on clarity, speak at a slower rate, which will make it easier for your listeners to hear, discriminate and process your speech.

To get the hang of belly breathing, try it lying down. Lace your fingers over your belly and breath in. Your fingers should move.

[malkin]

A drama school voice teacher told us to imagine our voice coming from deep in the pelvis, then radiating up and out.

This image helps me keep more upright posture and keep my throat (etc.) relaxed.