How to Improve Vocal Projection and Tonality

[Waves]

I realized that my voice sounds pretty boring and I'm not able to speak loudly. People barely hear me in loud environments like crowded places, bars and clubs, and it sucks. Sometimes my voice feels up in the throat and it sounds so weak it makes me upset, whereas sometimes it's powerful, I feel that things are aligned, but it happens rarely and I don't know how to switch it on. This poor vocal skills is also cause and consequence of poor social interactions: I know how to have decent conversations, but I'm not able to connect so well with other people or to tell funny stories. 

I admire great speakers, comedians and singers, and I'm becoming more and more attuned to the energy they transmit. I want to learn to use my voice in a powerful and inspiring way, I want to teach and lead people, I want to learn to raise the energy in social settings and also learn to sing. 

Is there anybody who is/was involved in a similar process and has advice/resources to point me to?

 

[TheUniverseIsLove]

Look up Vocal Training/Warm up YouTube Videos. Look up Fitzmaurice. Look up the Alexander Technique. Find and Do the exercises or find someone who can help teach you in your area. Or find a local Acting 1 class.  Invest in yourself! ?

 

Edited December 21, 2019 by TheUniverseIsLove

[Ero]

@Waves Being a great speaker is a skill you can develop. Knowing from where I started and where I'm currently at, I guarantee you that it is doable. In your case it seems like a self-esteem issue, not so much a vocal one (as you said you experience occasions of loud speaking). So go out and put yourself in a situation where you can be heard - seminars, lectures, presentations, social interactions and so on. It may be 'cause you subconsciously feel like what you are about to say is not worth it and you are going to be judged. It's a very tricky situation to be in. Start building yourself and that confidence - once you're out of that cursed spiral, it will be magical.

[NoSelfSelf]

Its in the breath shallow breathing and breathing with your chest causes low tone breathing through zhe diaphgram(belly breathing) give youmore  power

[Rigel]

Sing your heart out! 

[Spiral]

Confidence is a key factor here.  Testosterone also if you want a deeper voice. Charisma matrix has a “bootcamp” on the topic, haven’t done it myself but maybe worth a try?

Edited December 22, 2019 by Spiral

[JonasVE12]

Join a toastmasters club!  

Also get actual voice coaching by someone who knows how to use your voice properly. Using your voice properly is very nuanced. As you have developed these bad speaking patterns throughout your life, they will need time to adapt to better ones. It relates to your neural pathways which have been conditioned in a way that makes you talk the way you do now. Luckily, speaking is something most of us do regularly, so you have a lot of opportunity to practice, and adapt. It will take conscious effort though. After a while it will be your natural way of speaking. 

Edited December 22, 2019 by JonasVE12

[Leo Gura]

You can just train your voice in the shower. Singing is good, speaking is good, pronouncing words out loud is good. There are many vocal exercises you can do. There are even speak coaches. Roger Love is a great one. He has courses and books.

[ivankiss]

Just let your voice out freely, with confidence. Do not care about how it sounds or how it is perceived by others. Just let it out. 

Find your natural resonance. Do not force anything, or try to sound like anything/anybody.

Your voice sounds best when you are expressing your truth.

Breathe deep. Focus on your diaphragm. Avoid nasality and too much vocal fry. Encourage chest resonance.

Ground your voice. Relax into the words you're speaking. A good exercise is speaking deliberately on exhale only. That way you'll get the feel of it and know how to relax into your speach, naturally. You must eliminate all tension from your throat and vocal chords.

Speak with your whole body. Be proud of your unique tone. It's yours, only.

Edited December 22, 2019 by ivankiss

[Thewritersunion]

So have you always had a quiet voice? Just curious ? 

[Applegarden]

Diet

[Waves]

Thank you all for your suggestions! 

On 12/21/2019 at 9:23 PM, Ero said:

you subconsciously feel like what you are about to say is not worth it and you are going to be judged

Yeah I've been working on my self-esteem for quite some time now, and as I grow it gets more solid, but I'm nowhere near to an unshakable confidence. I do speak a lot in one-on-one conversations, but I tend to filter much more what I say in group settings. As always, the obstacle is fear.

@Rigel  Hehe I like to do that, but I somehow always choose to sing high pitched songs, which are not best suited to my voice. I started to practice singing my favorite rap songs to develop a better "flow", pronunciation and modulation. It's fun but I feel I strain my voice a little bit due to lack of technique.

@Timothy  Since I learned about diaphragm breathing and practicing it when I meditate, I started spotting the tension in my stomach during the day or when I'm speaking. I actually got a massage to my diaphragm, but it wasn't that tight. I'll keep focusing more on awareness.

@Spiral Thanks! I was looking for something like this. So far he seems a bit a try-hard, but I'll consider taking the course.

@Leo Gura I usually speak out loud when I study, I like it, but my voice tires quickly somehow. I'll check out Roger Love's resources, thanks!

@ivankiss Man, I love that. Thank you.

@Thewritersunion  It's not that my voice is quiet, it's just not powerful and whole as I feel it could be. The fact that I became shy growing up didn't help with developing a strong voice.

[TheUniverseIsLove]

This video is bomb.