Make yourself HEARD

Here’s how to harness your voice – and confidence – whether you’re presenting at work or simply trying to get your family to listen

If the eyes are the windows to the soul, the voice is its opening act. Women often take their voices for granted, and when they do, they are missing out on a huge opportunity to make an impact – and get what they want! When a big life moment arises, women spend hours planning what they’re going to wear and say, but too little time working out how they’re going to say it. Yet when it comes to speaking up, how you say something is often more important than what you’re saying.

1 WARM UP YOUR VOCAL CORDS

Your voice is created largely by skeletal muscle (the same muscle you work in the gym) and for peak performance, it needs to be warmed up. Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Exercises (SOVTE) are the way to do this. They’re perfect for that froggy ‘morning voice’, or when you’re feeling under the weather but still need to sound clear and confident.

DO IT One of the most effective SOVTEs is humming through a straw for two to three minutes. Put one in your mouth and hum. Try sirens (hum slowly from the bottom of your vocal range to the top and back) or hills (smaller sirens that build, like an engine revving).

2 SORT YOUR POSTURE

Posture affects the sound of your voice, and if your head is too far forward or too far back, your voice will have an abrasive quality. Sitting at a desk for too long, carrying a heavy bag or walking in heels shifts the body’s centre of gravity, so it’s out of alignment.