***The 2nd Thing You Must Do for a Deeper, Richer Speaking Voice

By Nancy Daniels The Official Guide to Public Speaking
The official guide to Public Speaking

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While the single most important thing you need to do for a better speaking voice is to learn to breathe with the support of your diaphragm, the 2nd step will be to find the optimum pitch of your voice which is the one area in your vocal range in which your voice vibrates the most. (Pitch refers to the highness or lowness of sound – not the volume which is the loudness or softness of sound.)

Most people are speaking somewhere above their optimum pitch. You may find that your optimum pitch is several steps or a mere ½ step below your habitual voice. Whatever the drop in pitch is, however, that change will make quite a difference in how your voice will sound. The beauty of optimum pitch is that when you ‘lock it in,’ so to speak, you will feel vibrations in your mid-torso region when you talk.

There is no doubt that your optimum pitch or your optimum range will be in the lower register of your voice.

We all vibrate in our neck area in speaking due to the vibration of sound from our throat and voice box but when you use your chest as your primary sounding board, you will then feel vibrations below your neck area both in your mid-breastbone and mid-back regions.

The good news is that speaking within your optimum range can be achieved by anyone. Your voice will have more depth and a warm quality because it will no longer be primarily amplified by means of your throat, mouth and/or nose. These 3 resonators produce sound or tone that is less desirable than when the chest becomes your major amplifier or sounding board.

Powering the voice from the chest and speaking within one’s optimum range gives every voice a mature, warm, resonance that is just not possible unless you are breathing properly.

Once you find your optimum range, you will discover that talking is easier than when your throat was doing all the work. One of the exercises I provide for my clients is to have them go back and forth between old voice/new voice. Many will refer to their old voice as their throat sound versus their diaphragmatic sound. They hear the new voice; they feel the new voice; and; they like the new voice because it sounds so much better than what they have been hearing on their answering machine or voicemail.

When you are able to speak within your optimum range, it feels right. Learn to breathe; find your optimum pitch; and, be prepared for wonderful changes in your life that you never thought possible!