Breathing: The Seductive Key to Unlocking Your Vocal Variety

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I write about strategies to guide speakers with their personal branding and turn it into cash. I also share ways to use real-time strategies to spread ideas, position clients as influencers, and build business.

All people breathe. It is one of our most instinctual behaviors. However, if you poll singers, 90% of them will respond that breathing is the most crucial aspect of vocal technique. Is there a particular method to breathe that improves your voice? Yes!

We examine breathing in relation to vocal variation as a speaker in this essay. I will give you some simple instructions and advice on how to use air more effectively to enhance your voice. Applying these suggestions will give your speech greater Power, Better Pacing, Interesting Pitch, and Effective Pauses.

The narrator of the short story “Loss of Breath” by Edgar Allen Poe passes out just as he is going to yell at his wife. His voice likewise stops along with his breath, except for a few frog-like sounds. He is shocked by this and struggles to disguise his illness while wallowing in agony and philosophy. 

Pro Tip

Give the audience time to take it in.

When he eventually gets his breath, he also finds his voice. (Have I mentioned that it was taken? Since this is Poe, of course! The horrific nature of the story serves to emphasize the idea that losing your voice is equivalent to losing your breath. And berating your wife is never a clever idea.

A description of breathing

So how does one breathe to speak and sing more clearly? Watch a newborn breathe, then. Though she appears to breathe from her stomach, she is using her abdominal muscles, as you can see. Breathing 101 is so simple that even a baby can do it. Here is how to accomplish it.

101 Breathing

Try the following instructions after attentively reading them aloud. (You may hear an audio version of these instructions by clicking here.)

“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.”
Amit Ray

The most important thing to keep in mind is that your breathing should be slow and deep. If you perform the exercise properly, your chest will remain out and expand as your stomach moves in. There are numerous advantages to using this strategy, including:

Action Item

Take a few steps and start with a new burst of energy.

You will be able to breathe more efficiently if you are aware of your breathing.

An air of strength and confidence is created by good breathing posture. You feel stronger and more confident when you breathe deeply. According to Dr. Andrew Weil, you may utilize your voluntary nerves to make your breathing slow, deep, quiet, and regular, and the rest will take care of itself.

Deep breathing eases stress and aids in maintaining mental clarity. Charles Kirk explains how using the right breathing methods helps him stay composed on the trading floor.

Variety in Breathing and Singing

You were told to “use your voice to match your message” in a previous Six Minute post. This is what I mean when I talk about your “vocal image”—how other people hear you.

In a perfect world, your topic would match your delivery style, and both would complement your voice. Vocal variety is all about the voice’s sound, and in this case, your voice’s tempo, pitch, pause, and power all contribute to the creation of your vocal image.

Pace

Your delivery speed is referred to as pace. In general, you are advised to change your pace by moving quickly and slowly depending on the message you are presenting to add diversity to your voice. However, some individuals have difficulty pacing because of inadequate breathing. If you speak excessively rapidly, laboriously, or slowly, think about the following.

When suitable for the message you are giving, vary your pace by going faster and slower.

You could not be using all the air you inhale if your voice sounds constricted, strained, or excessively low.

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

Speaking too low can harm your voice, as Lisa Braithwaite correctly points out.

Poe’s text also teaches us that it is possible to make sounds without breathing. I learned that if I had dropped to a deep guttural voice during that exciting crisis, I might have been able to continue. I have discovered that the guttural voice pitch depends on the spasmodic action of the throat muscles rather than the breath current.

It should be easy to breathe in your voice if you do not want to be restricted to a guttural growl. By first practicing a breathy sound and then progressively adding increasingly vocal sound to it, you can improve a strained voice. 

The voice is “energized” in my terminology. Because the voice is free to move and produce more pitches, it also has the effect of making pitch diversity much easier to obtain. You will notice the freedom in your voice if you do this correctly.

Pause

“Breathing awareness creates natural pauses.”

Pauses are the golden moments in speech when you can let your listeners process what you are saying. They are the “beats” an actor uses in between his or her words; they are that unique element that contributes to “comedic timing.” Pauses are crucial because they allow us to catch our breath.

How to employ breathing throughout your pauses is as follows:

You need air to produce a loud sound since sound travels on air. Even if you speak loudly, you will be shouting if you do not include the air in your sound. You never know how your actions will affect other people! Additionally, maintaining air movement with the sound allows for superb voice control, enhancing the effectiveness of all vocal variation approaches.

A confident speaker is one who is at ease and at ease with themselves. A strong voice is at ease and at ease. Deep breathing helps to relax the larynx, which allows the voice to develop a pleasant, natural tone as opposed to one that is artificial or forced.

Practical Tips for Everyday Life

You should try to practice proper breathing technique numerous times each day so that it becomes second nature while you talk. Here are some pointers for improving your breathing:

“Breathing is the greatest pleasure in life.”
Giovanni Papini

Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes. So, practice and it will not be long before you are able to make your learned breathing as natural as the breathing you are using now, and the benefits will be enormous.

Contact Us

Please send an email to support@mitchcarson.com for inquiries.Click Here

All people breathe. It is one of our most instinctual behaviors. However, if you poll singers, 90% of them will respond that breathing is the most crucial aspect of vocal technique. Is there a particular method to breathe that improves your voice? Yes!

We examine breathing in relation to vocal variation as a speaker in this essay. I will give you some simple instructions and advice on how to use air more effectively to enhance your voice. Applying these suggestions will give your speech greater Power, Better Pacing, Interesting Pitch, and Effective Pauses.

The narrator of the short story “Loss of Breath” by Edgar Allen Poe passes out just as he is going to yell at his wife. His voice likewise stops along with his breath, except for a few frog-like sounds. He is shocked by this and struggles to disguise his illness while wallowing in agony and philosophy. 

Pro Tip

Give the audience time to take it in.

When he eventually gets his breath, he also finds his voice. (Have I mentioned that it was taken? Since this is Poe, of course! The horrific nature of the story serves to emphasize the idea that losing your voice is equivalent to losing your breath. And berating your wife is never a clever idea.

A description of breathing

So how does one breathe to speak and sing more clearly? Watch a newborn breathe, then. Though she appears to breathe from her stomach, she is using her abdominal muscles, as you can see. Breathing 101 is so simple that even a baby can do it. Here is how to accomplish it.

101 Breathing

Try the following instructions after attentively reading them aloud. (You may hear an audio version of these instructions by clicking here.)

“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.”
Amit Ray

The most important thing to keep in mind is that your breathing should be slow and deep. If you perform the exercise properly, your chest will remain out and expand as your stomach moves in. There are numerous advantages to using this strategy, including:

Action Item

Take a few steps and start with a new burst of energy.

You will be able to breathe more efficiently if you are aware of your breathing.

An air of strength and confidence is created by good breathing posture. You feel stronger and more confident when you breathe deeply. According to Dr. Andrew Weil, you may utilize your voluntary nerves to make your breathing slow, deep, quiet, and regular, and the rest will take care of itself.

Deep breathing eases stress and aids in maintaining mental clarity. Charles Kirk explains how using the right breathing methods helps him stay composed on the trading floor.

Variety in Breathing and Singing

You were told to “use your voice to match your message” in a previous Six Minute post. This is what I mean when I talk about your “vocal image”—how other people hear you.

In a perfect world, your topic would match your delivery style, and both would complement your voice. Vocal variety is all about the voice’s sound, and in this case, your voice’s tempo, pitch, pause, and power all contribute to the creation of your vocal image.

Pace

Your delivery speed is referred to as pace. In general, you are advised to change your pace by moving quickly and slowly depending on the message you are presenting to add diversity to your voice. However, some individuals have difficulty pacing because of inadequate breathing. If you speak excessively rapidly, laboriously, or slowly, think about the following.

When suitable for the message you are giving, vary your pace by going faster and slower.

You could not be using all the air you inhale if your voice sounds constricted, strained, or excessively low.

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

Speaking too low can harm your voice, as Lisa Braithwaite correctly points out.

Poe’s text also teaches us that it is possible to make sounds without breathing. I learned that if I had dropped to a deep guttural voice during that exciting crisis, I might have been able to continue. I have discovered that the guttural voice pitch depends on the spasmodic action of the throat muscles rather than the breath current.

It should be easy to breathe in your voice if you do not want to be restricted to a guttural growl. By first practicing a breathy sound and then progressively adding increasingly vocal sound to it, you can improve a strained voice. 

The voice is “energized” in my terminology. Because the voice is free to move and produce more pitches, it also has the effect of making pitch diversity much easier to obtain. You will notice the freedom in your voice if you do this correctly.

Pause

“Breathing awareness creates natural pauses.”

Pauses are the golden moments in speech when you can let your listeners process what you are saying. They are the “beats” an actor uses in between his or her words; they are that unique element that contributes to “comedic timing.” Pauses are crucial because they allow us to catch our breath.

How to employ breathing throughout your pauses is as follows:

You need air to produce a loud sound since sound travels on air. Even if you speak loudly, you will be shouting if you do not include the air in your sound. You never know how your actions will affect other people! Additionally, maintaining air movement with the sound allows for superb voice control, enhancing the effectiveness of all vocal variation approaches.

A confident speaker is one who is at ease and at ease with themselves. A strong voice is at ease and at ease. Deep breathing helps to relax the larynx, which allows the voice to develop a pleasant, natural tone as opposed to one that is artificial or forced.

Practical Tips for Everyday Life

You should try to practice proper breathing technique numerous times each day so that it becomes second nature while you talk. Here are some pointers for improving your breathing:

“Breathing is the greatest pleasure in life.”
Giovanni Papini

Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes. So, practice and it will not be long before you are able to make your learned breathing as natural as the breathing you are using now, and the benefits will be enormous.

Contact Us

Please send an email to support@mitchcarson.com for inquiries.Click Here

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