Pump Up Your Speaking Voice with a Strength Training Workout

Pump Up Your Speaking Voice with a Strength Training Workout

Jan 11, 2023 | Public Speaking

If you want to take your speaking to the next level, you will be ready with a vocal workout.

Your Spoken Tone

Like the rest of you, the voice is made up of muscles, cavities, tissues, nerves, fluids, etc. At least 325 distinct pitches can be produced by it. Other than the muscles in your eyes, the larynx has more nerves than any other muscle in your body. 

Additionally, speaking involves using three-quarters of your body, and even a stubbed toe can alter how you sound. Therefore, it is not surprising that tension and excitement can have a negative impact on your voice.

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
Mahatma Gandhi

Some people naturally have stronger vocal muscles than others, much like with the rest of your body; nonetheless, some people must exercise their vocal muscles just to maintain their daily vocal needs. Without communicating with the reader, I cannot determine the precise reason for their voice quivering, but it is likely due to anxiety, a lack of vocal power, or a combination of both. Whatever the situation, voice training with the right vocal exercises can significantly improve voice control and stamina.

You might not be aware of the necessary vocal exercises unless you are a voice practitioner or have studied with a voice professional (which I highly recommend!). Here is a little exercise you may do daily to strengthen your voice and stop trembling, quivering, and flipping while you talk.

A Voice Strength Training Exercise

  • Deeply inhale, then let out a hissing sound. Ten times in total.
  • A healthy voice and control over the nervous energy that might cause the voice to tremble are both based on proper breathing.
  • Say, "Mm-hmm (like yeah) Mmm-mmm (as in yummy) " Five times, repeat.
  • By establishing a clear approximation of the cords and a resonance that sounds wonderful and projects easily, this provides mask resonance, which creates a clean and energetic sound.

Pro Tip

Practice your speeches out loud.

  • Say "Mm-mmm. Mm-hmm" ten times, moving up and down your vocal range from low to medium to high.
  • Say "Mmmmmmmmy name is" while turning up the volume a little. Ten times over your voice range, repeat this.
  • This improves the coordination and range of the voice.
“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.”
Thomas Jefferson
  • Ney, ney, ney, ney, ney, repeat that phrase ten times in a loud voice but without shouting.
  • This is extra practice with mask resonance.
  • Make a siren sound using Oooo and Eeeee by repeatedly sliding down your vocal range while beginning higher each time.
  • Again, greater flexibility and coordination are the key points here.

Action Item

Make sure to warm up your voice everyday, but especially before public speaking.

  • Until you experience a buzzing feeling in the front of your face, say "Mmmmmmm." 5. Repetition.
  • Mask resonance once more.
  • Now try some tongue twisters like those below to isolate the muscles used for articulation. Say each one numerous time, but only as quickly as you can, and keep your voice clear, to receive the complete workout. Over time, you can quicken your movement:
  • Blue bluebird blinks in response.
  • 3 free throws are made.
  • When does the watch strap store close?
  • Peculiar strategic statistics.
  • Flying fish and flesh that has just been freshly cooked.
  • Speak a few phrases aloud to tie everything together. Use a speech's introduction or conclusion, a favorite poetry, a lengthy quote, or a song's lyrics.
  • Every effective workout requires a cool down. Take 5 more long, deep breaths to finish.

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Love the Process and Improve Your Speaking

Love the Process and Improve Your Speaking

Jan 9, 2023 | Public Speaking

You undoubtedly feel frustrated as you work to enhance your public speaking abilities. Frustrated… by persistent anxieties. You are irritated by audience queries that give you trouble. Frustrated… by the skill-improvement process, which is more evolutive than revolutionary.

This post teaches us how to stop being frustrated by coming to love the process. Five speaking lessons are taken from an odd source.

“Trust in the process means you are allowing God to handle the situation and moving yourself out of the way.”
Germany Kent

How Does Public Speaking Fit into This?

The lessons that must be mastered are many of the same ones that public speakers must.

Now think about how these five relate to speaking:

  • Improvement comes from practice.
  • Even if you never intend to share it, keep a record.
  • Accept the unpleasant.
  • Push the boundaries.

First lesson: Practice makes perfect.

“Your improvements will typically be small steps. Other times, you will experience a huge leap in your ability to communicate. You cannot just read a book and expect to become a great speaker. 

(Or this website!) Speaking abilities can only be enhanced via practice. At work, speak. Make a speech at your child’s school. address a town hall gathering. At your cousin’s wedding, speak. Speak while driving. 

“Taking a shortcut isn't always profitable, doing the right thing may take longer but just trust the process, your reward is sure!”
Hopal Green

Describe your kitty. Talk to yourself in the mirror. There is no such thing as perfection. But you will get better. Your practice will lead to improvement over time. 

Your improvements will typically be little steps. Other times, you will experience a huge leap in your ability to communicate.

Lesson 2: Keep records even if you do not intend to share them.

Even if you can keep a paper diary, it is usually simpler to retain an electronic record of your talks and PowerPoint presentations these days. Date them so you can reflect on them in the future and be amazed at how far you have come. Assess your progress and keep a record of the areas on which you are focusing. 

Likewise, keep a video log. Individual films will not only point out areas that need work but comparing current recordings to earlier ones will be incredibly motivating. It is challenging to see your own development when you are immersed in the process. Video evidence is unreliable.

Action Item

Ensure to always remember your MVP (Most Valuable Point).

Lesson 3: Be comfortable with discomfort

“It’s challenging to notice your own improvement while you are immersed in the process. A video recording is unreliable.

Accept the pre-presentation butterflies in your stomach.

Accept that when the strain is on, your heart will race.

Recognize that you will occasionally forget a word, phrase, story, or joke.

Recognize that you will experience PowerPoint problems.

Recognize that not everyone in your audience is awestruck or even paying attention.

Accept all these things, but keep in mind that until you let them, none of them will stop you from communicating effectively.

Stretch Your Limits in Lesson Four

Motivational speeches frequently use the adage, “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you’ve always had.”

If you approach each speech or presentation in the same manner, then… If your preparation is the same as mine, if you create PowerPoint presentations in the same manner… If you repeatedly employ the same speech opener… if you always address the group from behind the podium… if you always take speech notes in 12-point type…

Your skills will stagnate if you never try new things.

Look for chances to go outside your comfort zone by:

Pro Tip

Sound more confident by speaking louder and lower.

  • The 1-hour keynote when you have only ever given the 10-minute teaser speech requires trying new vocal styles, including new stories, giving new gestures, adopting a modern style of visuals, finding a new source of quotations, looking for new audiences and new settings.

Lesson 5: Respect the Procedure

There is no peak in speaking ability; rather, it is a process that you go through for the rest of your life. It is understandable if you think the procedure is a chore you must go through before one-day mastering presentations to the highest level. However, that attitude will do nothing but undermine your efforts. 

I adore the method. Set manageable objectives and recognize your successes. You will make a lot of blunders, so laugh them off. The reality is that there is no peak; rather, speaking ability improvement is a lifelong process. I adore the method.

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How to Weave Statistics into Your Speech

How to Weave Statistics into Your Speech

Jan 4, 2023 | Public Speaking

Have you ever experienced this? You have found an intriguing statistic that strengthens your thesis. You reserve it for the end and make it obvious. You anticipate your audience will experience a flood of emotion, yet Nothing. 

No one in your crowd responds at all. Do they not comprehend? You are not alone if this sounds familiar.

In this post, we will look at the value of including statistics in speeches and how to do it well.

“Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it.”
Horace Mann

Why would you include statistics in a speech?

It is crucial to know how to use statistics in your speeches.

  • Your discourse gains realism via statistics. It is acceptable to discuss important concepts in abstract words, but you also need to provide examples. One method to anchor your speech arguments to reality is via numbers and statistics (thus boosting logos). For instance, saying that properly inflated tires can improve fuel efficiency is one thing. It would be far better to say that it may reduce fuel expenditures by $500 annually.
  • Your audience may be affected emotionally by statistics (pathos). By disclosing the proportion of children in your neighborhood who will not be receiving gifts this holiday season, for instance, you might heighten the emotional response during your speech about poverty.
  • Statistics boost your ethos in two diverse ways. First, employing a statistic shows that you have done your homework and are trying to please the audience. Second, citing figures from reputable organizations (like the World Health Organization) increases your authority by association.
  • Statistics have the power to stick with your listeners long after you finish speaking.

How can you pick the appropriate statistics?

One approach to fasten your speech arguments to reality is via numbers and statistics. If you go headfirst into your topic’s investigation, you will soon find yourself awash with statistics. How do you choose which content to use when there is so much info available?

“If you do weave one-liners into a story, you have to have an overall story as well, otherwise it doesn't really count as narrative.”
Tim Vine

Here are a few things to think about when choosing:

  • Which facts would most affect your audience? While it is advantageous if you believe the statistic to be compelling (so that you may talk with conviction), it is more crucial to select facts that your audience will find compelling.
  • Which numbers are the most unexpected? This is also based on the audience. You want people in your audience to leave the room telling their friends, "You'll never believe what I learned in a speech today," so that you might do this.
  • Which statistics support each of your specific claims? Statistics should not be used in speeches because they are merely interesting facts; rather, they should be tightly related to your main ideas or arguments. Your audience may remember the statistic if it is pertinent to your speech, but they will not remember you or your point if it is not.

The skill of incorporating a statistic into a speech.

You must give your numbers a meaningful context, if you just take away one lesson from this essay. Your audience will not be affected by a number if they lack the understanding necessary to rigorously evaluate it. Consider the scenario where I inform you that Six Minutes has 10,000 subscribers. 

You might or might not be impressed. Is that a sizable sum? a tiny amount? You can interpret the data in a more meaningful way if I also tell you that Six Minutes is one of the most popular speaking blogs in the planet (the most popular).

Action Item

Ensure to make your presentation memorable.

The data should be followed by a comparison in relatable, tangible language.

  • By relating the history of one of the "numbers," you can give your statistic life. If your statistic, for instance, is the number of breast cancer cases, you might start by recounting the tale of a breast cancer survivor before stating that "she is just one of 100,000 women in this country who will discover they have cancer this year."
  • Compare the statistic against a previous iteration of itself. Observing how the value has evolved from one year to the next, or from one decade to the next, might be the most impactful component.
  • Do not assume your audience will just "understand it." Describe how the statistic relates to your point of view. Typically, a clear statement like "This is significant because..." works best

delivering the statistic to ensure its impact

One of the twenty-five crucial speaking abilities is an effective use of statistics. Which twenty-four are left? If you followed one of the earlier suggestions for incorporating the statistic into your speech, your efficacy will still depend on how well you communicate the message. Here are a few strategies you can employ to achieve the desired result:

Pro Tip

Leave the greatest impact on your audience.

  • Put a little emphasis on it. Earlier in the speech, you can do this to create tension (for example, "In a moment, I'm going to reveal a startling statistic that will change the way you view civic politics...") or you can use a direct, succinct approach (for example, "If you remember just one thing from this speech, remember this...")
  • To build tension, pause just before the statistic.
  • Speak with clarity and at a slightly slower pace than usual. This will also indicate how significant the statistic is.
  • To allow your audience enough time to comprehend the meaning and "feel" the effect, pause immediately following the statistic (a bit longer than before).
  • Make gestures to convey the scale. One way to project size is to stand with your arms spread wide.
  • To convey the right response, use facial expressions. (For example, express your personal astonishment, sadness, or shock.)
  • You might show a slide that corresponds with your statistic if you are presenting your information using slides. To emphasize the size of the number, you can use a chart. To convey a more emotional message, you might use a picture. Whatever you do, keep the slide as simple as possible! You want your audience to understand the meaning of what you say to them clearly.

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How to Get Started as a Professional Speaker: 6 Key Steps

How to Get Started as a Professional Speaker: 6 Key Steps

Jan 2, 2023 | Public Speaking

How many times have you sat in a crowd and secretly wished you were on stage?

After giving a few presentations, you could realize that you are adept at public speaking. You might join Toastmasters and become the club’s leader. 

After some time, you begin to believe that you could support yourself by doing this. Imagine earning money by speaking!

You choose to move forward. So, what comes next?

You might begin by following these general steps to enter the field of professional speaking:

  • Choose a Lane
  • Establishing a Successful Business and Making a Great Promise
  • Create a marketing strategy.

1. Choose a Lane

You must “choose a lane” as the first stage in your adventure. Based on your area of expertise, you must select a subject matter for your focus. However, you might object, “How can I choose only one speech when I’m quite good at several of them?” 

What do you want your name to be associated with in five years? Continue giving all your presentations if you do not care about getting paid, being recognized for anything, or wanting to be renowned for anything. Pick a lane if you want to be well paid and recognized as an authority on one subject.

2. Be the Authority

Many people make the error of considering themselves only as speakers when beginning a career as a professional speaker. However, in the grand scheme of things, you are the key component in an organization that makes something happen. Your business should have a mission, whether it is to assist clients in time management, leadership, motivation, or economic education. 

You should consider speaking as merely one of the mediums through which you share your expertise. You could also run teleseminars, consult, coach, hold retreats, and publish books.

“Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident.”
Dale Carnegie

The idea is to envision yourself as the leader of an empire that aids others in your area of expertise rather than just a professional speaker. Do not forget that you cannot fake it. Your knowledge needs to be authentic and dependable. Before going down this road, if you have not developed your expertise yet, go out and do it.

3. Do Well

Winning a speech competition is a positive step toward improving, but it does not guarantee that you will be paid. When someone approaches you after your speech and says, “I’d want to schedule you to speak in six months in Las Vegas,” that is when you will really know your speech has “made it.” 

You can stop preparing your speech when spin-off, which is king in our industry, occurs on average 2-3 times after each engagement. Work on the speech while you can. [Ed. note: a “spin-off” speaking engagement is one that results directly from a current engagement]

Action Item

Make sure to maintain your social media presence.

4. Set Up Shop: Make a Splash into Professional Speaking

Like any business, speaking is a profession. If you lack even the slightest entrepreneurial inclination, you can face difficulties. You require cash flow, or start-up capital, to get going. 

It will be more challenging if you are starting off on a tight budget. Nevertheless, given the state of technology today, things are more likely. You may, for instance, create your own website using a blog. 

If it appears sufficiently professional, you might be able to avoid paying the thousands of dollars it can cost to set up and maintain a website.

Pro Tip

Build your personal brand.

The important thing is to be able to explain your value to visitors within the first 15 seconds of their visit. You do not have much time to make an impression in our ADD online environment. Attention deficit disorder (Ed.) They will leave your website immediately if they cannot find what they are looking for.

5. Making a Magnificent Promise

The promise statement is essential for letting prospects know how valuable you are. It functions as a tagline and would be used in marketing materials and on your website. The promise statement shows prospects what they will obtain by collaborating with you in five to nine words (less is more). 

A promise like “Helping Teams Win in a Competitive Field” might be created by a speaker who conducts team-building seminars, for instance. The actual secret to getting that decision maker to lean in and say, “Yes, we need that,” is to demonstrate the consequence and the worth of your promise. You can focus on making your promise cleverer or more indicative of your personality.

6. Create a marketing strategy

Now that your website is up, you will want to generate traffic to it. Obviously, I am simplifying here. Selecting the right industries to target with your message will help you launch a marketing strategy that will establish you as an authority among those audiences.

“Speakers who talk about what life has taught them never fail to keep the attention of their listeners.”
Dale Carnegie

I frequently advise my clients to develop a 12-month marketing schedule. By getting visitors to sign up for something on your website, the objective is to build a list of followers. After that, stay connected with that list frequently so that you are top of mind when someone needs your skills. Several marketing suggestions are:

  • Creating articles for your intended audience
  • Postings on post cards
  • Email marketing
  • Tele classes using social media and direct mail

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How to Get Rid of Filler Words in Public Speaking

How to Get Rid of Filler Words in Public Speaking

Dec 26, 2022 | Public Speaking

Filler words, such as um and uh, are never included in speeches and have no purpose when used by a speaker. However, most speakers make these pernicious grammatical errors every day in most conversations.

What is attainable? Is there no hope? In this post, we will look at why using filler words reduces your efficacy and teach you a five-step plan for doing so.

Um… What Is the Issue?

When it comes to filler words, some people have a strict no-tolerance attitude because they think a few of them can destroy the delivery and undermine an otherwise strong speech.

I do not belong to that group. A fantastic message and some filler words here and there do not outweigh passion. In addition, I have heard audience members say that a filler word here and there makes the speaker feel personable (and not robotic).

However, speakers should try to use fewer filler words. They offer nothing and reduce your effectiveness as a speaker in two ways in particular:

Pro Tip

Practice in a formal setting.

  • Filler words are linguistic static that your listener must filter out. (Guest author Stacey Hanke mentions it as one of the communication difficulties in a recent essay.) Why express it if the listeners will just ignore it right away?
  • Filler words must not be used frequently or excessively to damage your trustworthiness. It could be interpreted as a sign of unpreparedness, ignorance, or lack of enthusiasm. These are all harmful perceptions for you.

Words, sounds, and phrases that are unnecessary

I have referred to three related speech fillers as “filler words” collectively throughout this essay, but this is just a handy abbreviation:

  • Filler Sounds, including um, uh, ah, and mm
  • Filler Words: actually, Filler Phrases: you know, what I am trying to express, "I think that"

These all add nothing and might be fully removed from your speech patterns without any loss of meaning. There are more in each category as well.

“Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.”
Dionysius Of Halicarnassus

Step 4A: Go more slowly.

Slowing down will also help you speak more clearly because it will be simpler for your brain to follow along. It does not have to be a big shift; even a slight slowing down of the pace will be beneficial. Additionally, speaking a little more slowly will help your listeners comprehend you.

It would be best if you were realistic about your time limits and the amount of material you must accomplish this. To finish their presentation on time, speakers must talk more quickly as they cram in more content. Resist the urge to do this.

Step 4B: Enjoy the silence.

Simply pausing is the best tip I have ever heard for cutting down on us and has. Leave the filler word(s) out and be silent. It will take some practice to become used to using silence instead of filler words since you have grown accustomed to using them. If you commit to the change, it will take place.

[Note: There are occasional instances where certain words or sentences do transmit meaning, but these are uncommon.]

Action Item

Make sure to practice speaking and record yourself.

A Technique for Cutting Filler Words from Speech

I wish there were an option to remove these words from a speaker’s lexicon by flipping a switch. (I would pull the plug for myself!) Here are the actions I advise taking to reduce these fillers because the magic switch is difficult to find.

Determine how frequently you use filler words in the first step.

You should evaluate how often you use filler terms in your presentations before starting a campaign to eliminate them. There are three simple methods for doing this:

  • Recruit a spectator to follow it and offer commentary. Ask them to comment on the impact in addition to providing a tally of all the fillers utilized.
  • Analyze your voice after recording it objectively. I occasionally use a digital voice recorder for this. You may do this invisibly for almost any speech you give.
  • Videotape your own performance. This is little more intrusive but offers greater advantages. You receive spoken feedback, but you also get to observe your facial expressions and the changes in your eyes as you are, uh, filling in words.

The following questions are your assessment’s primary focus:

  • How frequently do you use filler words?
  • Are they annoying?
  • Do they threaten your reputation?
  • Understand why you are doing it and why it is not necessary in step two.
“What we say is important… for in most cases the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
Jim Beggs

Filler words, also known as filler, sounds, words, and phrases, are used when our mouth and brain need a moment to catch up. Filler words may occasionally have a little function.

A filler word in a phone conversation, for instance, signals to the other party, “I’m still thinking, and I’m not willing to transfer the conversation back to you just yet,” to the other party. The filler word fills in the empty area that would otherwise suggest that you have finished thinking.

However, this is an utterly useless signal in most public speaking scenarios. When you pause for a second, there is no chance that a member of the audience will take over. To indicate that you are pondering, you do not need to fill that area. Your audience will understand if you simply… ponder.

Step 3: Improve your level of planning.

I have noticed that when I am not prepared, I tend to use more filler words. Lack of appropriate planning has two effects:

  • Words must be "created" by your brain on the spot rather than being retrieved from (prepared) memory. This puts greater mental load on your brain, increasing the likelihood that you will fall behind.
  • Unpreparedness (generally) makes you feel more anxious. Most individuals speak more quickly when they are frightened, which increases the likelihood that your brain will not be able to keep up.
  • The significance of getting enough sleep deserves to be mentioned as another part of preparation. Your mind will be sharper, and it will be simpler for you to express your ideas clearly when you are well-rested.

Step 5: Keep an eye on things and be patient.

Take a step back occasionally to evaluate your development. Review the Step 1 assessment tasks and compare the outcomes. Have you cut back on the number of filler words you use?

Have you lessened the detrimental effects that filler words have on your effectiveness? Do you see a connection between being well-prepared and speaking without filler? Have you slowed down?

Are you just stopping while you consider your next words? Thus, the use of filler words will be decreased with adequate preparation (which has many other advantages).

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