One mom who attended my parent workshop told my group about her 17 year old son who is taking military training but is having difficulty communicating orally even though his written work is superior. He doesn't yet know how to use his voice to gain command of a situation so his superior officers want to fail him.
If only I could have had 2 hours with the young man, away from everyone else. I'm confident I could have helped him with these few simple vocal concepts and the example of my own voice used with authority and power that has come from years of practice:
- Stand taller but don't suck in your gut when you breath in because it goes against nature. Instead, use the dog pant to strengthen your diaphragm, the main muscle that controls how you use the air that makes sound waves.
- Exaggerate your vowels and consonants, making strong use of your lip and cheek muscles
- Send your voice towards the skull area between your eyes. It will make it boom and resonate, carrying it further with more power
- Never feel intimidated or embarrassed when you use your voice
- Get focused on a point in front of you and think of it as a megaphone as you send your voice through it via the bony structure between your eyes
- Loosen your jaw and tongue and let out your air slowly as you feel the sound 'riding' on it
Hopefully, I'll be able to help more people in the future.
Joy
