‘What did you say?’ How many times do others ask you those four simple words? Frustrating, isn’t it? If you are tired of constantly repeating yourself or having others ask you to repeat yourself, don’t you think it is time that you did something about it? Your volume is not something that will improve with age. Keep in mind that your ‘inner ear,’ which is how you hear yourself in your head, is most comfortable at the volume level you have been using throughout your life. One of your first steps is to record a professional voice from the radio or TV and then record your own voice immediately following it. Make sure you record the professional voice at a comfortable listening level. You will need to place the microphone the same distance from the speakers for the professional voice as you do from your own voice. In recording yourself, speak or read something using the same amount of volume you normally do whether at home or at work. When you play back the recording, listen to it at a comfortable listening level, gauging that level for the professional’s voice, not your own. When I do this with my clients and they hear themselves on video, I ask them one question, “If this were a movie, would you turn up the volume?” Every single one answers yes. Your next step is voice training in which you are taught to use your chest cavity to power and amplify your voice. Once you make this change, your volume will automatically increase to a normal level. What you will discover with this type of training is that you will not be speaking loudly. Without a doubt, the greatest fear for the soft-spoken individual is that he/she will become loud. The last thing I want for my clients is to speak loudly. There is a huge difference between a bigger voice and a loud one. A normal volume level of voiced sound is heard comfortably. A loud voice, on the other hand, hurts your listeners’ ears and your throat as well. Don’t let your soft-spoken voice jeopardize your life, either professionally or personally. Keep in mind that there are only so many times we, who constantly ask you to repeat yourself, will keep asking. At some point, we will interrupt and take over the conversation. If your message matters, it is vital that you speak and be heard the 1st time you say it. End the frustration and discover a voice that not only will be heard but will sound better as well! The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offers private, corporate and group workshops in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. If you would like to see some wonderful 'before' & 'after' video clips of soft-spoken individuals, check out Mohammad, Kurt, and Dawn at Voice Dynamic.
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