How to Speak Louder: 5 Easy Techniques for Effective Voice Projection
Have you ever been captivated by someone who speaks so softly that you can barely hear a word they are saying? The answer is a simple "no." Soft and inaudible speakers don’t command authority and our attention. Instead, your professional image and competence are enhanced when you’re able to communicate your message clearly for everyone to hear. Whether you’re speaking in a big auditorium, noisy environments, or a large boardroom, you can still make your voice heard without shouting and hurting your voice. Here are 5 easy ways to project your voice in an empowered way.
What is voice projection?
Voice projection is the ability to use your voice loudly, powerfully, and clearly while speaking. On the other hand, projection is not shouting, pushing, or forcing the voice forward. When you push your voice, it will hurt your vocal folds. Often you’ll hear people say that they "lost" their voices after a day of speaking. This always indicates to me that they didn’t speak in the way their bodies were designed to be used for speaking. Through projection, the sound travels in a controlled manner without hurting your vocal folds. The voice will sound empowered and rich when the correct projection techniques are used.
Why is vocal projection important for your confidence and competence?
Projection is important for your professional image because it:
Keeps your audience or colleagues' attention.
Helps people to clearly understand your message.
Communicates that you are competent in your field of expertise.
Boosts your confidence and other’s confidence in you.
5 Tips to help you project your voice
1. Breathe into your lower back
Breathing into your back is the best trick in the world for your voice. This means breathing in and sending the air to your tailbone. You can put your hands on your lower back to feel how your bottom back ribs expand. When you ask a great actor or speaker to speak louder, the first thing they do is to take a deep breath into their lower back to amplify the sound (without shouting).
Firstly, this method fixes your posture upright so that you exude more gravitas when you speak.
Secondly, breath is the power source of sound. When air passes through your vocal folds, they vibrate and produce sound. The more air that passes through, the more sound can amplify.
Watch this video and practice breathing into your lower back with me.
2. Understand your space
Each space carries its own acoustical realities which will impact how you choose to speak. Take into account the space and how it impacts your sound. Listen to how it impacts the rest of the room’s sound. The big step here is to develop awareness of your space and how it impacts your voice.
3. Imagine the placement of sound technique
When you speak, imagine your words reaching the back of the room. Visualizing your words reaching the back of the room will help you with the placement of sound so that everyone can hear you clearly.
4. Open your mouth
Enunciate your words by opening your mouth. When you speak with a closed mouth, it’s difficult for sound to travel. Vocal warm-ups and consistent practice will help you to articulate each syllable so that every sound is audible and clear.
5. Know your worth
The voice is the primary mode of self-expression. How we choose to limit the instrument of our voice is often linked to cultural conditioning, familial patterns, and limiting beliefs. I want to remind you that your voice is designed to be heard because your words and ideas have value. Allow others to hear you and connect with all of your brilliance.
Now you have a strategy for the next time someone asks you to speak louder. The best way for you to see results is to practice and implement the techniques of breathing into your back, understanding your space, placing the sound, opening your mouth and knowing your worth.