5 Ways to Develop a Strong Confident Voice
The most popular question I get when I tell people what I do is: ‘How can I make my voice sound confident and credible?” Your confident voice is your strong self showing up! It’s the sound of YOU when you stop playing small and start expressing your inner gifts, insights and unique viewpoints.
Standing and speaking in your power is exactly who you deserve to be. Here are 5 ways to keep developing your confident and strong voice.
Upgrade Your Self-Awareness
Knowing yourself is a key step in developing your confident voice. Become aware of the people who make you nervous. Catch yourself when you hear yourself speak like a child. Your inner child’s wounds can often express themselves when you feel threatened or unsafe. Notice what your diminishing patterns are. Could it be waffling, speeding up your speaking, speaking in a high pitch or plenty of filler sounds?
This awareness will help you to consciously make the changes that support you. For example, when I use to speak to one of my bosses I noticed that I’d sound uncertain. I also embodied the persona of a junior, instead of speaking up in my fully empowered self. Once I knew this, I would take extra time to prepare for meetings, practice my contributing suggestions and warm up my voice before meetings.
Try this:
Ask yourself:
When do I speak as my most empowered, magnetic self? Who am I with? How does it look and feel in my body? (Remember, the sound of your voice is impacted by your entire body).
Who or what situations make my inner child feel scared? How can I support him/her to feel safe?
2. Practice with Voice Notes
Send your friend, mother or lover a voice note. Be intentional to make your voice notes fun and engaging with your voice. Select someone with whom it feels safe to practice your speaking (not your scary boss). The more your practice your vocal variety in safe spaces, the stronger your confidence will become.
Try this in your voice note:
Say it loud. Then say the next part softly.
Speed it up. Slow it down.
Imitate voices as you speak.
3. Warm Up Your Voice
Similar to warming up your body before exercising, it’s crucial for you to warm up your voice before speaking. This will help you to release tension, speak in richer tones and articulate your words clearly.
I love singing and releasing sound as it helps me to get to know my voice AND release tension. When you release tension, you FREE your voice. To free the voice can actually be scary because it means letting go of our coping mechanisms. Remember to be gentle with yourself and your voice. Developing a strong voice takes time and practice. It’s totally worth it!
Try this:
Some easy warm-up exercises include:
humming
singing
4. Develop Your Speaking Range
Vocal range refers to your ability to oscillate between high and low notes when you speak. A monotone voice can come across as boring, making it difficult to command attention and build credibility. A varied speaking range, on the other hand, sounds confident, and knowledgeable and helps us establish ourselves as experts in our field.
Try this:
Read a paragraph from a book. Speak a different pitch (high or low) in each sentence.
This exercise will help you develop your speaking range and delivery.
5. Pause with Purpose
In music, the silence between two notes can be the most powerful moment or set-up to enhance a moment. Same with your speaking pauses. The pause has multiple ways to be delivered. For example, between ideas or before an important statement.
Try this:
Record yourself delivering a 60-second reel on any topic. Choose your topic and deliver it in 3 different ways by simply varying your pause.
Watch and see how the pause impacted the meaning and execution of your delivery.
Remember, speaking with confidence takes practice and experience. Don’t get discouraged if it takes time to develop your strong and confident voice. These tips and techniques will help you to command a room and express your empowered self. All you need to do is enhance your self-awareness, practice your vocal variety, warm up your voice, develop your vocal range and pause with purpose.