3 Voice Tips – PTC 384

Apr 16, 2022

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Your voice is your most valuable asset when it comes to your podcast. If you have no voice, you have no podcast. You also want people to like your voice.

This episode is packed with tips to help you take care of your voice, like your voice more and improve the overall quality of your voice.

COACHING

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If you are ready to get clear on your strategy for transformation, grab your call and we'll chat.

FUNDAMENTALS OF YOUR VOICE

Let's talk about your voice. How do you like it, protect it and improve it?

We need to keep your voice healthy before we can make it better.

But first, let's talk about liking our voice. There is an interesting thing about the voice and the way we hear it.

When I first started in radio 35 years ago, I was baffled how different my voice sounded when it was recorded compared to when I was talking.

In radio, we often listened to our show to improve. We would sit down with the station program director and review the show.

When I would listen, my voice sounded so weird. So different from what I normally hear. I couldn't understand it.

It turns out that it is all about physiology. When you speak, you hear your voice in two ways. When you listen to a recording, you only hear one.

When you listen to a recording of your voice, you hear your own voice through vibrating sound waves hitting your ear drum. This is the way other people hear your voice as well.

When you hear your voice as you talk, you hear your voice through the ear drum as well. But, you also hear your voice through the vibrations of your skull and jaw.

As the vibrations travel through the bone, they spread out and become lower in pitch. This gives you a false sense of a lower voice.

When you tell yourself you hate the sound of your own voice, realize that it is normal. We all think we sound different when we hear the recorded version.

LIKE YOUR VOICE

There are three things you can do to make your voice sound more natural and get you on the path to enjoying the sound of your voice.

ONE EAR OF THE HEADPHONES

Your voice will sound different to you when you listen to your voice through headphones. The enclosed space of the headphones amplifies your voice.

As we mentioned, the bones in your head vibrate differently when you speak. It is exaggerated when you're using headphones.

To help you sound more natural, remove one ear of your headphones. With only one cup on your ear, you are able to hear your voice more naturally with the free ear.

You will also hear your voice in the context of the ambient room noise rather than through the vacuum of the headphones.

TURN DOWN YOUR HEADPHONES

If you are wearing only one cup of your headphones, turning the volume down will also help you sound more natural. With a lower headphone volume, you will better hear your natural voice.

With a lower headphone volume, you won't be fooled by the dominance of the headphone sound.

Use your headphones to make sure you hear the other audio included in your podcast. Make sure you can hear your music bed, intro, guest and other audio.

However, make sure your headphones are not giving you a false impression of your voice.

DON'T GET SING-SONGY

Speak naturally. Do not attempt to sound like other announcers you have heard. Be yourself.

When you speak like an announcer, you begin to stretch and emphasize words unnaturally. Your speech begins to unnaturally bounce.

When you listen to your recorded voice, you may sound like a puky disc jockey or used car salesman on a bad television commercial. Both lack warmth and are hard to believe.

You will sound less natural when you use the announcer voice.

Instead, speak conversationally. Use a natural pace. Don't use unnecessary emphasis on words.

Speak as if you are on the telephone. These steps will help your voice sound more natural.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR VOICE

So, how do you stay healthy? How do you get well if you get sick? What ounce of prevention can you use to protect your most valuable asset?

Here are two sides to the equation to keep your voice healthy and strong. Don't get sick. And if you, get well.

First, take care of your voice. There are a few things you can do to care for your voice.

Wear a hat and avoid the head cold. Avoid excessive clearing of the throat. Warm up properly by slowly expanding your range. Use a nasal rinse to keep everything clean.

Next, drink plenty of water. When recording, stay hydrated.

Drink room temp water. The vocal chords constrict when you drink cold beverages. Also avoid caffeine, because it also constricts.

Avoid soda and syrup drinks to prevent the crud building up in your throat. This will help prevent the excessive clearing of the throat.

GET WELL

If you do get sick, get well and pamper the throat.

If your voice gets strained, there are a variety of things you can try. Every singer and speaker has their own special trick. You just need to find one that works for you.

Gargle with warm salt water. This will gently massage the vocal chords and relieve the pain.

Use a humidifier to keep your membranes hydrated. Remember to drink a lot of water for hydration as well.

To soothe the throat, drink warm decaf tea with honey. Drink warm, watered-down hot chocolate. This will help prevent scalding the vocal chords. Watering it down prevents the crud in the throat.

Remember to use a nasal rinse. Did I mention drink plenty of water?

Experiment until you find something that what works for you.

IMPROVE

We've learned to accept the sound of our voice. That doesn't mean we can't work to improve it.

There are four things you can do to improve the sound and appeal of your voice.

USE NOTES – NOT A SCRIPT

The structure you use when you write is much different than the structure you use when you speak. You use different words. Your sentence structure will be different. The flow of the written word simply differs greatly from the spoken word.

As you are speaking, use notes instead of a full script. You will sound much more comfortable when speaking from the heart rather than speaking from the script. The flow and structure of your sentences will be much more natural.

Make note of the important points to include in your podcast. Hit those points within your show without reading it word for word.

TALK TO ONE PERSON

You will sound much more natural when you speak to one person rather than a group of people. When I am listening to your podcast, I want to feel like you are talking to me.

If you include a call to action in your podcast, you want me to act upon that request. If you are talking to a group of people, I can easily think someone else will take action and I can do nothing.

If you are speaking directly to me, we will begin to develop a friendship. I will begin to feel like I know you. I will also feel like you care about me personally.

Your delivery will sound much more conversational and less like a lecture when you speak to one person. This will help you become more comfortable with your own voice.

PERFORM

Stand up and speak from your chest and stomach instead of your throat. This will drop your voice an octave or two.

Put yourself in the right frame of mind with visions. People can hear your smile. You need to get there before the recording begins.

Work from pictures. All communication is visual. Envision in your mind a specific time and place that makes you happy. Actually describe it out loud. This will change your state of mind.

There is a philosophy in acting that the performance begins before you break the wings. That means actors get into character before they actually step onto stage. They take steps to get in the right frame of mind before the performance begins.

Do the same for your podcast. Get there before you hit record.

REVIEW YOUR SHOW

The best way to become a more natural speaker is to review your show often.

When you listen to your show on a regular basis, you will become much more comfortable hearing a recording of your voice.

You dislike your voice, because you are not used to hearing it outside of your own head. The more you hear your voice, the more natural it will sound.