How to Stop Your Voice from Shaking
Breathe from your diaphragm to gain more control., Develop diaphragm strength to keep improving., Exhale on a hissing sound to pace your breath., Practice voice exercises to widen your vocal range., Do tongue twisters to get better articulation...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Breathe from your diaphragm to gain more control.
Look at yourself in the mirror while you take a deep breath.
If your shoulders rise, you’re breathing from your chest instead of your diaphragm, which is a muscle that sits right at the base of your lungs.
Breathe in and see if you can expand your rib cage outwards without moving your shoulders or chest.Believe it or not, this will actually make a huge difference in the way you speak.
Since the diaphragm is a muscle, it needs exercise just like, say, your biceps.
Once it gets stronger, you’ll be much better at controlling your voice (and the shake), since strong voices rely on steady breathing. -
Step 2: Develop diaphragm strength to keep improving.
Once you discover where your diaphragm is and how to use it, it’s time to make it stronger.
Before or after you shower, wrap a towel around your waist.
Breathe in and try to move the towel outward without letting your shoulders or chest rise.
Breathe out slowly.
On the next breath out, say “ah.” Do this ten times.When you say “ah” while breathing from your diaphragm, you should notice that it’s easier to speak loudly and steadily.
Practice getting louder and softer.
You can even take a few shallow breaths from your chest to compare the two sounds. , Breathe in using your diaphragm, and hiss the air out through your teeth while you’re standing straight and tall.
Repeat this exercise ten times.
Hopefully, no one walks in while you’re making snake noises! Weird as it may feel, controlling how quickly or slowly you release your breath is a great way to make your diaphragm stronger. , One of the ways to make your voice shake less is to build a wide range of speaking tones.
Sometimes, people who suffer from shakiness also make high, cracked sounds when they’re nervous.
Avoid these problems by doing vocal exercises at least once a day.Say mm-mmm (as in the “that’s tastes good” kind of mm-mm), and mm-hmm.
Remember to always breathe from your diaphragm during these exercises, and use your breath to make these hums loud.
Repeat five times.
Say “ney, ney, ney, ney” up and down your vocal range.
Speak as high as you can and then move all the way down to speaking as low as you can.
Have fun with this, because you’re going to feel super silly.
Repeat ten times.
Say “ooo-eee” over and over again, sliding all the way through your vocal range.
Repeat ten times.
Say “mmmmm” and focus on the buzzing sensation that should be happening right at the front of your face and around your mouth.
Keep that buzzing going until you’ve finished your breath.
Repeat this five times. , Having good articulation means that people will be able to catch every syllable of the words you say.
This is super important, because if people miss syllables, they might mishear you or not understand what you’re saying at all.
Practice these exercises once a day.You can use the ones listed here or look up ones that you feel challenge you.
Go as fast as you can, but only so long as you’re speaking clearly.
Try: “the bluebird blinks,” “three free throws,” “what time does the wristwatch strap shop shut?,” “strange strategic statistics,” and “freshly fried flying fish, freshly fried flesh.” , The best way to get better at speaking without shakiness is to speak often.
To practice in low-pressure situations, read various things out loud.
Treat it like a performance.
Speak loudly and softly, high and low, and get emotional.
Do a private reading for a friend when you feel like you’re ready for an audience.If you have a particular speech you’re preparing for, that’s perfect! Read that out loud every day.
You can also record yourself on your phone or a video camera.
Watch or listen to the playback to find spots for improvement. -
Step 3: Exhale on a hissing sound to pace your breath.
-
Step 4: Practice voice exercises to widen your vocal range.
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Step 5: Do tongue twisters to get better articulation.
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Step 6: Read poetry
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Step 7: articles
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Step 8: or a book you’re in the middle of out loud.
Detailed Guide
Look at yourself in the mirror while you take a deep breath.
If your shoulders rise, you’re breathing from your chest instead of your diaphragm, which is a muscle that sits right at the base of your lungs.
Breathe in and see if you can expand your rib cage outwards without moving your shoulders or chest.Believe it or not, this will actually make a huge difference in the way you speak.
Since the diaphragm is a muscle, it needs exercise just like, say, your biceps.
Once it gets stronger, you’ll be much better at controlling your voice (and the shake), since strong voices rely on steady breathing.
Once you discover where your diaphragm is and how to use it, it’s time to make it stronger.
Before or after you shower, wrap a towel around your waist.
Breathe in and try to move the towel outward without letting your shoulders or chest rise.
Breathe out slowly.
On the next breath out, say “ah.” Do this ten times.When you say “ah” while breathing from your diaphragm, you should notice that it’s easier to speak loudly and steadily.
Practice getting louder and softer.
You can even take a few shallow breaths from your chest to compare the two sounds. , Breathe in using your diaphragm, and hiss the air out through your teeth while you’re standing straight and tall.
Repeat this exercise ten times.
Hopefully, no one walks in while you’re making snake noises! Weird as it may feel, controlling how quickly or slowly you release your breath is a great way to make your diaphragm stronger. , One of the ways to make your voice shake less is to build a wide range of speaking tones.
Sometimes, people who suffer from shakiness also make high, cracked sounds when they’re nervous.
Avoid these problems by doing vocal exercises at least once a day.Say mm-mmm (as in the “that’s tastes good” kind of mm-mm), and mm-hmm.
Remember to always breathe from your diaphragm during these exercises, and use your breath to make these hums loud.
Repeat five times.
Say “ney, ney, ney, ney” up and down your vocal range.
Speak as high as you can and then move all the way down to speaking as low as you can.
Have fun with this, because you’re going to feel super silly.
Repeat ten times.
Say “ooo-eee” over and over again, sliding all the way through your vocal range.
Repeat ten times.
Say “mmmmm” and focus on the buzzing sensation that should be happening right at the front of your face and around your mouth.
Keep that buzzing going until you’ve finished your breath.
Repeat this five times. , Having good articulation means that people will be able to catch every syllable of the words you say.
This is super important, because if people miss syllables, they might mishear you or not understand what you’re saying at all.
Practice these exercises once a day.You can use the ones listed here or look up ones that you feel challenge you.
Go as fast as you can, but only so long as you’re speaking clearly.
Try: “the bluebird blinks,” “three free throws,” “what time does the wristwatch strap shop shut?,” “strange strategic statistics,” and “freshly fried flying fish, freshly fried flesh.” , The best way to get better at speaking without shakiness is to speak often.
To practice in low-pressure situations, read various things out loud.
Treat it like a performance.
Speak loudly and softly, high and low, and get emotional.
Do a private reading for a friend when you feel like you’re ready for an audience.If you have a particular speech you’re preparing for, that’s perfect! Read that out loud every day.
You can also record yourself on your phone or a video camera.
Watch or listen to the playback to find spots for improvement.
About the Author
Mary Hall
Brings years of experience writing about creative arts and related subjects.
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