Exercises to warm up and project your voice 4

Today’s session is a little different: We will do all the exercises lying down. We tend to be more relaxed when lying down. There will be a lovely neck stretching exercise before we get into the breathing and voice exercise. Please remember to listen to your body: Never do anything that hurts and do not strain your voice.

Here is the stretching exercise is for your neck:

Today’s blog is about strengthening of your breath and voice projection. It is to help you speak with sufficient breath so that you can finish your sentences without having to gasp for air. At the same time you are using the English vowel sounds, a – i – e - o – u - to warm up your voice. As always, remember to first relax your muscles and do some breathing exercises to center your breath.

Whether you prepare for a speech or presentation or whether you are a coach or therapist or teacher, it is essential that you warm up your voice before you use your voice extensively. You only need to spend a few minutes each day for you to see the results of a strong and pleasant speaking voice.

For our stretching exercise this week I have chosen the half neck circles. Most of us spend more hours at our desks than is healthy for our back and neck and this exercise is a wonderful release for those tight neck muscles. 

With week 3 of the lockdown, you are probably increasingly participating in Zoom or Skype meetings and might find yourself using your voice in a different way than if you were communicating in person. You might have to speak a bit louder, a bit more clearly. And perhaps you are finding that your voice is taking a bit more strain than during live meetings.

The solution lies in warming up your voice before engaging in online meetings.

Today, I will guide you through a third stretching exercise, another deep breathing technique as well as the first steps to warming up your voice.

As before, these exercises also prepare you for a better speaking voice.