How to Fix Your Voice
Do you hate your voice? Reader Siri C recently wrote to me, saying she is very self conscious about her voice yet would like to host her own podcast. Whether you are podcaster, a speaker, an actor, or a business professional, developing the quality of your voice will help you to have a powerful delivery.
Here’s the email I recently received from reader, Siri: 
Hi Lisa,
I want to start a podcast on my own…Since I never made a podcast or spoke in one, I am very self-conscious and do not know where to start! I am also very conscious of my voice as it is not as smooth as yours (I love your voice!). I’m afraid I may not sound entertaining or confident.
Can you please give some tips on how to deliver with a bad voice?
Thank you,
Siri C.
….
Hi Siri,
Thanks for your question. Although you’re right to think about your vocal quality, I think just about everyone says, “I hate the sound of my voice.” You may be surprised that you voice is better than you think!
However, when you are a podcaster, especially someone that wants to podcast stories, the quality of your voice is important. How you sound when you tell your story can be more important than the story you’re telling. In fact, “one of the most compelling sounds for the human ear is the sound of another human voice,” says David Candow, the now deceased voice coach for some of NPR’s most well-known hosts since 1995.
Siri, since you didn’t really describe why you think you have a “bad voice,” I’ll cover the most common issues people have with their voice.
Breathe Properly
The basis for a better voice starts with proper breathing. Deep breathing, rather than shallow, helps develop a strong voice.Actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth highlights this vocal success secret in a funny video clip I saw recently. She teaches talk show host Conan O’Brian this proper breathing technique and they both use it to sing Puccini! You can learn more about the link between correct breathing and vocal strength by listening to my podcast, How to Breathe Properly.
Warm Up Your Voice
Next, athletes warm their muscles prior to competition to achieve maximum results on the playing field. Voices need similar care. Effective ways to prime vocal chords before speaking include: resting your voice before a presentation, saying tongue twisters to exercise mouth muscles, and singing scales (whether you can carry a tune or not!). My podcast, Warm Up Your Voice, provides more specifics on warming and maintaining a healthy voice.
Speak Clearly
While there’s charm in hearing a local friend say they live near “Fluffia,” broadcast listeners may not realize that the speaker lives near Philadelphia. (Just this past weekend, I heard an NPR broadcaster Mike McGrath (host of Your Bet Your Garden) say “Fluffia” —it took me second to realize he was saying “Philadelphia” and then I wondered if people from other parts of the country had any idea what he had just said.
The fix for unclear speech can be as simple as slowing down, while other times you’ll need to unlearn bad habits. Either way, it does take practice. I provided pronunciation tips and techniques in the episode entitled Diction, and the two-part series Why You Mumble, and How to Stop Mumbling.
Sound Like Yourself
Ultimately, it is important to sound like yourself (I’m sure Mike McGrath knows he says, “Fluffia” yet he has chosen to continue speaking that way). Don’t lose the qualities that make you who you are. You’ll still want to work to improve your sound quality and delivery, but also work to make “you” sound better. Find your own sound and run with it. You don’t have to completely lose an accent, you don’t have to change your vocabulary choices, and, most of all, you don’t have to imitate someone else.
Your may want to explore these additional podcast episodes to learn more about developing your voice:
Do You Have a Radio Voice?
Change Your Speech Rate for Impact and Momentum
How to Sound Better (Changing Your Pitch)
Ways to Reduce Your Accent
Listen for Inspiration
Oh, I have one last thing for your to consider. My girls grew up listening to the Storynory podcast. Every night for the first seven years of my daughters’ lives, after I (or my husband) read a few bedtime stories, it was time for Natasha Gostwick (or sometimes Richard Scott) to read a story. I loved the stories as much as the girls did!
In fact, just recently (my girls are now 11) we were flipping through the radio and heard a short snippet of a woman’s voice and all three of immediately said in unison with warmth and affection, “Natasha!” Sure enough, she was being interviewed. Storynory is by far the best story podcast and is a true delight to listen to. For inspiration, you may want to start listening too.
I’m looking forward to hearing how these tips work for you! Let us know when you kick off your podcast—you can post a comment below or on Facebook. I’d love to listen to your stories and I’m sure other Public Speaker readers would too.
This is Lisa B. Marshall, moving you from mundane to memorable, from information to influence, and from worker to leader! I invite you to read my best-selling books, Smart Talk and Ace Your Interview, listen to my other podcast, Smart Talk, and invest in your professional development via my online courses, Powerful Presenter, Expert Presenter, or Influence: Maximize Your Impact.
As always, your success is my business!
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
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About the Author
Lisa B. Marshall Lisa holds masters with duel degrees in interpersonal/intercultural communication and organizational communication. She’s the author of Smart Talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation, as well as Ace Your Interview, Powerful Presenter, and Expert Presenter. Her work has been featured in CBS Money Watch, Ragan.com, Woman’s Day, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and many others. Her institutional clients include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard University, NY Academy of Science, University of Pennsylvania, Genentech, and Roche.
