Better Business Speech by Paul Geiger

Author:Paul Geiger [Geiger, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2017-08-02T04:00:00+00:00

8

No Shouting Please

Controlled Speech Techniques

Once you accept the importance of breathing you need to know where to put all of that good breath. Speaking up in a business meeting can sound like shouting if you just take a deep breath and go for it. Necessary vocal balance can only be achieved by becoming more vowel centric. The process begins with the recognition of the long and short vowels in American English. Discovering the sensation of speaking words with the lower, elongated vowel sounds: aa, ah, au, and oh, along with vowel combinations, leads to more wide open and relaxed phonation. Repetitive vowel exercises will ultimately increase vowel space, resonance, projection, and, most importantly, relaxation.

Gut check. The sound of shouting is the sound of tension. You certainly recognize it when you hear it. Though you may feel tense at times, that is certainly not the perception you want to project when speaking. So, in order to feel more relaxed, you need to develop a technique that will reduce the tension in your voice. Any good technique is built on fundamentals. You can physically control the amount of tension in your voice with your breathing. For most, step number one is recognizing the diaphragm muscle. You need to know where it is, what it is, and how to regulate it. You might think of a gut check as being something you do during a time of stress or tension. The truth is, if you’re not breathing in a relaxed way, every time you speak you are experiencing a certain amount of tension. Remember, relaxation leads to comfort, which leads to confidence. There are no shortcuts.

Exercises for diaphragm recognition. Take a moment to become aware of your breathing. Feel the expansion of your abdomen and sides as you breathe in. Keep your shoulders and chest relaxed with each breath. Your focus should be on your abdomen, which contains the breathing muscle calling the diaphragm. Your diaphragm’s sole purpose is to rise and fall, moving air in and out of your lungs. When you breathe in, your lungs expand and your belly goes out. As you breathe out, your belly pushes in and up on your lungs, moving the air upward. This may seem a little confusing at first: breath in—belly out, breath out—belly in. But you will get the hang of it. I cannot stress the importance of relaxed and deliberate breathing enough. Don’t move on until you become comfortable with this manner of breathing. It is the foundation for everything else to come.

Low is the way to go. Good vocal space is not just a matter of dropping your jaw and opening your mouth wider, although this will certainly help to an extent. The real challenge is in learning to allow your voice to exist in a bigger space. Ultimately, allowing your voice to live in a bigger space, created by lowering your larynx with good breath support, will increase your confidence and improve your overall presentation and communication skills.

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