Most of us are spending lots of time in masks due to the global pandemic. As a result, I’m assuming you’ve had more than one occasion when you’ve had to increase your volume and repeat yourself so someone can hear you better. Do you feel like you are yelling all the time? I sure do. And while 2020 hasn’t necessarily been my favorite year, I’m still looking for positive things it can teach me. One of those is how to project my voice better.
So today, let’s look at 3 things that directly affect your speaking volume. And, surprise! None of them are your voice. Once we learn these tricks, we’ll be better able to control our speaking volume and make ourselves heard (even behind the masks).
Lung Capacity
While we often think our volume comes from our voice, or vocal cords, it doesn’t. Well at least not fully. The amount of sound you are able to push out really starts with the amount of air that moves past your vocal folds. That means your lung capacity has a direct impact on your volume.
The good and bad news is that your lung capacity, or the amount of air you are able to hold, isn’t fixed. Lung capacity can decrease with smoking and air pollution, so make every effort to protect your lungs from environmental pollutants. And we all naturally experience some loss of lung capacity as we age. But there’s good news. We can increase lung capacity with aerobic exercise. Studies have shown that the average person’s lung capacity can be improved around 5-15% by engaging in physical exercise at least 3 times a week. So when you hit the gym or head out for a walk or run, you are also working on improving your speaking volume.
Diaphragm Breathing
If you are someone who has been on the stage, either speaking or singing or acting, you’ve probably been to told to “breathe from your diaphragm.” But what does that mean? And what is a diaphragm? According to Healthline, “The diaphragm is a thin skeletal muscle that sits at the base of the chest and separates the abdomen from the chest. It contracts and flattens when you inhale. This creates a vacuum effect that pulls air into the lungs. When you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes and the air is pushed out of lungs.”
Since the diaphragm is a muscle, it’s one that you can strengthen through practice. Try this breathing exercise from the Cleveland Clinic for about 5-10 minutes a couple times each day. In no time, you’ll used to breathing from your diaphragm and you’ll have better control over your volume.
Posture
If you’ve ever tried to sing sitting down or speak hunched over, you’ll quickly realize how much your posture affects your volume. And it goes back to your lungs. When you aren’t standing or sitting up straight, your lungs can’t expand fully as easily. So straighten your spine and relax your shoulders when presenting. This will give your lungs their best chance for pushing air out to increase your volume.
In addition, keep your head centered and your neck and shoulders loose. Livestrong says, “Tension in the neck and shoulders hampers air flow and constricts the vocal space. The vocal cords need to vibrate together but, if the space is too constricted, it’s like the dampening affect on a piano.” Before you stand up to speak, stretch your neck gently using one or more of these exercises from the medical professionals at WebMD.
Volume isn’t just about your vocal folds or voice. It’s a combination of several body systems, like your lungs and diaphragm and posture, that all work together to produce sound. Even when that sound has to make it out from behind a mask, these 3 things can help you be heard.
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