Breathing and vocal control

The sound and quality of your voice relies on your ability to control your breathing. The best kind of breathing for producing volume and good vocal control is passive breathing.

Passive breathing starts with the exhale. Hold your fist below your navel. Exactly at the spot where your fist is located, isolate and flex only those lower abdominal muscles and squeeze out a little puff of air. Make sure it is not from your waist but below your waist down by your fist and that it is only a little air. Imagine squeezing the air out as if it is a bubble of air from a turkey baster.

Let the air back in again as if you are hollow below the waist. Let your lower abdominal muscles relax as you loosen your jaw and open your throat, as if you were yawning. Keep your throat relaxed and open so that the air can flow in. Visualise about a fistful of air falling directly down to the bottom of your torso.

Now squeeze the air back out again with a light grip from your lower abdominal muscles.

Keep the process going and you are now breathing passively.

Practice breathing this way and you will notice an improvement in your vocal control.

For more detail on other aspects of speaking and presenting see www.youcanspeakwithconfidence.com