How to Develop a Better Speaking Voice

The Tidal and Residual air together represent only one-fifth of our lung capacity, four-fifths are taken up by the Reserve air, the part that should continuously be renewed if we are to use our breath to full advantage.

The only difference between one voice and another lies in the attitude of its owner, the amount of thought given to its use. Whether we think of it merely as a series of vague, automatic noises that come-of-themselves whenever we want to make known our thoughts and wants, or as a vital and miraculous means whereby we can express the best in ourselv

1. Yawn in, with mouth and throat wide open. 2. Close the eyes and register the sensation of concave tongue and arched palate. 3. Relax, then—still with eyes closed—try to reproduce the sensation with muscle action only. 4. Open eyes and check up. . . . Try repeating the muscle action three times quickly, first with mouth half-closed, then with lip

Habits of Voice are inevitably associated with habits of mind, and what is character, but the sum-total of habitual thought?

quickening the breath instead of deepening it, raising the shoulders and dragging it in, using the unnatural suction created by a narrowed throat, instead of the natural, easy suction of fully expanding lungs.

The shape of the mouth—inside as well as out—can affect both tone and clarity; the structure of head and shoulders, the size of the tongue, even the shape of the nose—all have their part to play in the making of the individual voice,

But whenever we breathe in order to speak, the breath instinctively enters the mouth, for three perfectly common sense reasons: the hole is bigger, the journey to the lungs is shorter, and the lips are already apart in anticipation of our next word. Also, nose-breathing tends to lower the soft palate—that is, the back of the roof of the mouth—partl

The Conscious Mind is the Creative Mind, and while we talk it is kept working at full pressure forming our thoughts, choosing our words, arranging our sentences. Therefore our Voice machine must be left to the mercy of the subconscious: to it is relegated the way we breathe, the way we resonate and the whole process of delivery.

CONCENTRATE ON THE EXHALING—DO IT WITH ALL YOUR FORCE—THEN MERELY RECEIVE THE FRESH BREATH.