Preparing your voice in Public speaking

What precisely, is the first thing an audience notices about a speaker? Their voices! That makes a speaker’s voice the most significant factor which needs the most attention and hard work. 

Every speaker who aspires to become a renowned public speaker, needs to first focus on this factor. 

More than the brilliant content that is needed, the talent of engaging the smallest or the largest crowds in their speech is needed. 

Although this cannot be achieved only through reading the tips and tricks to it, but if you're reading this here right now, you are already on the journey.

Let’s now shed light on improving your speaking voice.

1. Breathing exercises: 

In order to maintain your entire speech and manage your sentences and paragraphs in a calculated way, having control over your breathing is very important.

2. Proper articulation: 

Many speakers who have the perfect ideas in their mind are unable to articulate them in their speeches. Even after preparing a speech that includes every aspect, there is something missing, what is it? The way you express it. Articulating in front of a crowd can be difficult for people but regular practising can fade this fear and make it your strength. 

3. Intonation:  

Controlling and varying your pitch while speaking is a very important step which cannot be afforded to be skipped. A monotone voice can be the biggest hazard to your speech.

4. Pronunciation: 

How important can pronunciation be? A little more important than your speech. No speaker would want to become the source of negative entertainment and the audience being more interested in the bad pronunciations rather than the actual content of the speech. 

5. Slow down: 

While climbing up on stage, all the enthusiasm takes over your mind, but don't make the mistake of speeding up your speech so much that it becomes difficult for the audience to keep up with it.

Slow down when it’s important, maintain a good pace while speaking and let the audience follow.

These techniques have proven to be exceptionally useful for every renowned speaker and have become the major backbone of public speaking.

As useful as these tips can be on the stage, what’s more useful is the hard work done backstage. Some techniques for the consistent practice are as follows: 

1. Warming up your voice before delivery: 

Before the final performance, any good speaker needs a good warm up. Drinking hot water before speaking, not involving in any loud shouting or any high pitched speaking of any sort. 

2. Hydration: 

Before any performance of any art form, the first instruction is to hydrate. When we talk about public speaking, it’s all about the voice, and hydration becomes so important before speaking so that there's no sore throat while speaking.

3. Avoid vocal strain: 

Not only before your performance, but a speaker who completely relies on their voice, must abstain from straining their voice at all times. 

4. Regular practice: 

Every skill that exists in this world, requires regular practice to attain mastery and for the artists to be completely confident in their field. No doubt there are other important factors to it but the most reliable technique is practising regularly.

For any public speaking to be effective and to have its impact on the audience's minds, these techniques have to be implemented, both before and during the speech. There is no other way to become a good public speaker, prepare well, and then practice practice practice.