Do you have the right voice for public speaking?  Many women push their voices too high, and men push them too low.  The result is that the voice lacks authority in the first instance and resonance in the second.  Neither one is good for public speaking. 

 

To find the right basic pitch for your voice, get to a keyboard.  Hunt for the lowest note you can comfortably match, and the highest.  That’s a range of typically 2 octaves, or about 16 white notes.  Then, walk your fingers up a quarter of the way from the bottom.  If your range is 2 octaves, that would be 4 notes (16 divided by 4 equals 4).  That pitch is your maximum resonance point.  You should be talking at that level much of the time, going higher to indicate passion, and lower to indicate certainty and authority. 

 

Once you’ve found your pitch, work on breathing.  Good public speaking voices have resonance, presence, and authority.  Resonance comes from proper breathing – with the belly, not the shoulders.  As you breathe in, expand the stomach, like an eye dropper.  Then, tense the stomach muscles and let the air trickle out as you speak.  Don't move your shoulders.

 

Presence comes from a touch of the nasal in the voice, but not too much.  Many of us have voices that are overly nasal, because we spend so much of our time hunched over computers, shoulders slumped, not breathing properly.  Try this.  Put your hands along your nose, and make a sound like a sheep bleating.  You should feel the nasal passages vibrating if you’re doing it right.  That’s a nasal-sounding voice.  Now, breathe from the belly, lose 95 percent of the nasal, and you’re ready to go.  Just a touch of the nasal gives your voice carrying quality, so that it can be heard clearly before an audience. 

 

Finally, authority comes from pitching an arc with your voice that starts at your correct pitch, goes up slightly during the phrase or sentence, and comes down again at the end.  Many people today say everything as if it were a question?  With their tone rising at the end of every sentence?  The result is maddening, and lacking any authority?  Don't do it!

 

For more information about the care and feeding of a great public speaking voice, go to my book Trust Me:  Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma.