How your voice could be ruining your health

Seems a bit over the top, doesn’t it?

Suggesting that public speaking and the way you use your voice could be ‘ruining your health’ sounds a little like clickbait.

I get it.

But it’s still true.

You see, very few people really understand the voice as an instrument of sound production. Which means they understand their own voice even less.

And when this happens, most of us fall into ‘voice stereotypes.’

This could be imitating the people around us, the people we hear in movies, TV shows, or on the radio. Or it could be aligning ourselves vocally with those of our particular industry, culture, or sub-culture.

In any case, the fact is that the voice is intimately connected to our health for a few reasons:

1. Good vocal production relaxes the throat and jaw, while also toning the muscles around them

2. Good vocal production is intimately connected with good breathing. Each encourages the other, which results in more energy and more authority when you speak

3. Bad vocal production, on the other hand, strains your voice, which is why, in extreme cases, famous singers like Saam Smith or Adele have had to have surgery

What this means is if you take the time to improve your voice, you can literally improve your health – or at least avoid the strain of poor voice production.

But on top of that, you also start to have more influence on those around you.

Why?

Because how you sound has a lot to do with how you’re perceived.

Why isn’t important – what’s important is that it happens.

How authoritative you’re seen to be… how much impact you have when you speak… whether you appear statesmanlike or weak… confident or scared… like a leader or a loser… well, that’s all up to your voice.

How do you reap the benefits of good ‘vocal culture’, as it used to be called?

Learn the simple practices that improve it.

There are many exercises I use to help my clients improve their vocal culture. I won’t go into them all now – but here’s a simple one:

Imagine you have a small rubber ball pushed into the back of your mouth that’s oushing your tongue down.

Try it. it’s not easy to keep up at first, but it makes a difference pretty quick.

And if you want to go further in strengthening your voice, hit reply and let’s talk.

Alexander