Transcriber: Jorge Vergara Reviewer: Amanda Zamuner
Do you like the sound of your voice?
It's surprising to me that when I ask people to describe how they feel about
the sound of their voices, they almost always say the same thing:
“I don’t like the sound of my voice it doesn’t sound right to me”
“My voice sounds weird, like something is off”
Or “I used to sing in the choir when I was younger.
but somebody told me that my voice sounded bad, so I just stopped singing”
I have heard so many similar stories like this, training singers and speakers,
that it is now my mission to help everyone learn to really like
the sound of their own voices and improve them.
When you like the sound of your voice
and you allow yourself to playfully explore all its capabilities,
you become more confident in any situation.
In conversations, at work, as a speaker, or as a singer.
I know a lot about the voice as I've been creating mine since
I was eight years old. I'm a singer, I'm a Billboard recording artist,
and I’m a voice coach. I train people to let the voice out.
There is a disconnect in what we perceive our voices to sound like versus its
actual sound. It's like drinking what you think is water,
and then finding out and being shocked that it’s 7up or Sprite.
And you have that natural reaction because it's not what you expected.
The reason you don’t sound
the way you think you should sound
is because you hear yourself differently in your own body.
The voice is a vibration created by air passing through the vocal cords,
which makes the sound. When the vocal cords start vibrating,
it hits different frequencies of sound that carries through our bodies,
and that is how we hear ourselves inside of our own heads.
A lot of us don't know how we really sound to the rest of the world,
because we sing or speak for an audience of one.
That means when you're listening to your voice recorded or on reels and videos
on social media, or just on your outgoing message on your cell phone, you think,
“Wow, that’s weird. That doesn’t sound like me”
because you heard it in your head first. The audience of one.
Well, let me be the first to tell you that is you; that is your real voice
and that’s how people hear you.
Are you surprised? To truly like it and improve it,
we need to start to listen to how people hear us outside of ourselves.
We can do this by recording ourselves on our phones,
singing or speaking or taking a video and listening back: that is you.
The first step is acceptance: accept how you really sound.
People have been loving you and listening to you your entire life
like this. So, now it’s time for you to get to know your voice in this way.
Especially when you feel you hear things you want to change.
When you encounter those peculiar
or even slightly annoying sounds listening to your outgoing message
and you think, “Oh” those are actually undiscovered aspects of your voice.
You can refine these unique qualities into a more versatile
and expressive speaking or singing voice.
So instead of viewing these things as negative,
like they are flawed or they're incorrect or it's wrong,
consider them opportunities to elevate and enrich your vocal capabilities.
If you like to sing, start matching up your voice to the singer that you like
and practice your voice in the way they sing.
Create yourself a playlist of different songs and listen to it in your downtime
or in your car. Once you finally learn how the song goes,
then sing it by yourself, without the singer:
this will help you understand how you sound with the music.
For speakers, go online and find some character, scripts, and practice taking
on a character, someone that sounds nothing like you,
and see what your voice does.
You will find parts of your voice that you have never used before.
It may feel awkward at first,
but remember we're getting used to these new parts of our voice to use them.
Prepare your introduction and mission statement about who you are
and what you do and practice that.
Get it to the point where you feel really confident
and elevate your speech to make it important. Overstated, perform it.
This has the impact to the listener,
a strong impact and it will mean more to them.
Also remember this, when you are practicing and you’re going beyond
the limits of your normal sounding voice,
you are going to find places where you feel uncomfortable
and like something is off.
You might even think, “I don’t want my voice to sound like that.”
Just remember, you need to let it grow and evolve and keep practicing it,
because you’re going to find a place for that voice. It just takes time,
so let it evolve, let it happen. Don’t hesitate to let all of your voice out.
And by the way, warming up isn't just for singers.
For those of us that speak,
we need to be working our voice and practicing and making it stronger
and more powerful and performable.
When we take time to warm up our voice,
it gives us more energy and motivation and power to speak what we want to say
and make it stick. The people in
the room will notice you even more powerfully.
When you have confidence and you like the sound of your voice,
you have tons of confidence
and control to stand in front of people... like me talking to you.
Confidence to be the person, the speaker,
or the singer you've always wanted to be.
With power and intention, it's time for you to let the voice out and love
the sound of your voice. Thank you.