Speaking from the diaphragm – what does it really mean and can using your diaphragm
properly improve your weak or tired voice?
In this video, I am going to untangle some myths about diaphragmatic breathing and tell
you that some interpretations of “speaking from the diaphragm” can put even more stress
on your voice.
Keep watching.
Hi!
I am Katarina, speech language pathologist and here on this channel, I share practical
tips about using your voice in a healthy way.
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The phrase “speaking from the diaphragm” is very misleading and in my 20+ years of
experience, I have seen many people pushing more air and creating more tension in their
voice when trying to “speak from the diaphragm”.
So, let’s unpack this phrase and see if there are more useful instructions to improve
your weak voice.
In my opinion, the phrase “speak from the diaphragm” is very general and vague.
It really does not give you any specific instructions that you can execute successfully and improve
your voice in any way.
Even if you know where the diaphragm is located, how do you actually speak from the diaphragm?
What exactly do you do?
What muscles do you engage in?
What muscles do you release?
How does it feel to speak from the diaphragm?
When people are asked to “speak from their diaphragm”, this is the usual reaction I
see.
(demonstrate).
What I just did is far from what healthy speaking is about.
This type of breathing creates more tension, puts more strain on the vocal folds and does
not improve vocal strength.
That’s point number 1.
The second point is that you cannot really control your diaphragm in isolation when speaking.
Your diaphragm will move down when you inhale and will move up when you speak, whether you
want it or not.
Of course, you can postpone or deepen your inhalation, and you can slow down or speed
up your exhalation.
But is this something that will strengthen your voice?
I am not quite sure where the phrase “speaking from the diaphragm” came from but I know
that it’s the most useless phrase you can give to anyone.
And you may not agree with me but from my experience, there are far more specific and
useful instructions for strengthening your voice.
In fact, you most likely have enough air in your lungs for speaking unless you have an
acute or chronic pulmonary condition, such as COVID or COPD.
When you have healthy lungs, your brain knows exactly how much air to inhale for a given
spoken phrase.
We rarely run out of breath when speaking.
If you are running out of breath at the end of spoken phrases, it’s most likely due
to low vocal effort, not due to lack of air in your lungs.
Or if you feel the need to push air at the end of spoken phrases, it’s not because
you don’t have enough breath, it’s more likely that your abdominals are too tight,
which causes a loss of air.
Or if your voice is breathy and weak, it’s not because you did not inhale enough air,
it’s because your vocal folds are not closing properly and they are leaking air.
In all of these scenarios, “speaking from the diaphragm” would only deepen the problem,
not solve it.
Let’s do an experiment.
Let’s see how much air you really need for speaking.
Inhale normally as you would do, then blow out air to a comfortable level and then count
from 1 to 10.
(demonstrate).
What did you observe?
Write EASY in the comments below if you could easily count from on a small breath.
I, personally, could easily count till ten without any strain, running out of breath
or pushing air at the end.
And I was able to do that from the resting expiratory level after blowing air from my
lungs.
This experiment shows you that you don’t need more air in your lungs to have a strong
voice.
What you need is a better coordination of all the moving parts when speaking.
In my experience, many vocal issues, including a weak voice, vocal strain or even pain, are
caused by too much breath.
Large lung volumes are hard to control.
Large volumes can create high breath pressures under the vocal folds, which puts strain on
them.
When you drive too much air through the vocal folds, there are two things that can happen.
Too much air can cause the folds to constrict or work extra hard to withstand the high pressures
underneath them.
Too much breath can cause constriction and strain in other parts of the vocal tract.
Or the vocal folds just simply give up and open completely, which results in a breathy
and weak voice.
If you are experiencing vocal strain, tension or even pain when speaking, and you are ready
to work towards a free, strong and confident voice, you can apply to our Vocal Freedom
System coaching program.
Check out the link in the description below this video.
So, the question is: what can you do to strengthen your weak voice?
Let the diaphragm do its job.
Unless you have a chronic respiratory condition, your diaphragm will work well without you
paying too much attention to it.
When you start interfering with the natural flow of the breathing mechanism, it often
leads to discoordination.
If you still don’t believe me, try to speak on smaller lung volumes than you usually do.
So, do exactly what we did in our little experiment.
Before saying a sentence, blow air out and then say the sentence on a lower lung volume.
See if that makes a difference.
Also, focus on the vocal folds closure.
Is it too tight, which causes your voice to get tired easily?
Or does the vocal fold closure leak air and therefore your voice is weak and you feel
breathless?
Strengthen the laryngeal muscles responsible for healthy sound production, the muscles
that close the vocal folds, lengthen them and shorten them.
I made a video about strengthening your voice, in which I show you easy exercises to build
vocal power.
Click the link up here to watch that video.
But when you are dealing with a weak voice, there are more things to consider than breath
and vocal fold closure.
I also made a video, in which I walk you through 7 steps that lead to a strong voice without
tension.
If you want to know what voice, body and mind considerations you need to take to truly free
your voice, click the link in the description below this video.
If you found this video helpful, click the like button and share it with your friends.
Check out my other videos right here below.
I hope to see you soon.
Bye.