How do you get your voice to sound better?

Question

An everyday voice... not a singing voice.

Answer 1

You can practice exercising your vocal chords by holding a pencil between your back teeth, left to right (horizontally, long enough so that you have some left on each end of it and don't choke on it)...anyway, hold the pencil between your back teeth and then you can really feel your vocal chords. You can stretch them, flex them, just plain exercise them. They get thicker, your voice develops a better (and louder) tone. Voila!
Some people say you can do this with an eraser between your back teeth and your mouth closed, but I don't want to be responsible for swallowed erasers. The second method is also supposed to work better & faster.

Answer 2

There are actually some good books floating around out there on "voice control" to improve or correct the way you speak. I suggest you try local used book stores. They are not very common (books on this subject) but exist and contain practical excercises.

I can only remember one excercise from the last one I read, and not so sure I can properly describe it but here goes: try humming through your nose with your mouth shut, now try counting (yes out loud w/mouth open) in the same tone - coming from the same place in your throat - as when you were humming. The idea is that most people project their voice from the wrong part of their throat and this excercise is suppose to help you find your own natural voice.

I think a book will describe it better than I can.

Really good question, btw.

Answer 3

Do exercises with a piano or a capella. It's easy. Here is a list of the exercises you should do a capella or on a piano. You should also develop a good vibrato at about six beats a second.

1)One-Octave Exercise:
Goog; Gug; Mum; No; Nay; Nah
2)Octave and Half Exercise:
Goog; Gug; Mum; No; Nay; Nah
3)One-Octave Jump Exercise:
Gee; Gug; Mum

And if you don't understand this, you aren't experienced enough yet. You probably need one-on-one lessons with a singing teacher.

Answer 4

Well, what I usually do before a newscast is drink black tea without any sugar, milk or anything else. You should avoid sugary food or dairy about an hour before speaking because they make you sound awful and you'll find yourself coughing too much. You may have to have someone show you this part--speak in chest voice. When you speak, you'll feel it in the chest, hence the term. Your throat won't get sore if you make sure to do that.

You can also record yourself and play it back, critique yourself & work on certain parts. I do that pretty often to make sure my on-air delivery is still working out fine.

Answer 5

Voice lessons can be expensive, but practice helps. Do some scales and try to 'aim' it far away, at a clock or something. Make it loud and bring out as much vibrato as you can.

Pressing your hands together helps some people and not others.

Just practice.

Answer 6

What you might be looking for is a speech coach. Do you have an oddly low or high voice, or a speech impediment, etc.? That's what a speech coach works on. These are the kind of people who teach accents/dialects to actors, non-regional dialects to tv journalists, how to work past a lisp, how to speak in a more middle tone (we all know someone whose voice is awkwardly low or high)... Good luck.

Answer 7

Try lowering your voice to get a lower tone and talk for a while like that. Try a higher voice to talk higher. If it's hard for you to tone it then try playing a note on the piano and then sound it out

Answer 8

Take lessons?

Just kidding. Well, maybe you just don't use it enough. Practice your charisma in front of you mirror (trust me, we ALL do it) and see your range. Are you alto, tenor, somewhere in between? If you're a tenor, stay with tenor notes, don't over-do it.

Drink lots of water to keep your voice healthy.

Answer 9

Make sure you are opening your mouth wide enough. Breathing techniques- make sure you support your notes with a good breath. Warm up exercises. Maybe lessons or private instruction. Also lukewarm water helps.

Answer 10

composure and make it pleasant to hear; likewise don't be in a hurry to say the words. Say the words one by one without dragging it. Give emphasize on the tone quality. It's a matter of practice. best luck.