Question Home

Position:Home>Theater & Acting> Tips on projecting your voice?


Question: Tips on projecting your voice!?
Does any one have any tips on projecting your voice!?!? i have to be heard from the back of an auditorium without a microphone!.!.!.!.& i don't have a very loud voice!. Thanx in advance!!!
<333 Cupcake V!.Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
The keys: stand up straight, relax, and throw your voice from your diaphragm!. It sounds crazy, but once you get the technique, you can play with it!.

If you project from your throat, you will go hoarse very quickly, and this is what most people do if they are not used to being loud!.

Think of "The Look" from your mother or grandmother, and how you feel it down to your bones!. To project, think of the voice that goes with the look!.

First, relax!. Wobble your head like a bobble head!. Then make a few full circles without twisting your head at the neck (your eyes should stay straight ahead, up or down, but not to the side, and your nose should be straight ahead too)!. Back up!. Release all the air in your lungs!. Now, slowly and evenly, breathe in to a count of 5, out to a count of 5, and do it 2 more times!.

Now refine that!. Force all of your breath out!. Now, punch out some more!. Did you feel a pinch in your middle!? You didn't!? Punch HARDER! Now gasp some air back in - just draw it in as fast as you can, not full lungs!. Keeping your mouth open, gasp in , gasp out!.!. (These should be nice healthy gasps, as though you had just seen a ghost!.) Put your fingers lightly on your midriff (several inches above your waist!. When you gasp, you should feel your muscle tighten!. That muscle is attached to your diaphragm!.

Now play with it, making wierd noises and controlling how much air goes in and out, and how tight your midriff gets!.

Now try speaking while breathing that way!. Aim your voice at someone (imaginary) one or two rooms away!. As you improve, aim further!.

Now - if you will be READING, that is a special case!. You need to be facing your audience, and the tendency with reading is to look down, cutting off the air and the voice at the throat!. (That's why speakers and tv hosts who use teleprompters look at a screen just to the side of the camera, not down!.)

That should get you started!. Two pulic speaking tips: speak to their eyebrows (if you look at the mouths, they can tell you aren't looking at them) and/or imagine the audience in their underwear!. I don't personally recommend the second one, as I tried it once and totally could not quit giggling!. (But it's okay to think about it ahead of time!.)

Good luck!

Oh - and practice not using all your air on the first few words in a sentence!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

My acting coach always taught me this method!.

Put your hand in front of your mouth and blow on your hand like you are blowing out a candle!. You will notice that really cold air comes out on your hand!. Now leave your hand in front of your face and pretend that you are blowing to fog up a window!. You should feel warm air!. To project, you must use the warm air that comes from your diaphragm!.

Hopefully that gives you a little bit of a clue as to the right approach!. Good luck!Www@QuestionHome@Com