The voice has a great influence on how we interact with each other. The reason lies in the effect on the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system, which performs the parasympathetic function in response to auditory stimulation. The sounds that we hear have a direct impact on our level of stress and are of great importance for attachment and confidence in a person.
The voice affects the interlocutor and helps you feel self-confidence. If you need a little support before you go to an interview, try several ways to strengthen your own voice.
1. Speak from the diaphragm
To get a commanding and confident voice that can be heard at the other end of the room, you should try to speak from the diaphragm rather than the ligaments. This requires a little training: when you inhale, your stomach should be slightly elevated, and when you exhale it is lowered. When you get used to involving the diaphragm while breathing, you can start to talk controlling your breath. This manner of speaking can be useful when you are making a report, having an interview or just want to talk so that everyone can hear you.
2. Smile during a conversation
One way to sound warm and friendly during a conversation is to smile a little. Intonation is greatly influenced by your mood, and it is closely related to the expression on your face. You can easily understand when a person smiles, even during a phone conversation – it’s all about the vibration that you can feel. Of course, this does not mean that you need to smile all day long, but this trick can help you sound more friendly and help you get rid of the tension in the room.
3. Yawn
If you want to strengthen your own voice – try yawning before you start a speech. Yawning helps to relax the throat muscles and vocal cords and makes your voice a little lower. Since people perceive a low voice as an indicator of confidence, it’s a lifehack that helps to make an impression during the first meeting.
4. Massage the jaw
Another simple way to relax the throat and make the voice more pleasant is to have a light jaw massage. Slightly open your mouth to separate your teeth, then rub your fingers against the outer part of the jaw. At first, it can be painful – these are very strong muscles, but the more they relax, the wider you can open your mouth.
5. Straighten your body
Your body is another important tool that helps you adjust the sound. If you stand straight, you will breathe deeper and resonate more effectively. In addition, proper posture affects the sense of confidence that will be noticed by others.
6. Think about what you’re talking about
Most people speak quietly and less clearly about the things that are of little importance. If you want to express your opinion or just look more confident, you can articulate the details very clearly. Mumbling is perceived as self-doubt, and people will not be interested in you if they consider that you do not believe your own words. Try a simple exercise to improve diction: clamp a wine stopper cork with teeth. Then read the text of your favorite song or poem. Remove the cork and repeat the text again – you will notice the difference in articulation.
7. Take a break
In order not to sound too self-assured, do not forget about pauses during the conversation. When you make a pause, you allow thoughts to stay in your head a little longer. Thus you control the use of parasite words in your speech. This also shows the other person that you are calm, which means that they can feel relaxed as well.
8. Breathe slowly
When we are nervous, we breathe a little faster and thus we interfere with the rhythm of speech. This leads to the appearance of mistrust or anxiety and causes stress in the interlocutor, so practice conscious breathing.
9. Catch the interlocutor’s rhythm
Try to imitate the voice of the person with whom you are talking: if he is chattering, accelerate. If he speaks slowly, adjust to this speed. Coincidence at such levels allows us to establish deep contact and helps to avoid small conflicts due to misunderstandings.
10. Be ready to change
It is not necessary to change the tone of your voice in order to gain the confidence of all those around you, but it is useful to change some details of your speech to notice how this affects others. For example, speak a little below your usual tone at the time of signing the contract. To do this, you can use a simple technique: open your mouth wide and pronounce the sound “aaa”, moving the tongue slightly forward. Resonance in the back of the throat is the point where you should send the sound to make it sound a little lower.
