Public Speaking Exercises - 3 Ways to Improve Personal Presence, Vocal Tone, and Voice Projection

Aside from the content of a presentation, your delivery is the most important factor (some would say even more important than the content itself). Building good delivery habits takes effort. Luckily, unlike content which may or may not apply to other speeches and areas of your life, building better delivery habits will benefit you not just during a speech, but also during interviews, meetings, and any time you want to leave someone with a good impression. Here's three exercises that, done regularly, will improve three essential areas of public speaking delivery: personal presence, vocal tone, and voice projection.

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Personal Presence

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Some people walk into a room and shrink away. Others command attention, immediately taking center stage even when they don't put themselves forward. Part of this presence comes through good posture. One particularly effective exercise requires only a stability (Swiss) ball and your body itself.

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1. Kneel on the ground in front of the ball.
2. Roll forward until your stomach is on the ball, feet on the ground behind you and hands on the ground in front of you.
3. Place you hands behind your head lift with your lower back until your body forms a straight line from feet to head.
4. Lower slowly; repeat.

Obligatory Note: If you have a history of back problems, consult your doctor before doing this or any other back exercise.

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Vocal Tone

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Vocal tone is a function of two things: your vocal cords and your body cavities. How your body cavities? When you speak, your voice originates at your vocal cords and then resonates through your chest, throat, and head as it comes out of your mouth. That's why people sound funny when they have a cold - with plugged sinuses, your voice can't resonate well. So, to improve vocal tone, one must "open up" their chest, throat, and head cavities.

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1. Hum at a comfortable pitch.
2. Move the pitch slightly lower; pay attention to how your chest feels.
3. Hum until you can feel the vibration in your chest. Continue humming once you do, attempting to increase the vibration.
4. Next move the pitch slightly higher; pay attention to how your head feels.
5. Let your mouth open. Hum until you feel the vibration in your tongue and lips, behind and above your mouth. Continue humming once you do, attempting to increase the vibration.
6. Finally, return to your chest once more. Repeat the whole exercise, always ending with your chest in order to develop a full, luscious sound.

Note: In this exercise, avoid tension at all costs. Breath frequently, and stop if you get light headed.

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Voice Projection

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It doesn't matter what you say if people can't hear you! Weak (not quiet, but weak) voices can give the impression of fear and anxiousness, two impressions you don't want to give. To develop good voice projection, remember this principle: your strength doesn't depend on your mouth or throat, but on your lungs. In other words, when people yell until their throat is sore and they can't speak anymore, they're just hurting themselves and not using the air support they could for a full, strong voice. To develop that support,

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1. Sitting straight, place one hand on your belly and another behind your back opposite your hand on your belly.
2. Breath in, attempting to move both hands out as far as possible (it takes a lot of strength to get your hand on your back to move; don't worry if it doesn't). This is belly breathing. Notice how it feels; this is how you want to breath when you speak in order to use your full lung capacity and get the fullest, strongest, and richest sound.
3. Exhale quickly, but make no sound as you do so. Sound is an indication of tension.
4. Breath in again. Now, when you exhale, say the first letter of the alphabet.
5. Continue until you reach Z. As you progress through the alphabet, pretend that with each letter you are speaking to a target farther and farther away. By the time you reach the end, you should be very loud and strong. If you're still breathing right, you will be stronger than you could be breathing normally.

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Again, stop if you get lightheaded.

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These three exercises, done often, will increase your effectiveness both as a speaker and as a person as you increase your ability and capacity. Happy speaking!