***Those Who Teach Voice and Those Who Think They Teach Voice

I recently read an article by a man who teaches presentation skills. He was discussing the fact that most people hate their voice on recording equipment because it is unfamiliar to their ear. What 'floored me' about his message was that he was suggesting you accept it and live with it.

While I would assume that this man probably shows others how to speak with more color and more life (gosh I hope he at least is doing that if he is teaching presentation skills!), he has no idea what voice training is about. None whatsoever.

What he doesn’t know is that everyone – and I mean everyone – has a better voice inside of them. You may have a voice as great as that of James Earl Jones or Diane Sawyer or George Clooney or Julia Ormond. You will never know just how great your voice may be, however, until you use your chest cavity to power your sound. Presently it is likely that you are not aware of and not using your 5th resonator – your chest – as your primary sounding board.

Yes, we have 5 resonators which aid in the production of voiced sound. Those resonators include the chest, throat, voice box, mouth, and nose. Each of these vibrators is a cavity in which your sound resonates. Most people use only 4 of their resonators: they are not taking advantage of the size and breadth of their chest cavity. That is why so many speaking voices are high in pitch and lack any real depth and power. They tend to be thinner in quality, young-sounding, and possibly nasal.

What I do guarantee is that once you find your ‘real’ voice in which you are powering your sound by means of your chest cavity, you will discover a voice that is warmer, richer, and more mature-sounding. In addition, it will probably be deeper in pitch and will most definitely resonate in your chest because you will be focusing on the optimum range of your voice – not your habitual range.

When I discovered my real voice in graduate school, it had depth and fullness which was quite a difference from my habitual, New Jersey sound. It got me the jobs I wanted in New York City because I sounded more mature tha
I was. It also got me jobs I wasn’t seeking.

The questio
I would ask you is whether you want to work on the voice you already have or discover the one you don’t know you have? That is the difference between those who teach voice and those who think they teach voice.