You might think that vocal coaching is just for singers! But, in fact, many people in other professions turn to vocal coaching for techniques and protection when using their voice often at work! In jobs that involve a lot of talking, teaching or public speaking, vocal coaching can help protect the voice, as well as improve tone, presentation and delivery.
Some people might be quite ‘fearful’ of public speaking, yet it might be asked of them in professional contexts. If this is you, you may identify with having to provide a presentation, speak to a group of colleagues, or address senior staff (as examples.) In these scenarios, you’ll want to sound clear, with an engaging manner and strong delivery.
A vocal coach, such as myself, can help you!
Vocal coaching will teach you ways of warming up your voice. It’s best to ‘warm up’ your vocal cords prior to a public speaking situation or event. Learning warm-up strategies not only helps keep your vocal cords in good health, but it can benefit your tone, abi
lity to project, and the ability to speak with ease. Without warming up, you might find that your voice ‘breaks’ as you speak, or that your throat becomes dry- making it tricky to talk.
During coaching sessions we also look at breathing strategies and ways these can support you in speaking. Learning to breathe ‘properly’ when you speak in public will help you to find the most natural and appropriate places to pause. Your breathing is important in helping you to pace your speaking, too. It’s uncomfortable for an audience to listen to somebody speaking too rapidly- or sounding ‘breathless.’
Posture is also important- and seeking advice from a vocal coach can provide great benefits for clear delivery and aids voice projection. When you speak to an audience, you will want to be heard successfully. In addition to this, good posture gives the appearance of confidence (even if you don’t really feel confident!) A vocal coach can discuss ways to hold yourself, as well as where to put your arms, how to hold your notes (if you have any,) and how high to hold your head, for example.
Finally, if you use your voice in a professional capacity, it’s very important to protect your voice. Over-using it or straining it can cause (sometimes quite damaging) issues with your voice box and its surrounding structures. For the long term, you’ll want to keep your vocal cords in the best condition and vocal coaching can teach you the best strategies to ‘care’ for your voice.
If you have a public speaking event approaching, feel free to get in touch and we can talk about how I can support you.