Triple Take #16: Placing the voice for emotional control; engaging the audience via movement; shake it off!

Voice Confident's Triple Take - your fortnightly trio of tips!

Voice: placing the voice for emotional control

Resting the voice on the larynx (a throaty sort of tone, with elements of what we call vocal fry, or cracking) can trigger tears because the larynx is rich in nerves; it’s part of the vagus nerve’s pathway (which connects to your parasympathetic nervous system).

It's the reason why you often hear the crack in someone's voice before they really start to cry.

If you feel yourself getting emotional therefore, and you feel your voice cracking, and it's not the right place to be teary, focus on placing the sound high, out through the centre of your face and away from the larynx. Try also to keep your breathing regular (no snatched breaths) and make a connected sound, joining your words together a bit more than you would normally. All these things encourage your brain to stay focused on the task in hand and save the emotional release for another time.

Presence: engage the audience using movement

When speaking to an audience or giving a presentation, bear in mind the shortness of people's attention span. Our brains are drawn to novelty - movement, fun, facial expressions. So tempting as it may be, and safe as it may feel, to stand rooted to the spot or behind a lectern, it's actually a lot harder to keep the audience interested. (It can be done, but you need to be be incredibly interesting in voice and face to keep people engaged!)

Just walking up and down will keep the audience watching you, but for extra impact:

1. Vary your physical proximity to the audience, perhaps moving closer to listen to questions or to get people to raise their hands.

2. Use the width of the stage strategically, moving more for conversational sections eg. stories, and standing in different places to use stillness for key points.

3. Use movements that match what you are saying; symmetrical gestures for things we all agree on; asymmetry and head tilts for 'out of the box'.

Confidence: shake it off!

For a quick nervous system reset, particularly good to get rid of excess energy before a high stakes performance, shake your right hand in the air 8 times, like you are trying to shake off water really quickly. Then shake your left hand 8 times, right foot 8 times and left foot 8 times. Repeat 4 times each, then 2 times each, then 1. Stretch up high to the ceiling... and relax!