Voice Protection for Professionals

Four steps to effective vocal delivery

David Machell MA BMus FTCL

 

Many people use their voice for their work, not just singers and actors but teachers, church leaders, politicians, and many more. 

 

The Challenge

The vocal folds are very fragile structures and are easily damaged by misuse or overuse, especially when the voice lacks breath support or muscle protection. There are no nerves attached to them, so damage can go unnoticed. Long term damage can cause nodes to develop. These can often be career-ending. Damage to vocal folds can also make a person more susceptible to throat infections. Misuse and overuse of the voice can also lead to muscle strain and fatigue.

 

Different needs, Different voices

Most people are aware of having a whispering voice, a shouting voice, a conversation voice, a singing voice. The speaking voice that needs to be used when addressing groups of people, however, often in difficult acoustics, is not one that ordinary people use very much. We could call it a ‘public speaking voice’ perhaps, because it is quite different from a conversational voice. 

 

The Response

Training the muscles that support the voice and the breath  is the best way to address these issues. The principles are straightforward and based on common sense, but building up muscle memory takes a lifetime of conscious practice, and there are always improvements to make. Nevertheless, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and progress can be made from the outset.

 

How to increase levels of vocal protection

The foundation of a more protective voice production regime is posture. Next comes more efficient use of the breath. Then comes resonance, achieved by toning the muscles of the throat and resetting them into strong, reliable structures. These three things will then allow the vocal folds to vibrate freely and convert speech and song into something attractive to listen to. 

 

Clarity of speech - the ability to make words heard and understood in large spaces in often challenging acoustics, with or without amplification - is a real challenge for the voice professional. It requires dedicated practice over long periods to build up muscle memory in the tongue and lips. It is the most neglected area of performance training.

 

Posture - Breathing - Resonance - Clarity, these are the four steps to vocal safety, and if worked on over time, in order, can produce good results and ensure a long career.

 

Practice No. 1: Posture

Try standing as you would when waiting for a bus. We could call this your “waiting” posture. Muscles are mostly relaxed. As a complete contrast, now try standing as if you are waiting for the starting pistol for a race. You could call this your “performance” posture. Muscles are toned and full of purpose, ready to deliver. Practice flipping between the two to underline their differences.

 

Stand upright. Slowly bring your arms up to vertical, touching your ears. Stay like this long enough for it to feel normal. Let your arms go - but only your arms - let them flop to your side, like a rag doll, leaving your upper body lifted and supported. This is performance posture, which you need to maintain whenever you are delivering speech or song to an audience.(You will notice that the third button on your shirt or blouse rises by several inches!)  It will provide strength to your vocal tone. Loss of posture results in diminished vocal delivery.

 

Some vocal teachers use the analogy of mediaeval armour - a solid protective shell within which the inner organs can operate freely. Others imagine a beetle, with its tough, durable exo-skeleton.

 

Practice No 2: Breathing

The breath is the fuel for the vocal sound, like petrol or diesel for a car. If the fuel delivery is weak, or intermittent, or blocked in any way, the car does not go so well. The same is true of the breath. Any air-supply deficiencies mean poor vocal delivery.

 

Try to visualise filling your lungs to the maximum, then releasing it all in a long, easy, but powerful breath. There are many breathing exercises that will help, but they all have this goal.

 

If they had no rib-cage to hold them in, lungs could expand to enormous size. The posture-work in the first practice will ensure that the ribs are as spread as they can be. (Intercostal muscles can be lengthened like any other.) The challenge is now to fill every cubic millimetre of space with inflated lung tissue. 

 

You can monitor the improvement in your lung capacity by blowing up a balloon in one breath and gauging its increasing size.

 

There is a highly beneficial side effect of bringing breathing under powerful mind control, and that is the effect it has in reducing psychological stress. Stress kills careers - any weapon in this battle is welcome.

 

Practice No 3: Resonance

This practice focuses on the muscles in throat and head. Face muscles are important, but it is at the back of the throat that a good vocal sound is generated and controlled. As an indicator of the process, try saying the word “Sing”, or “Ding” or “Ring”. Notice how there is a new stretch at the back of the throat.

 

Another way to experience this for the first time is to prepare to yawn. Feel the stretch. This delicious feeling is the one to identify and develop and use whenever delivering a vocal performance. We could call this the “got to yawn” breath.

 

Another way in: imagine you suddenly remember something you need to tell someone; you catch your breath, lift a finger to catch their attention, and animate your face and eyes. We could call this the “oh, and another thing!” breath.

 

Gradually you will notice how much stronger the back of the throat feels. Some teachers compare it to a large wave about to break, curled and full of potential energy. Others have compared it to the hood of a cobra preparing to strike. Both of these are good mental images of the power of the back of the throat to deliver great sound.

 

A remarkable thing happens when the soft palate is raised as described above. It occurs as part of our human survival mechanism. When the soft palate is raised, the larynx drops - probably as a means of taking more breath than would normally be possible. The effect for speakers is dramatic and very beneficial, for as the larynx drops, the length of the sounding tube of the voice increases, making a richer, deeper sound. You swap your violin for a cello. It is a free gift from Mother Nature for which speakers and singers are most grateful.

 

Two more muscle actions will complete the resonance package. The cheeks need to be firmed and toned. Saggy cheeks mean saggy vocal delivery, firm cheeks deliver vocal excellence. Experimenting proves this beyond all doubt.

 

Finally, the eyebrows need to be raised. This action draws the resonance of the voice into the forehead area, where there is a network of sinuses eagerly waiting to be resonated. To capture this action, imagine that your mobile phone pings, and you look into your hand to see who’s calling. 

 

The facial expression that results is one of surprise and delight. This not only enhances the vocal quality of your delivery, it will give a non-verbal signal to the audience that what you have to say or sing is interesting, worthwhile and above all, delightful. If what you have to communicate is not interesting, worthwhile or delightful, you have to ask why you are bothering to say or sing it at all!

 

Making eyes bright and alive is also vital - it is worth remembering that people respond to what they see much, much more than to what they hear. 

 

You will also need to check whether your jaw has developed any unwanted tightness, which can ruin vocal tone.

 

Communicating to large audiences

Projecting your performance to different areas of the performance space, several seconds at a time, will make everyone in the audience feel included. Work hardest to reach people at the back or at the sides of the space - the “cheap seats”! Asking yourself why they are sitting there will tell you a lot about their mindset.

 

Practice No 4: Clarity

Clear diction is delivered by increasing the muscle activity of the tongue and lips as they interact with teeth. When delivering a vocal performance, mental focus must be right at the front of the mouth in order to deliver words that have life and energy.

 

Inexperienced speakers speak too quickly. A fine role-model for a perfect vocal delivery is Sir David Attenborough. A good exercise is to find one of his programmes and count how many words he delivers in a minute. The result is surprisingly low. Beginner public speakers cannot believe how slow they have to speak, because it feels so unnatural, so far from conversational speed. Nevertheless it is the case. Speed kills meaning.

 

You will need to check for any tightness at the root of the tongue which makes the tone hard. 

 

A helpful concept: in conversation, people generally tail off at the end of sentences. Experienced speakers, however,  save the energy till the end of the sentence, becoming slower and more emphatic towards - the - last - word. The effect on the audience is to make the speaker’s words more interesting and persuasive.

 

Working on Clarity protects the vocal folds. Inexperienced vocal performers work too hard with the vocal folds and not hard enough with the support mechanisms. Putting energy into clear diction takes the heat off the poor vocal folds.

 

Singers have the melody decided for them. Speech also has its melody, and the best speakers display this quality. We might not be an Ian McKellen or Judi Dench, but we can aspire. Melody in speech repays careful study. Speech can be aesthetically beautiful.

 

The following anecdote illustrates the drive for vocal clarity. When Cicero, as a young lawyer in Ancient Rome, went for public speaking coaching with Molon, a famed Greek orator, he was taken to a nearby beach, with its deafening, roaring waves, and had his mouth filled with pebbles. He was then told he had to make himself understood - a daunting challenge. This method might seem a little extreme, but it worked for Cicero. The underlying teaching method was solid.

 

Conclusion: Delivering a performance

All the above processes have to be so practised that they come as second nature. It takes much work to overcome the self-consciousness that study produces, but the process is most worthwhile. The performer can then present a text in the sure knowledge that has been given the delivery it deserves.

 

Observe other performers

To sharpen your critical faculties, observe others, both locally and on National Television. How many stars out of five would you give them for each category? Which are your favourites and why? 

 

Does the posture give off a sense of purpose?

 

How well breath-supported does the voice sound? Rich and mellow or thin and weedy? 

 

Does the voice ring, or sound dull? Are vowel sounds well-differentiated?

 

Is your attention drawn to the performer’s face, or does your attention drift away?

 

Does the performer hold your attention right to the end of each sentence?

 

Are t’s and p’s at the end of words clearly audible?

 

How much effort do you personally have to make to understand this person?

 

Sit somewhere at the back or side of the space. Do you feel that the speaker is talking to you personally, or do you feel they are talking to someone else?

 

Use the results of your survey to assess and improve your own performance.