Mira’s nervous: her shoulders rise with every breath and she has air for half a sentence. What will help?

Belly breathing: shoulders still, belly gently forward. When the diaphragm moves down, the lungs fill without tension in the neck and shoulders. The out-breath becomes long and steady, and the voice on it doesn’t shake.

On which part of the breath does your voice sound?

On the out-breath, which is why in speech the out-breath is long and the in-breath short. The vocal folds vibrate from air going out. In speech the in-breath is about 10% of the cycle; the rest is a controlled out-breath.

In a long sentence Mira runs out of air and the key word at the end is barely audible. What should she do?

Mark breaths “/” at pauses and, if needed, split the sentence in two. A breath at a natural pause brings fresh air to the key word. Short sentences are easier for both your breath and the listener.

Breath: what your voice rides on

Lesson 3 of 16 in the course “Speak with Confidence”. Free, with animations and a quiz.

Your voice is an out-breath

Your voice sounds when the air you breathe out makes the vocal folds in your larynx vibrate. No air, no voice. When we’re nervous, breathing moves up: quick, into the chest, shoulders rising. Then there’s air for half a sentence, the voice shakes and sentence endings fade. That’s why working on speech starts with breath.

Belly breathing

Under your lungs sits the diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle. When you breathe in, it moves down, the lungs fill and your belly gently moves forward. Check it: one hand on your chest, the other on your belly. Breathe in through your nose so the lower hand moves and the upper one barely does. That’s the “support” singers and actors talk about.

When speaking, the out-breath is long

At rest, in-breath and out-breath are fairly even: breathing in takes about 40% of the cycle. When you speak, it changes: a short quick in-breath and a long controlled out-breath, about 90% of the time. Your voice rides on the out-breath. The goal of training is to breathe out slowly and evenly, not to gulp more air.

Breathe at the pause

Don’t stretch a sentence to the last drop of air: your voice sinks at the end and the key word comes out weak. Breathe at full stops and natural pauses. Mira’s trick: she puts a slash “/” in her script wherever she’ll breathe. In rehearsals she checks there’s enough air from slash to slash. If not, she splits the sentence in two.

A 3-minute daily workout

Breath trains like any muscle. Exercise one: belly breath in, then a steady quiet “sss” for as long as the air lasts. Exercise two: count out loud on one breath. Do three rounds a day and note your record: within a week the number grows noticeably. Important: it’s not a contest to the limit. If you feel dizzy, stop and breathe normally.

Check yourself

Mira’s nervous: her shoulders rise with every breath and she has air for half a sentence. What will help?
Correct answer: Belly breathing: shoulders still, belly gently forward. When the diaphragm moves down, the lungs fill without tension in the neck and shoulders. The out-breath becomes long and steady, and the voice on it doesn’t shake.
On which part of the breath does your voice sound?
Correct answer: On the out-breath, which is why in speech the out-breath is long and the in-breath short. The vocal folds vibrate from air going out. In speech the in-breath is about 10% of the cycle; the rest is a controlled out-breath.
In a long sentence Mira runs out of air and the key word at the end is barely audible. What should she do?
Correct answer: Mark breaths “/” at pauses and, if needed, split the sentence in two. A breath at a natural pause brings fresh air to the key word. Short sentences are easier for both your breath and the listener.

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