Speak From Your Belly, Not Your Throat
Forty ways to speak from your belly, not your throat, for a voice that is full, steady and easy on you.
A voice powered by breath sounds calm and strong. A voice squeezed in the throat sounds tense and tires quickly.
40 tips that really help
These ideas come from Voice and the Actor (Cicely Berry), The Right to Speak (Patsy Rodenburg), and How to Be Heard (Julian Treasure), and everyday practice. Pick one tip and try it today.
A voice powered by breath
A voice that comes from steady breath sounds calm, warm and strong. A voice squeezed out of the throat sounds thin and tense. Learning to breathe low is the base of a good voice. Steady breath makes a steady voice.
Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest. Breathe in slowly so the belly hand rises more than the chest hand.
Find your belly breath
Belly breathing is the easiest way to feel low, calm breath. Practise it for one minute and you will find it. Let the belly move, and the breath finds its home.
Sit tall and put one hand on your belly. Breathe in through your nose for about four counts and feel the belly move out.
Use your diaphragm
The diaphragm is the main muscle of breathing, and it is the muscle behind a good voice. You can learn to feel it and use it. Wide ribs on the in-breath, slow ribs on the out-breath.
Place your hands on your lower ribs, fingers pointing to the front. Breathe in and feel the ribs move out under your hands.
Breathe out on a steady stream
Speak on a slow, controlled out-breath, like letting air out of a balloon slowly. A steady stream gives a steady voice. Spend your air evenly, like a thin steady stream.
Take a low breath and say ‘ahh’ quietly for as long as is comfortable. Aim for an even sound, with no shaking or fading.
Do not gasp
Quick, noisy breaths in the middle of a sentence tighten your throat. Take quiet, low breaths at natural pauses instead. Quiet breaths at natural pauses, never a gasp.
Mark your notes with a small tick at every full stop. Breathe in quietly through your nose at each tick.
Release your shoulders
Lifted shoulders mean shallow chest breathing. Drop them on the out-breath and feel the breath move lower. Shoulders down, breath low, voice free.
Lift both shoulders up towards your ears and hold for two seconds. Let them drop and breathe out slowly.
Unclench your jaw
A tight jaw squeezes your voice. Let your teeth part and your tongue rest for an easy, open sound. A loose jaw gives a free voice.
Put your fingertips on the muscles in front of your ears and make small circles. Let your jaw hang loose and open your mouth in a slow yawn.
Relax your throat
A tight throat gives a strained, high voice. Imagine the start of a yawn, with a wide, relaxed throat, as you speak. Open the throat like the start of a yawn.
Yawn slowly and notice the open feeling at the back of your throat. Keep a little of that feeling and say ‘hello’ three times.
Stand like you mean it
Good posture, with a long spine and relaxed shoulders, gives your lungs room. Slouching squashes your breath. A tall, easy body gives your voice room.
Stand with your feet hip width apart and your knees soft. Imagine a string lifting the top of your head, and let your shoulders drop.
Sit well too
When you are seated, sit forward with your feet flat and your back upright. Do not hunch over your notes. Sit tall and your voice sits tall too.
Sit on the front half of your chair with both feet flat. Lift your screen or notes so your head stays level.
Hum to find your voice
Humming gently buzzes the lips and nose and finds your natural pitch. It is a perfect warm-up and relaxes the throat. Hum first, and speak from the buzz.
Close your lips lightly and keep your teeth apart. Hum a comfortable ‘mmm’ for about twenty seconds and feel the buzz.
Feel the vibration
When you speak from your chest and belly, you can feel the vibration. It is a sign that your voice has body. If you can feel your voice, you are using it well.
Place a hand flat on your upper chest. Count slowly from one to ten and feel the buzz under your hand.
Lower your pitch slightly
When we are nervous, our pitch rises. Dropping to a natural lower note often sounds calmer and more authoritative. A calm body gives a calmer, lower voice.
Hum a low, comfortable note, not your very lowest. Say your first sentence starting from that note.
Speak from a comfortable note
Everyone has a home pitch where the voice is easy. You can find yours by saying ‘mm-hm’ as if you are agreeing. Find your home note and start from there.
Say ‘mm-hm’ a few times as if you are agreeing. Notice the pitch and hold on to it.
Avoid vocal fry and strain
A constant creaky or squeezed voice can tire your throat. Breathe and use a gentle, supported tone. Keep the air flowing, and the voice stays easy.
Record yourself reading a paragraph and listen for crackle at the end of sentences. Read again, breathing low before each sentence and keeping the air going to the end.
Support the end of sentences
Voices often fade at the end of a sentence. Keep your breath going to the last word. Finish every sentence as strongly as you began it.
Pick a sentence, and breathe in low before it. Say it, aiming to say the last word as strongly as the first.
Project, do not shout
Projection is about breath and focus, not loudness from the throat. Aim your voice at the back of the room. Aim your voice with breath, and do not shout.
Stand tall and take a low breath. Pick a spot on the far wall and aim a sentence at it.
Imagine your voice travelling
Picture sending your voice to the person furthest away. This mental picture helps your breath support. Picture your voice arriving, and it will.
Choose a point far away, such as the back wall of the room. Picture your voice travelling to it as you speak one sentence.
Hydrate
A well-hydrated body helps your vocal folds work smoothly. Sip water through the day. Little sips all day keep the voice smooth.
Fill a bottle with water and keep it with you. Take small sips every hour or so.
Avoid throat clearing
Frequent throat clearing is rough on the voice. Swallow, sip water or hum instead. Sip, swallow or hum, and do not slam.
Notice how often you clear your throat in a day. Each time you feel the urge, swallow or take a sip of water.
Rest your voice
After a lot of talking, give your voice a rest. Quiet time helps it recover. A rested voice is a stronger voice.
Look at your day and find two or three times you can be quiet for ten minutes. Use those times to sip water and breathe slowly.
Warm up
A two-minute warm-up of humming and lip trills prepares you to speak. A warm voice is a clearer voice. Two minutes of warm-up make a clear voice.
Hum for twenty seconds on a comfortable note. Do a lip trill up and down twice, then a sigh from high to low.
Try lip trills
Blow air through relaxed lips to make a ‘brrr’ sound while you slide your pitch up and down. It relaxes everything at once. A lip trill loosens breath, lips and voice together.
Relax your lips and blow air so they flutter. Add voice and slide from a low note to a high note and back.
Do a sigh slide
Slide from a high ‘ah’ to a low one on a sigh. It loosens the voice and releases tension. Sigh down, and let go.
Breathe in low and begin an ‘ah’ sound on a comfortable high note. Let it slide down to a low note as you breathe out, like a sigh.
Use tongue twisters
Phrases like ‘red lorry, yellow lorry’ warm up your mouth. Start slowly and then speed up. Slow and exact first, then quick.
Choose one tongue twister and say it very slowly and clearly. Repeat it three times, a little faster each time.
Sing in the shower
Singing uses breath and frees the voice. You do not need to sing well. Sing, and let your voice move.
Choose a song you know well and like. Sing it with a full low breath and an open mouth.
Read aloud with breath
Read a paragraph aloud, taking a low breath before each sentence. Notice how much steadier your voice is. Breathe before each sentence, and read it on one stream.
Choose a page with short, clear sentences. Before each sentence, take a quiet low breath.
Count on one breath
Count ‘one, two, three…’ on one out-breath and see how far you get calmly. Build up gradually, without strain. Count calmly, and let your breath grow.
Take a low, easy breath. Count aloud at a steady pace until you need to breathe, without straining.
Release tension in your belly
Many people hold in their stomach, which restricts breath. Let your belly soften. A soft belly makes room for breath.
Place a hand on your belly and notice if it is tight. Let it go soft and breathe in so the belly moves out gently.
Check your clothes
Tight belts and collars restrict breath. Comfortable clothes help your voice. Wear clothes that let you breathe.
Put on your outfit for a speaking day and take a deep breath. Check that your ribs and belly can expand freely.
Use floor contact
Feel your feet on the floor and your weight low. A grounded body supports a grounded voice. Feel the floor, and your voice will settle.
Stand or sit with both feet flat on the floor. Feel your weight on your heels, the balls of your feet and your toes.
Smile slightly
A gentle smile lifts the soft palate and brightens your tone. It also warms how you sound. A gentle smile makes a warmer voice.
Say ‘hello’ with a straight face and listen. Say it again with a slight smile and listen again.
Practise on the phone
On calls, belly breathing and a slow pace give warmth. Stand up for even better support. Stand, breathe low, and your phone voice shines.
Stand up before your next call and place your feet flat. Take a low breath and smile as you dial or answer.
Notice nervous breathing
When you are nervous, your breath moves high into the chest. Notice it, and gently bring it lower. Notice the high breath, and bring it down.
Today, stop three times and ask, ‘Where is my breath?’ If it is high, take one slow breath into your belly.
Use the pause to breathe
Pauses are perfect places for low breaths. They also add power to your words. A pause is a place to breathe and to be strong.
Mark your notes with a slash at each place you want to pause. Practise breathing in low at each slash.
Practise daily
Five minutes a day builds control. Your voice is a muscle. A few minutes every day builds a strong voice.
Pick a time you will always remember, such as after breakfast. Do one minute of belly breathing, one of humming and trills, and two of reading aloud.
Seek a voice coach if needed
A professional can help with voice problems or ambitions. Look for a qualified coach or speech therapist. Asking for help is a smart step.
Decide your goal, such as healing a hoarse voice or building a stronger speaking voice. Ask friends, a doctor or a professional body for the name of a qualified person.
Celebrate your voice
Your voice is unique and valuable. Treat it kindly. Your voice is yours, so treat it kindly.
Stand where you can be alone and say, ‘I like my voice.’ Notice how it feels, and say it once more with a smile.
Know the signs of vocal strain
A scratchy, tired or hoarse voice at the end of the day means you are squeezing. Rest, drink water and go back to breath-supported speech. A tired voice is asking for rest and breath.
For one week, notice how your voice feels at the end of each day. On a rough day, rest, sip water and avoid shouting.
Warm up before the big moment
Athletes warm up before they race, and voices need the same care. Two minutes of humming, a sigh slide and a few tongue twisters make your voice steadier when it counts. Warm up first, and your voice will be there for you.
Write down your own two-minute routine: breaths, hum, trill, sigh and twisters. Practise it at home until it feels easy.
Easy things to say
When you are stuck, pick one of these. They work in many everyday situations.
“Let me take a breath and begin.”
“Feet down, shoulders loose.”
“Mmm, to warm up.”
“Can everyone hear me clearly?”
“I have been practising my breathing.”
“Thank you for listening.”
Your first week
One small action a day. Each day is only a little bigger than the last.
Place a hand on your belly
Breathe into your belly for ten breaths
Hum for thirty seconds
Read aloud on the out-breath
Speak a sentence from your belly
Record and compare
Warm up before each talk
Further reading
- The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking (Dale Carnegie)
- Talk Like TED (Carmine Gallo)
- Made to Stick (Chip and Dan Heath)
The tips above are written in our own words and are general guidance. The books are suggestions for further reading.
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Start freeThese lessons share general learning and everyday ideas. They are not medical or mental health advice. If you feel very anxious, low or unwell, please talk to a doctor or a qualified professional.
More lessons in “Speaking Clearly”
Keep going. Small steps every day make a big change.
← Previous: Slow Down by Ten PercentNext: The Magic of the Pause →
- Slow Down by Ten Percent
- Speak From Your Belly, Not Your Throat
- The Magic of the Pause
- End Sentences Like You Mean Them
- Warm Up Your Voice in One Minute
- Find Your Natural Volume
- Vary Your Tone to Keep Attention
- Use Words a Ten-Year-Old Would Understand
- Short Sentences Sound Confident
- Cut Jargon and Filler Words
- Lead With Your Main Point
- Say One Idea at a Time
- Replace Vague Words With Exact Ones
- Read Your Words Out Loud First
- Open Your Mouth and Speak Clearly
- Stop Mumbling in Three Steps
- Pronounce Hard Words With Confidence
- Breathe at the Right Moments
- Speak Clearly on the Phone
- Speak Clearly on Video Calls
- Handle an Accent With Pride
- The Point, Reason, Example Formula
- The Rule of Three
- Start With Why It Matters
- Tell a Short Story Instead
- Use Numbers and Pictures Wisely
- Finish With One Clear Takeaway
- Answer a Question in Thirty Seconds
- Replace Um With a Silent Pause
- What to Do When You Lose Your Thought
- Recover From a Mistake Smoothly
- Stop Over-Explaining
- Stop Apologising Before You Speak
- Practise With a Voice Recorder
- Stay Clear When You Are Nervous
- Speak Clearly When Put on the Spot
- Explain Something Complicated Simply
- Speak Clearly in an Argument
- Speak Clearly to Someone Senior
- Your Daily Clarity Habit
