Practice Videos, Advice & Educational Resources !
Practice English
Pronounce OO + EE Vowel Sounds
Practice English
Words with S that sound like a Z
Practice English
Pronounce the 'UH' Vowel Sound
Practice English
Capital Cities of Canada
Practice English
Canada Provinces & Territories
Practice English
Pronounce the 'OO' Vowel Sound
SING to Improve your
SPEAKING Voice
Warm-Up #2
Control Your Diaphragm
Exercise for Better Public Speaking
SING to Improve your
SPEAKING Voice
Warm-Up #1
Healthy Vocal Technique
Problems caused by a Breathy Voice
Voice Stamina with Long Tones
Exercise for Better Public Speaking
LISTEN: Kathy explains
BREATHING TECHNIQUE

How Well Do You Know Your Voice?
The answers to the questions below will get you on the road to
better communication by raising your awareness.
Could you work or support your family if you lost your voice? ___________
Do you warm up your voice at all before you get to work? _____
Are you a habitual ‘throat-clearer’?______________
Are you an expert and know all you can about your voice? _____________
Is your diction crystal clear, yet natural-sounding? _____________
Do you need a healthy sounding voice every day?______________
Do you tend to mumble, slur or mispronounce words?_____________
Do people often ask you to repeat yourself? ______________________
Do you take quick, shallow, frequent breaths when you talk?____________
Do you force air through your voice in order to to talk louder?_______________
Do others find your foreign accent difficult to understand?_____________
Do you tend to speak monotone or sound ‘boring’? _____________________
Do you speak too quietly?_______________
Do you speak too loudly?_____________________
Do you have a lot of phlegm and mucous build-up in your throat?_______
Do you ever speak too quickly? _____________
Does your voice sound too nasal or have a ‘shrill’ quality?__________________
Have you ever lost your voice or become hoarse from over-using your voice?_________________________
Do you use ‘crutch’ words such as “um”… “like”…or ”ya know"? ______________
What might you want to improve about your voice or how you talk? ____________
Do you have superior listening skills?_______________
Do people always listen when you talk?____________________________
If not, can you identify why they don't listen?____________________________
Do you tend to interrupt people when they talk? _________________
Does public speaking make you anxious, nervous or uncomfortable?___________
If it does, has this been an obstacle to your career success?_________________
Don’t take your main instrument of communication for granted or ignore
one of your greatest assets: your voice!
Facial Expression Differences Between Chinese and European Americans. This is an interesting article which discusses some basic differences between European American facial expression and the less facially expressive style of Chinese culture.
Vocal Branding: How Your Voice Shapes Your Communication Image
Posted July 18, 2019 / Recorded May 2018
In this TED Talk, Wendy LeBorgne explains why and how your voice is your MOST important tool when communicating. In business, your voice and the manner in which you speak is your BRAND. Starting in the 1990's I would begin many seminars and voice workshops speaking with a poor voice just to demonstrate how important it is. I wonder if she stole my opening! LOL This video is an informative talk which clearly demonstrates the importance of having a professional sounding voice and style of speaking. I highly recommend you watch this!
Recommended Reading ...more to come
Recommended Reading on Related Topics - Alphabetically
~A note on “ISBN” numbers: You can find virtually any book in the world if it’s in print somewhere.
While the ISBN is like a fingerprint, occasionally where is both a hardcover and paperback version of the same book,
they will have two different ISBN numbers.
THE ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF SPEECH
by Ray D. Kent & Charles Read, University of Wisconsin-Madison/ ISBN: 1-56593-364-8 / © 1992Published by: Singular Publishing Group, Inc. , 4284 41st St., San Diego, CA 92105-1197
BREATHE WELL, BE WELL: A Program to Relieve Stress, Anxiety, Asthma, Hypertension, Migraine & Other Disorders for Better Health
by Robert Fried, Ph.D./ ISBN: 0-471-32436-1 / © 1999Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
CREATIVITY: Flow and The Psychology of Discovery and Invention
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi/ ISBN: 0-06-017133-2 / © 1996Published by: Harper Collins, Special Markets Department, New York, N.Y. 10022
ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO ASTHMA
by The American Medical Association/ ISBN: 0-7434-0357-6 / © 1998, 2000Published by Pocket Books, New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Singapore
THE FIVE SECRETS of SPEAKING the LANGUAGE OF LEADERSHIP: The Sir Winston (Churchill) Method
by James C. Humes/ ISBN: 0-688-10224-7 / © 1991Published by William Morrow and Company, New York
THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SPEECH: The Theory and Practice of Oral Communication
by Roy C. McCall and Herman Cohen, Second Edition/ ISBN: 63-9599 / © 1941, 1963Published by The Macmillan Company, New York
FOREIGN DIALECTS-A Manual for Actors, Directors & Writers
by Lewis Herman & Marguerite Shalett Herman/ ISBN: 0-87830-020-1 / © 1997A Theatre Arts Book ö Routledge, New York, London
FREE PLAy: The Power of Improvisation in Life and the Arts
by Stephen Nachmanovitch/ ISBN: 0-87477-631-7 / © 1989Published by Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., Los Angeles
LIVING & LEARNING WITH A CHILD WHO STUTTERSby Lise G. Cloutier-Steele / ISBN: 1-55021-094-7 / © 1995Published by FAMILY Books, Toronto
THE MOZART EFFECT: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, & Unlock the Creative Spiritby Don Campbell / ISBN: 0-380-97418-5 / © 1997Published by Avon Books, New York
TAKING CENTER STAGE: Masterful Public Speaking Using Acting Skills You Never Knew You Hadby Deb Gottesman and Buzz Mauro / ISBN: 0-425-17832-3 / © 2001 Published by: The Berkley Publishing Group, a Division of Penguin Putnam, Inc. New York , N.Y. 10014
TOXIC FAME: Celebrities Speak on Stardom
Compiled by Joey Berlin / ISBN: 0-7876-0874-2 / © 1996Published by Visible Ink, Detroit , New York , Toronto , London
WORD OF MOUTH: A Guide to Commercial Voice-Over Excellence
by Susan Bleu & Molly Ann Mullin / ISBN: 0-938817-10-8 / © 1987Published by Pomegranate Press, Ltd., Universal City , CA 91608-0261
BREATHWORK
by Swami Ambikananda Saraswati (Yoga Coach) / ISBN: 0-0071-1033-2 / © 2001 Published by: Thorsons, of Harper Collins Publishers, London


IT'S HOW YOU SAY IT
WHEN WE TALK FACE-TO-FACE:
8% of your communication is received through your words alone
37% of your communication is received through the sound of your voice (not content)
55% of your communication is received by the body language you send.
WHEN WE TALK ON THE PHONE:
8% of your communication is received through your words alone
92% of your communication is received by the sound of your voice (not content)*
You and your company need every competitive edge possible in today’s fast-paced business arena. A timid or poorly developed voice may unfairly hinder how others perceive you.
FACT: Sloppy speech will not build trust with clients or co-workers. The majority of people mutter or slur, ignore consonants, corrupt vowels and lazily group words together. We still understand what they’re saying because of the context. You only need to hear a few key words and then you ‘fill in the blanks’.
A great voice & good diction makes your professional image sparkle.Voices can be instantly identifiable, distinguishing you as unique and easy-to-remember.Your voice may be – and often is - the first impression your client has of you. These first few seconds will be major factor in the success of business presentations. Unfortunately, a new listener makes snap judgements about many things about you very quickly: your upbringing, your income, your I.Q., your mood, and much more. Be sensitive to how others react to what you say. You may be overloading them with information, which might cause them to “back off”. Do people tend to gravitate away from you at social gatherings due to lack of conversation? Do people look away when you’re saying something directly to them? They could want a reason to end the conversation.
If you find others asking you to repeat yourself, then that clearly means they have a problem understanding your words.If people don’t listen when you talk, there is a reason.Rest assured that something can be done about it.