Want To Sound Confident? Try These 8 Effective Voice Inflections

Jul 26, 2018 by apost team

You've probably heard speakers that bored you to tears and others who entranced you. What you may not have realized is that one of the major differences may not have been what they were saying but the way they used their voices. If your voice sounds thin or weak, even if your message is a good one, you may not be very persuasive. Furthermore, when you sound more confident, your confidence will in fact actually grow.

The eight tips below can help you use your voice more effectively to influence your listeners and to build your own belief in yourself.

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This makes your voice sound more commanding. In order to speak heavily from your diaphragm, you need to breathe deeply from this area. You can tell when you are doing this by noticing whether your stomach is rising and falling as you breathe. If it is, you are doing diaphragm breathing, and it will be easier to summon a stronger voice.

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People's moods can actually change when they take on certain facial expressions, so smiling may make you feel more confident. It also projects warmth to listeners, and they will naturally be more receptive to the things you are saying.

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Yawning before you speak can keep your audience from wanting to yawn while you are speaking. The reason is that it can relax you and give you a richer voice that is effectively projected. People are more apt to listen to a well-projected voice.

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You might not think of your jaw as a prime spot for a massage, but you can carry a lot of tension here. Relaxing your jaw by letting your mouth hang open and rubbing it can help you open your mouth wider while you speak, and that will lead to a stronger and better-projected voice.

Don't be alarmed if this massage is a little bit painful at first. Because these are strong muscles that get a lot of use, they also are easily overlooked.

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Your voice will flow more naturally if you stand up straight. Breathing will be easier, and you will also find you feel more confident than when you are slouching. You look more confident to others as well.

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If your mother or teachers ever scolded you for mumbling, it's time to listen to them again. Mumbling sends people the message that you lack confidence. You can improve your enunciation by reading something out loud while holding a wine cork between your teeth. Of course, you don't want to clutch a cork in your teeth whenever you talk, so once you know how it feels, practice speaking without the cork and enunciating more clearly.

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You don't need to say things like "um" to gather your thoughts. Pauses can be used as punctuation, and they can give you a chance to breathe which in turn makes your voice sound more confident. Listeners appreciate pauses as well since it gives them a moment to relax.

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With all of this advice, it is still important to speak naturally. To find your natural pitch, relax your jaw but keep your lips closed. Begin humming. Go from high to low, touching your lips with your fingers. When the vibrations are strongest, that is your natural pitch. If you then use this pitch as the place from which you begin speaking, your speech will come across as more confident.

Learning to speak confidently can help you inform, persuade and connect with others. Comment below with some of your own tips about how you have used voice inflection to strengthen your speaking voice.