I'm no singer. So i've got no idea...How i project my voice when i'm lecturing/teaching?

Question

A supervisor/examiner came to evaluate my teaching skills today (to determine whether they'll take me as a permanent staff or not). I have provided her my lesson plan for the day, gave an excellent slide show, activities, etc. Her most disturbing comment was that my voice is too soft, hence she said that i need to project my voice. How is it possible if the tone of my voice is naturally soft? Does it mean that i need to fake it?

Answer 1

Try to emphasize the stronger points of what you're trying to say.  I have a soft voice too..not the shrilly high type of voice but soft spoken but I have the opposite problem; when I am talking infront of a class, meeting or something; I speak louder.  Try pushing on your stomach at home; when you're practicing on how to talk louder.

Answer 2

Well, I've never been told I have a soft voice. The key is to draw from your diaphragm, something you can do even if your voice is as low as a whisper. Don't try to scream. Take a deep breath, fill your stomach with air, and speak from that, not from your throat. Try it a few times, it will sound weird and drill sergeantish, but it will be loud. Hope this helps, Damsel.

Answer 3

YOu just need to talk louder and NOT think you are blowing people away. Another idea is a lectern with a microphone, although I think most things like that went out with the dinosaur, but then again, you might get lucky

Answer 4

breath deep and speak using your diaphram to push the air over your vocal cords, or use and microphone and an amplifier.

No, not that diaphram.

Answer 5

It's easier to say than to get the hang of - speak from your diaphragm rather than from your throat.

If you feel yourself pushing above your belly, you'll project better.

Edit - when I re-read your question, it occurred to me that you think that tone and volume are "natural" characteristics.  They are not.  They are skills.

You will have to teach your charges about "whisper with no voice" for working in pairs, about "10 inch voices" for places like the library so that they can be heard at their own table or across the library counter, but they don't disturb the room, and the "full room voice," for group discussions.  Different situations require different sets of skills.  It isn't "fake."  Learning to project is just finding and learning to be comfortable with your own full room voice.

Answer 6

i'm the same way.  my voice is very soft.  i don't even realize it 'cause it doesn't sound that soft in my head but apparently it does to others.  so i would say, yes, you have to fake it.  you have to consciously make your voice louder when you're speaking to a group.  i know it will feel like your shouting but it won't sound that way to them.

Answer 7

I have no idea how you can fake it, but no, that isn't the answer.  Projecting your voice in this manner likely has nothing to do with singing skills either, rather, just your ability to raise your voice.  This itself will take practice, but you should be able to "sound" louder by doing a lecture without the students and start by yelling (by your standards) and gradually back off from that to a level that is comfortable for you to carry on and still have everyone hear you.  If that doesn't work, you might consider a hands-free wireless microphone that you can use to amplify your voice.  Good luck.

Answer 8

The problem is not the TONE of your voice, but the volume.  You have to realize that you are not speaking to an individual 3 ft. away from you, but to a roomful of people.  That naturally calls for a different approach to speaking - nothing fake about it.  There is nothing more off-putting than trying to listen to someone who is mumbling, and eventually people stop trying, so you do need to speak up.  Pick people sitting in the back of the room and speak to them, rather than to those right in front of you.  You need to try to imagine trying to get your voice to reach to the farthest back corners.  That doesn't mean shouting, but it does mean fully opening your mouth, looking up and across the room, and watching those in the back to see if they appear to be following you easily.

Answer 9

Most of us speak from the throat.  Think of yourself as a swimmer, take deep breaths and expand your lung capacity. Speak to the back of the lecture hall, but make eye contact with your students to engage their interest.  There is nothing fake about this; it's a physical exercise.  Watch candidates making speeches in public and you will see what I mean.

Answer 10

I think Fred j might hav e the answer i would get a wireless mic and that way you could practice at home using your voice loud and clear' but not screaming..I am so Glad and proud of how far you have gone and i have to applaud your determination and keeping your eye's on the prize what you wanted and this is a great start.Maybe in 5ys you'll be a professor or-major in a BA or another like it.      You Go Girl...!!!