Calmfidence® Daily: Speaking with Calmfidence- Voice Tips from the Pros

Speaking with Calmfidence® Pro tips to sound more calm and confident

Many of my clients and students ask how they can sound more confident and in command when they speak. Our voice says a lot about us and often sets the “tone” for first impressions. 

Here are 5 ways you can speak with Calmfidence:

1- Don’t Clear Your Throat

Throat clearing is perceived as a sign of nervousness. Even when we are calm and confident, when we clear our throat for reasons like allergies or colds we can send the wrong message of uncertainty or stress. Before that meeting, phone call, interview or speech, be sure to take measures that help you avoid the need to clear or cough.  Proactively take non-drowsy allergy or cold medicine. Avoid Dairy. Dairy coats your tongue and vocal cords and will increase the urge to clear. Avoid eating nuts and spicy foods before speaking. Small pieces of nuts can linger behind the tongue and in between teeth as can small pieces of spice. Stay hydrated. Eat a slice of green apple. Foods with a high acid content like green apples can help get rid of mucus in your mouth and throat. 

2- Get in the Mood

Warm up your throat and voice with a technique used by vocal performers – repeat the word Mood several times as you speak the word from deep in your diaphragm or belly. This trick helps to open up the throat, gets your voice out of your nasal area, and brings a more appealing depth to the strength of your voice which studies show is perceived as a sign of confidence.

3- Volume Up

Studies show soft spoken people are perceived as shy, lacking confidence, unassertive, and uncertain. The single most important change you can make to come across more confident (even when you don’t feel it) is to speak loud and clear with strong volume. This is important in person, over the phone, virtually, and on stage. In addition, when people feel they have to struggle to hear you, they will quickly tune out.

4- Use Pauses and Punctuation to Slow Down

In normal relaxed conversation we all do something called “blending” when our words slide together instead of standing alone and sounding as….if…we…are…speaking too deliberately. When speed comes into play it’s even harder for people to decipher this blending and they can miss some of what we are saying. When we blend through punctuation it will sound like a rapid-fire overload of words. Taking time to work in brief pauses for punctuation not only makes us sound more confident and clear, the pauses even help us to eliminate the ah's and um's that can make us sound nervous or unprepared.

5- Avoid Caffeine

Caffeine is notorious for making us speak faster. It is also known by voice over performers to dehydrate the throat causing crackling and the need to clear at inopportune times. If you like dairy with your caffeine you’ll also end up with that coated tongue and phlegm around your vocal cords - a double whammy. Best to skip that cup of Joe just before an important communication situation.

Natural Remedy: Today’s “Hot” Calm-Tail to Improve Your Voice:

The Honey Lemon Ginger Hottie is a simple, warm and delicious soothing drink can improve your speaking voice before that meeting, speech or interview (or when you just want to sound more confident!)

• Honey has powerful soothing effects on vocal cords and antibacterial properties that fight bacteria in the throat. Honey also lubricates your vocal cords and can help you stay out of the unappealing “high c” range when you are stressed.
• Ginger is known for it’s anti-inflammatory properties and helps in reducing any inflammation in your throat.
• Lemon has alkalization properties that help alleviate symptoms of reflux.

Ingredients

• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 cups water
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 -2 Tbsp Honey, or to taste

Preparation

1. Cut the ginger into disks.

2. Bring the water and ginger to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and let steep for 5-10 minutes.

3. Remove ginger from water.

3. Add the lemon juice and honey to the water and stir to dissolve honey.

4. Serve in your favorite mug and enjoy.

Patricia Stark is Author of the new book: Calmfidence: How to Trust Yourself, Tame Your Inner Critic, and Shine in Any Spotlight. Available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Audible, and your favorite bookstore.  Order Your Copy Here   

Patricia Stark is a Certified Personal & Executive Coach (CPEC of the CaPP Institute -Coaching & Positive Psychology) & a Certified Body Language Trainer (Body Language Institute Washington DC) and holds certificates in Eclectic Cognitive Behavior Therapy & Visualization/Guided Imagery (LIU). She heads Patricia Stark Communications a personal and professional development coaching and training company that helps people build their Calmfidence® in business and everyday life in public speaking, interviews, on camera, and  interpersonal skills with tangible strategies for powerful communication skills, mastering self talk, and stress & anxiety relievers used by the pros. For 1-1 and Group Training Sessions and Workshops Email: Patricia@PatriciaStark.com  or Visit www.patriciastark.com