Did you know that you have 2 voices? The voice you use everyday and don't think about is known as your habitual voice. It is a sound that is higher in pitch than it should be, thinner in quality than it could be, and possibly nasal to boot. It is the sound you probably find unappealing on your answering machine. It may also be a liability in your career or your personal life.
However, you also have a deeper, richer, warmer voice inside which I refer to as your ‘real' voice. In fact, it is so resonant in quality that your friends, family, and colleagues may not recognize you on the phone in the beginning. Your ‘real' voice might be so outstanding that it could lead to a better job, a more impressive title, or a higher-paying position within your company.
Why aren't you presently using your ‘real' voice?
There is only one answer to that question. It is because you are not using the 5th and largest of your resonating cavities to produce voiced sound. That resonator is your chest cavity.
To see if you are using it or not, there is one way you can tell very easily. Go stand in front of a mirror, minus your shirt or blouse, and watch yourself as you take adeepbreath. Did you suck in your gut, push out your chest and notice your shoulders rising in the process? If your answer isyes, then I can tell you in no uncertain terms that you are not aware of or using your ‘real' voice.
Instead, you are powering your sound from 4 of your 5 resonators which include your throat, voice box, mouth, and nasal cavities. These are the resonators you use out of habit, which is something you learned from your parents. When it comes to the speaking voice, our parents are not good role models because in the majority of cases, they are not using their ‘real' voice either.
If you look at the size of the cavities which are responsible for phonation – the production of voiced sound – you should be able to appreciate that if the largest of your resonators, the chest cavity, is not involved in the process, then you are missing the one area that will have the most power, depth and breadth in speaking.
Only when you use your ‘chest to do your talking' will you discover that indeed your speaking voice is an asset. And when that happens, others will see and hear a more confident, dynamic person in you.
