{"id":972,"date":"2017-12-04T15:52:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-04T15:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/virtualspeech.co\/?p=972"},"modified":"2024-01-03T15:53:13","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T15:53:13","slug":"exercises-warm-up-voice-before-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/virtualspeech.com\/blog\/exercises-warm-up-voice-before-speech","title":{"rendered":"Exercises to Warm up your Voice before a Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just like any other muscle, your vocal muscles need to be warmed up to work at their best. Vocal warm up is important for people whose career depends on their voice (singers, actors, TV and radio presenters), for occupational voice users (teachers, salespeople) and for anyone who is preparing to give a presentation or speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you speak, you make sound in your larynx<\/a> (voice box) with your vocal folds<\/a>. Warming up stretches the vocal folds and increases blood flow to the larynx and other body parts including your lungs, lips and tongue. This reduces vocal fatigue and hoarseness when using your voice over long periods. It also lets you reach a wider range of pitch<\/a>, which is important for elevating your speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we discuss why vocal warm up is important and explain several vocal exercises you can use before your speech or presentation. You should allow 15 minutes to perform a complete warm up and remember to keep well hydrated during the exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is vocal warm up important for a speech?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Effective verbal communication<\/a> depends not only on what you say, but how you say it. The content of what you say will be lost on the audience with a dull, monotonic presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we undergo physical activity, a warm up can prevent injury and long term damage to our bodies. The same is true for your voice \u2013 a short vocal warm up improves performance of the individual muscles of the thorax (chest), larynx and upper vocal tract (throat, mouth).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This improves the quality of the sound you make and helps the tone flow more naturally. It also helps prevent vocal injury when using your voice extensively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Diagram<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Diagram showing the location of the vocal cords and larynx. These need to be warmed up before extensive use.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A vocal warm up balances the air pressure you are sending to your vocal chords, which makes it easy to talk through your different vocal registers<\/a> (chest voice, mixed voice, and head voice). It builds a bridge between these vocal registers, enabling you to reach a much wider range of pitches and tones when speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vocal warm up exercises<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pay attention to your posture while you do these exercises. A relaxed posture is important for full and easy range of motion of the muscles and to fully support your breathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warm Up #1: Jaw release<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Reduces tension in the mouth and jaw area during speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n