Podcasting is all about engaging your audience with your voice. If you have a good voice, then you’ll be able to project ideas to your audience that will stick. And while you can use platforms like YouTube to have video in your podcasts, it is still going to be your voice that people are tuning into.
Therefore, enhancing your podcast voice, and the sound that they’ll hear is one of the most fundamental aspects of becoming a well-rounded podcast host, and building an audience that will regularly follow you.
You’ll need to have a voice that commands authority on a subject, is inviting, and can build trust.
This is not easy, otherwise everyone can do it. And when you start, you might not have that presence that you would hope for. But it is a skill that can be learned. Here are our tips on how you can enhance your podcast voice to be more appealing to your audience.
Understand Your Natural Voice
Before you can start to make improvements to your voice, you need to understand your natural qualities. Everyone has a unique vocal tone, pitch, and resonance. Some people are naturally deep, while others are more high-pitched. Some people speak slower, whereas others speak fast.
You might not be able to completely change your natural voice characteristics. But understanding them allows you to identify what you can improve, and focus your efforts on that.
To start with, you can record yourself, using the software that you plan to use for podcasting and playback of your recordings. This strategy will help you to see how you sound to others.
Hydrate and Take Care of Your Voice
Your vocal cords are just like any muscle you have. You need to properly care for them for them to function properly. Start with proper hydration, as your vocal cords are very sensitive to dryness and dehydration. Letting them get dry can lead to a raspy or strained sound. Drink plenty of water throughout the day, especially for a couple of hours before the recording and afterward.
Avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and smoking can also help to keep your voice in the best shape. Caffeine and alcohol will dry out your throat, and smoking is known to damage the vocal cords.
Warm Up Your Voice
Before you start to record your podcast, vocal warm-ups should be done. Warm-ups allow you to improve blood flow to the vocal cords, reducing strain and improving tone quality. There are a few simple vocal warm-ups that you can do.
Lip Trills: Gently blow air through your lips while making a ‘brrrr’ sound. This relaxes the cords to help breathing control.
Humming: Humming tunes can help with pitch accuracy and warm-up vocal resonators.
Sirens: Slide up and down in pitch, like how a siren sounds, loosen the vocal cords and increase your range.
Tongue Twisters: Practice tongue twisters quickly and clearly to improve your performance with challenging phrases.
Just a few minutes of warm-up exercises can go a long way to help your voice sound more professional.
Improve Your Breathing Techniques
Improving your breathing technique is critical to success. Without good practice, your voice might sound breathless and lead to awkward pauses or an unstable tone. Practicing belly breathing to help.
Belly breathing is the following process:
Step One: Place one hand on your cheek and the other on your stomach.
Step Two: Inhale deeply through your nose, allowing for your stomach to rise but keeping your chest relatively still.
Step Three: Exhale slowly through the mouth.
Step Four: Repeat the process several times.
Practicing this technique will help you control your voice, volume, and endurance.
Focus on Clarity and Enunciation
Clarity is critical to success in podcasting. If your audience can’t understand you, they won’t continue to listen. Slurring your words, or mumbling through your recordings will not improve audience retention.
Therefore, learn how to speak clearly and precisely. Here are some quick tips:
Slow Down: Speak at a moderate pace, as speaking too fast can cause you to slur.
Articulate Each Word: Pay attention to how you pronounce each word. Avoid dropping syllables or blending words.
Practice By Exaggerating Movements: When practicing some words/phrases, you will want to exaggerate, which can help you sound clearer when speaking naturally.
Practice More: Practicing is also a great way for you to improve your clarity. Use a recording device to record your voice and think about how you can make improvements.
Develop Your Tone and Pitch
Another aspect is that you need to improve your tone and pitch. This allows you to be more engaging and relatable to your audience with a varied pitch.
There are numerous ways you can improve your tone and pitch.
- Vary your intonation
- Practice reading with emotion
- Don’t speak too flat
Control Pacing
Effective pacing is key to engagement. When you speak too quickly, you’re going to overwhelm the audience. But speaking too slowly can be boring for audiences. Therefore, you need to find a natural and comfortable pace while finding the talent to pause for effect.
Here are some quick tips to get going.
Use Pauses Intentionally: Pauses are a powerful tool for emphasizing points, providing time to process information, or building suspense.
Vary Your Speed: Sometimes you need to speak faster to convey excitement or urgency. However, slower speech can make a topic seem more thoughtful and deliberate.
Avoid Common Vocal Pitfalls
There are numerous common vocal pitfalls that some podcast hosts often find themselves doing. Being aware of them can help you not do them. Here are some of those common mistakes.
Mouth Noises: There are lots of distracting noises that can be made by the mouth unconsciously. These include smacking lips and sibilance. To avoid these stay hydrated and avoid excessively talking after eating.
Vocal Fry: Vocal fry occurs when your voice drops into a low, gravelly register often used in casual speech. It can be off-putting on podcast shows.
Excessive Filler Words: Using words like ‘um’, ‘like’, or ‘you know’ can interrupt the flow of the speech and make you sound less confident. Instead of using these words, use dramatic pauses, allowing the audience to take in what you need.
Build Your Confidence
Before you can become a podcast star, you need to build your confidence. A confident voice sounds more professional and gains authority. However, if you’re nervous or uncertain, then it can reduce the effectiveness of what you said.
To build confidence you can try these aspects:
Practice: Regular practice allows you to build confidence. Record yourself to hear how far you’ve come in just a few days or weeks.
Positive Reinforcement: Now you need to practice positive self-talk.
Research/Know Your Authority: Be sure that you know your subject matter well. If you don’t have confidence in a subject, you should avoid it.
Work with a Voice Coach
To help you build your skills, consider working with a voice coach. One that has helped others perform well, and one that allows you to find your inner strength. Voice coaches are experts and can help with all sorts of exercises specific to your needs.
Voice coaches can be expensive. But that doesn’t mean that the investment isn’t worth it.
FAQs:
How critical is the voice?
The voice is one of the most critical aspects. And by combining it with the right background sounds, music, subject matter, and guests, you can build a highly successful show.
How often should you spend time training your voice?
Simple exercises every day can help you improve your podcast voice. Therefore, it is best to spend at least 30 minutes a day on exercise.
If I am not confident with my voice, can I hire a presenter?
If you’re not very confident, then you can try to hire a presenter for your podcast. But this might
have other impacts that you want to avoid.
Final Word: How to Enhance Your Podcast Voice
If you want to be a success with podcasting, then you have to try to enhance your podcast voice. Above are some of the ways that you can enhance your podcast voice and ensure that your audience gets the message you set out to deliver.
Produce Your Podcast is a full-service podcast production, editing, and marketing agency specializing in helping brands launch, grow, and monetize successful podcasts that impact their bottom line. With 30+ years of experience in broadcasting and business development brought to every project we work on, our team of experts is a reliable partner to help you achieve your goals with your show.
Click here to schedule a conversation with our team today and let’s bring your show to life!