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The Voice Coach Podcast — Arts
The Voice Coach Podcast

You found it – well done! The Voice Coach Podcast is your bitesize fix for vocal confidence, speaking nerves, and all those “why do I sound like that?!” moments.
Hosted by Nic Redman – voice coach, speaking director and author of On The Mic – each short, practical episode helps you own your voice and accent. You’ll get simple, actionable voice tips to calm nerves, find your natural tone, and feel good speaking on the microphone mic or in front of people.
This podcast is for you if:
– You hate the sound of your own voice when you hear it back.
– Nerves make you go high-pitched, monotone or too quiet.
– You lose your voice or get tired halfway through recording or speaking.
– You want to sound confident and engaging on your podcast or at work.
– You’re sick of overthinking how you speak and just want it to feel easy.
Whether you’re hosting a podcast, pitching your business, leading your team, or nailing your next presentation, these short episodes will help you speak with clarity, confidence and ease so you can sound brilliant and feel good doing it.

Latest Episodes:

018 How to Deal with Nerves for Speaking in Public Apr 19, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we will talk about getting nervous when speaking in public. We will dive deep into why this happens to us, how it affects our voice performance, and how to deal with it. I'll share four simple tips that you can apply before speaking to an audience, to help you handle the anxiety and prevent it from affecting your voicing.

What You Will Learn In This Episode:

- Why we feel nervous before and while we speak in front of an audience

- How the awareness that feeling nervous is something normal can help us

- What happens to our voice when we feel like we have no control over our bodies

- What we can do in the days before public speaking to avoid getting nervous

Feeling nervous and anxious before speaking in front of an audience is entirely normal, and even the most experienced speakers feel it. The tension that affects our voice is a natural response of our bodies to a frightening situation. Using the tips I’ve shared, you will be able to better deal with nerves when speaking in public.

Resources:

- Article - What is the Fight or Flight Response https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-fight-or-flight-response-2795194

- Article - Grounding Techniques https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/grounding-techniques/

- Book - Stage Fright and the Actor by Linda Brennan https://amzn.to/3uQJpBK

- Book - Find Your Voice by Caroline Goyder https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785042831/

- Book - How to Own the room by Viv Groskop https://amzn.to/3wXzzzw

Mentioned in this episode:

Get my book here

Buy Nic's Book

Head to onthemicbook.com to get your copy now

Get my book here

017 How To Use Your Breath Part 4: Connecting With Breath Support For Speaking Apr 12, 2021

Show notes

In this episode we are continuing with our breathing for voice journey. Today we will talk about connecting breath support with speaking, and we will perform a few exercises to explore and understand which body parts participate in breath support.

What You Will Learn In This Episode:

- Is it hard to implement breath support?

- How to avoid creating tension when we practice breath support

- The parts of our body that react first when we need vocal support

- How to connect our voice with a support action through popping vocal fold vibrations

We are using vocal support all the time while we speak, even if we are not aware of it. But working too much on generating support might create unnecessary tension. The more we practice an easy release of the air in the out-breath, the more we develop flexibility in the muscular system, required to keep the voicing support with low effort.

Resources:

- Finding You Voice by Barbara Houseman https://amzn.to/3rz3VEF

- This is a Voice by Jeremy Fisher & Guillyanne Kayes https://amzn.to/3m9qm25

- Voicework by Christina Shewell https://amzn.to/3d2oGot

- The Voice and Accent Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthub/

Mentioned in this episode:

Buy Nic's Book

Head to onthemicbook.com to get your copy now

Get my book here

Get my book here

016 How to Use Your Breath Part 3: What is Breath Support Apr 05, 2021

Show notes

In this episode we will go through the meaning of common terms in voice training like voice support and breath support. We will talk about the three crucial elements of voice support, and we will do a simple yet powerful breathing exercise.

What You Will Learn In This Episode:

- How getting support is not a simple one-step fix

- Why voice production works somewhat like a guitar

- The role of diaphragm in speaking, and why it is so hard to be aware of it

A common misconception when speaking is believing that we are using the diaphragm when we activate our abdominals. In fact, we are making our core more rigid and making the in-breath much harder to take. Ideally, you should release the belly completely on the inhale, making space for the diaphragm to expand freely and draw down as the air comes in.

Resources:

- Find You Voice by Caroline Goyder https://amzn.to/3whj4yf

- Finding You Voice by Barbara Houseman https://amzn.to/3rz3VEF

- This is a Voice by Jeremy Fisher & Guillyanne Kayes https://amzn.to/3m9qm25

- Freeing the Natural Voice - Kristen Linklater https://amzn.to/3nDZwyp

- Joanna Cazden - Everyday Voice Care https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1458443183/

- Christina Shewell - Voicework; art and science in changing voices https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0470019921/

- The Voice and Accent Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthub

Mentioned in this episode:

Get my book here

Buy Nic's Book

Head to onthemicbook.com to get your copy now

Get my book here

015 How to Use Your Breath Part 2: Focusing on the Out-Breath Mar 29, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we are analysing the importance of in- and out-breathing. Understanding the in-breathing as the fuel for voicing, and out-breathing as the mechanism responsible for producing sound, we will go through a simple exercise to gain awareness of the pause between breathings, or to notice any tendencies to hold air unnecessarily.

What You Will Learn In This Episode:

- The adverse effects of holding our breath

- The origin of the word inspiration, and how our thoughts are connected to in-breathing

- Why the exhale is the most potent process of using our voice

- The importance of finding the balance between breathing in and breathing out

- A simple exercise to gain awareness of our out-breath

Speaking is a holistic experience, and breathing affects the quality of the voice we produce and our vocal freedom. The tension created by holding our breath will affect the power of our voice to connect and communicate our message with clarity. By being fully aware of our out-breath, we will ensure that the body is naturally dropping as much air as it needs to.

Resources:

- Freeing the Natural Voice by Kristin Linklater https://amzn.to/3fatYj7

- Autonomic nervous system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomic_nervous_system

- The psychology of exhaling https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/body-sense/201009/waiting-exhale

- Etemology of the word 'inspire' https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-origins-of-inspire

- The Voice and Accent Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthub

Mentioned in this episode:

Get my book here

Buy Nic's Book

Head to onthemicbook.com to get your copy now

Get my book here

014 How to Reduce Ums, Ahs and Filler Words when Speaking Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

Today we are talking about filler sounds and words when speaking, why they show up in our speech, and whether we need to eliminate all of them. I’m also sharing a few techniques we can use to reduce or replace filler sounds.

What You Will Learn In This Episode:

- Hesitation signs and filler words as a natural part of speaking

- Why we use filler words

- How to use pauses as a powerful tool when speaking

- How to replace a filler sound with an out-breath

- How our mind and speech can flow smoothly in a perfectly aligned body

Unless we are writing every speech word by word,, we must accept filler words as a natural part of speaking. What we can do is focus on our body alignment, be aware of our breathing, pay attention to our speech tempo, and use pauses to give us time to think and plan our next words.

Resources:

- How to Improve your breath awareness https://pod.fo/e/bd7ac

- How to release the body for voice work https://pod.fo/e/bbe13

- Why posture is important for voice work https://pod.fo/e/b70e5

- The Voice and Accent Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthub

Mentioned in this episode:

Buy Nic's Book

Head to onthemicbook.com to get your copy now

Get my book here

Get my book here

013 How to Use Your Breath Part 1: Breath Awareness Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

Today, we are taking the first step on our journey into breathing for voice work. We will explore how to improve unnecessary patterns in our breathing and why we tend to use more breath than we need. This episode will help you become more aware of the intuitive nature of inhalation, and the importance of breathing rhythm in a resting position.

What You Will Learn In This Episode:

- The benefits of proper breathing

- The most common breathing issues in voice work

- A simple exercise to identify our breathing patterns

- The scientific understanding of our breathing

- The importance of the in-breath for getting a free, responsive, and supportive breath for voice work

When we have a better understanding of how breathing works, it impacts not only our voice work performance, but also our mental and overall health. Although breathing is an automatic function of our bodies, having an awareness of our breathing patterns will enhance our voicing performance.

Resources:

- Article on breathing from Voice Science Works https://www.voicescienceworks.org/breath.html

- Breath by James Nestor https://amzn.to/2NSG2tU

- And Breath Podcast https://breathingtree.co.uk/welcome-to-the-and-breathe-podcast/

- Vocal Rehabilitation/Primal Voice - Dane Chalfin https://www.vocalrehabilitation.com/primal-voice

- This is a Voice - Gillyanne Keys & Jeremy Fisher https://amzn.to/3b9MGVw

- The Voice & Accent Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthub

Mentioned in this episode:

Get my book here

Buy Nic's Book

Head to onthemicbook.com to get your copy now

Get my book here

012 How To Do A Spine Roll and Prepare the Body for Voice Work Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

Today, I will walk you through a preparatory physical bodywork that will help you release tension. Learning how to loosen any tightness in our bodies is essential before starting with the fundamentals of voice training.

What You Will Learn In This Episode:

- Alignment and posture - mandatory step #1

- Spine roll - secrets and techniques

- From spine roll to crouch transition

- The shoulder clock movement

- From curious dog to ‘what are you looking at’ position

- Drawing the infinity symbol with our nose

Awareness of alignment and tension is a must before any voice training. As voicing is a holistic experience, any isolated tension in our bodies might lead us to low-quality performance and perhaps even voice damage in the long term. While doing these tension release exercises, it is vital to allow the breath to keep flowing and to go through this bodywork with a curious mind, observing the body's response.

Resources:

- Vocal Rehabilitation/Primal Voice - Dane Chalfin https://www.vocalrehabilitation.com/primal-voice

- Spine roll and release routine video https://youtu.be/D6A9pixcaLU

Mentioned in this episode:

Buy Nic's Book

Head to onthemicbook.com to get your copy now

Get my book here

Get my book here

011 How to Reduce Sibilance Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we talk about sibilance, what it is, why some people sound more sibilant than others, and why it gets people annoyed. We will also focus on a few practical ways of controlling our voice's features, so we can reduce sibilance.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

Is sibilance a speaker or a listener issue?
What is sibilance in phonetic terms
The sibilance and its relationship with different accents
The effects of the various articulation contacts
The benefits of exploring the alveolar and post-alveolar area

Next time when someone tells us we sound sibilant, we have two choices - we either ignore them, or we can observe which part of our tongue we use to make the "s" sound, we pay attention to the airflow we produce, and work on it. The only rule is to keep our voice exploration fun, curious, and free of judgement.

Resources:

The Voice & Accent Hub https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthub
Finding Your Voice by Barbara Houseman https://amzn.to/2NOdtgW
Vocal Arts Workbook by David & Rebecca Carey (pg 174 & 175 for extensive consonant cluster practise) https://amzn.to/2NSC1VW

Mentioned in this episode:

Get my book here

Buy Nic's Book

Head to onthemicbook.com to get your copy now

Get my book here

010 What To Do If You Lose Your Voice Feb 22, 2021

Show notes

This episode is a practical guide to deal with a common, yet dramatic situation - losing our voice. We will go through the possible reasons that cause it, the importance of resting our voice, release exercises that can help us, and what to beware of when we lose our voice.

What You Will Learn In This Episode:

Don't panic because stress is not helpful in these cases
Why you need to rest and cancel any non-essential talking
How nebulizers provide great assistance to your voice
Why we must stay away from menthol
How to encourage vocal rehab through exercises

Even when we have a balanced diet, we keep ourselves hydrated, and we meticulously perform voice warm-ups and cool-downs, we can get ill or be stressed out, and lose our voice as a result. However, if this happens, we must keep calm, take some rest, start upping our fluids, and perhaps do some gentle exercises to smooth voice rehab.

Resources:

Nic's Quick Voice Tips - vocal tract release:
Tongue Release https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGaTHw7rFfU&t=69s
Yawning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3pbTvEPwIs&t=42s
Jaw Release https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUJAHfDdmdM&t=67s
First Aid for Hoarseness http://www.joannacazden.com/first-aid-for-hoarseness/?fbclid=IwAR2orTOSscKiRRbIOleOfoyejOImLMb8OrRZOJfvQQg4z-_EWFB8gA-yDp0
NHS Laryngitis guidelines https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/laryngitis/
The Voice & Accent Hub Facebook group

Mentioned in this episode:

Get my book here

Buy Nic's Book

Head to onthemicbook.com to get your copy now

Get my book here

009 Top 5 Tips for Improving Your Speech Feb 18, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, I'm sharing with you five cheeky tips you can use to improve your speech. These simple yet effective tricks that you can start applying right away will help you enhance your voicing without a lot of practice.

What You Will Learn In This Episode:

How making pauses can help us when speaking
A rule to consider - new thought, new breath
What it means to ‘find the floor’
Why you have to listen to your recorded voice in order to improve it
Any good speech starts with a great warm-up

The element that connects these five tips for vocal improvement is awareness - not only being aware of our flaws and fails, but also of our posture before and while speaking, the in-breath and out-breath, and the time we take to talk. And listening to our recorded voice is a great tool to improve that awareness and improve our speech.

Resources:

Join my Facebook group Voice & Accent Hub: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevoiceandaccenthubb

Mentioned in this episode:

Get my book here

Buy Nic's Book

Head to onthemicbook.com to get your copy now

Get my book here

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