Written by: Nimra Khan / Voice / January 12, 2022 / 5 minutes read

Presenting to others is something that we must often do, whether that is in-person or virtual. Many people consider a presentation to involve a large audience and a PowerPoint, but this does not always have to be the case. Even a meeting to 5 people about a recent project’s progress can cause similar levels of nervousness. The important factor is that similar skills can be used for either type of presentation. These areas of voice and scripting can be used more effectively.

Due to feeling nervous, you can build up tension unconsciously, especially in the muscles required for speech. This includes the muscles of the shoulders, neck, and face. To use your voice more effectively, consider how much tension has built up in these areas or reduce it before it can start. Small stretches before a presentation can help reduce tension beforehand, which are helpful for warming up your vocal muscles overall. Here are possible exercises to try:

1. Roll each shoulder backwards

2. Shrug your shoulders towards your ears, and then relax

3. Pretend you are chewing a piece of gum that gets bigger

4. Stick your tongue out as far as it will go

5. Scrunch your face up tightly then relax

An additional way to use voice effectively (Which will also link into using a script), is to make the best use of an abdominal breath. It’s helpful to keep your hand on your stomach as you practice this, to make sure your lower stomach is pushing out and in, instead of a shallow breath which would involve your shoulders moving up and down. This deeper breath has the added benefit of helping you relax. Although good to use before a presentation, it’s helpful to think of using abdominal breaths within a presentation, too. It doesn’t need to be a very ‘obvious’ intake of breath, but planning pauses where possible allows good time to take a breath that helps you relax.

When you have a presentation that involves a script that you can prepare beforehand, consider how use of breath, enunciation and word stress can help you achieve a more confident presentation. In terms of deep breathing: write in points where there are 2-3 seconds of pause where an abdominal breath can be used. Another helpful pause is to keep water nearby to take a sip. This can allow for muscles involved in voice to relax during your presentation. 

An additional consideration is how word stress can be used to your advantage. When saying the main stress on key words, use this as an opportunity to slow the pace of your speech. This can add more interest to what you are saying, as well. 

Using all these aforementioned aspects during a presentation can be daunting at first, especially if you feel nervous while presenting. Take one strategy at a time and try to incorporate it into your presentations. Even if you do not have a full script for the meeting, these can still be used as a way to pace yourself in conversation or with an overall outline for what you want to say. 

Consider how you can also enunciate your speech to help others understand you. This involves the following areas exaggerating your mouth movements, especially when placing emphasis on words. It can be helpful to practice with tongue-twisters with this exaggerated movement, in order to becomes more used to moving your mouth more. 

To speak with one of the speech-language pathologists at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or calling (647) 795-5277.