The Link Between Breathing and Speech
Written by: Anna Pasternak / Voice / June 14, 2023 / 8 minutes read
Breathing is the fundamental part of life as it allows us to live. Not only is it essential to survive but it also plays a fundamental role in speech production. Breathing while speaking is so important as it is the basis for using our voice.
The most important thing when speaking is to make sure we are breathing appropriately for speech. Many people have difficulties with voice related to tension and do not realize that a lot of these problems can be due to poor breathing technique. No matter what the problem may be, the appropriate way to breathe for speech in order to have the best support is through the diaphragm. With proper diaphragmatic breathing the diaphragm flattens and allows for a deeper breath to be taken in with better control over the breath. The breath will appear like it is being taken by the belly as the belly expands out when we breathe in and contracts back in as with breathe out. Often diaphragmatic breathing is referred to as belly breathing because of the appearance, though it is the diaphragm and lungs doing all the work.
When proper diaphragmatic breathing is not present most people tend to breathe through their chest. This type of breathing is more shallow, and this also causes poor control over the breath as the diagram is not engaged. When breathing this way, it also appears as the chest is puffing out and the shoulders are moving up. This type of breathing also can cause lots of tension in the body, as it is not a relaxed form of breathing. Often when we are anxious we turn to chest breathing which causes tension and our heart rate increases, which in turn can cause even more anxiety. When experiencing anxiety, especially when speaking, proper diaphragmatic breathing may be key to help relax the body when speaking, leading to reducing anxiety in those moments.
Appropriate breathing can help reduce tension in the abdominal, chest, shoulder and neck areas, which can all play a role in how the voice comes across. This tension may lead to the voice sounding hoarse, strained, breathy, or even cause moments of stuttering. This type of speech may come across as less confident sounding and making it more difficult for listeners to engage and understand what they are hearing. This voice will sound less professional as opposed to when the voice comes across clear, confident and strong with proper breath support. This allows for the voice to sound more pleasant and engaging to listeners creating a bigger impact. To learn more about professional voice check out our Leadership Communication Course online.
The most important thing when speaking is to make sure we are breathing appropriately for speech.
Appropriate breathing is also essential for voice projection. Appropriate breathing allows our vocal folds to vibrate strongly and feely to provide us with a strong clear voice. When we are not breathing effectively then our vocal folds do not efficiently vibrate which can cause a low voice volume and vocal strain.
Proper diaphragmatic breathing gives us a deep breath and the diaphragm controls our exhale, so that we have better control over our voice to be able to project it efficiently with the least possible strain on the vocal folds. Using appropriate breathing techniques to help support voice projection is very important for people working in the professional setting such as public speakers, teachers, and politicians. Though this is important for even those who aren’t in professions where they have to speak a lot. Everyone at some point will have to project their voice. You may be outside in a loud setting, or in a restaurant with background noise. If you do not use your breath appropriately to project and resonate your voice then you will quickly start to feel strain and fatigue, and others may have a hard time making out what you are trying to say.
Breathing effectively for speech also allows us to pace our speech which in turn also supports clear speech production. Many people do not realize that they forget to breathe as they are speaking. When we forget to breathe this causes us to speed up as we want to get all our thoughts out in one breath. Once we get to the end we may feel winded, and have to take a deep breath and feel like we just ran a marathon. Not only does this add strain to our voice and cause our voice to tire quickly , the fast speech rate also takes away from saying the words and sounds in our words clearly. One may leave final sounds out, or some words may just sound like they are mumbled through. This will make us sound unclear when speaking, and our listeners may not always fully understand and take in what we are saying. When speaking quickly and unclearly we may come across more nervous and less confident sounding, and the words being said will be less impactful. When speaking slowly and taking appropriate breaths and pauses this allows for the listeners to follow, take in, and process what is being said, which allows for the message to be clearly understood and carry more of an impact to the audience listening.
In all, breathing is essential for our speech. In the many example’s explained above, breathing can help us with voice projection, pacing our speech to improve clarity, and reduce tension to aid in healthy voice production.
To speak with a psychotherapist or 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.
