3 voice warm-up mistakes people make before recording

Taking too fecking long on your voice warm-up!

You can be vocally prepared in no time with the right exercises for your voice and speaking or recording context. Your vocal warm-up should last between 5-15 minutes. Remember, a speaking voice warm up is about preparation rather than the effort of actually doing the speaking job you’ve got to complete. As long as you’re including exercises that warm up the body, breath, sound and speech you’re on the right track.

Singing to warm-up before recording your speaking voice…

I know, there’s nothing more fun than busting out a bit of Mariah in the morning but unless your singing technique is perfect you risk making yourself a bit vocally tired before you even start the speaking you’ve got to do. So keep the tunes for weekend karaoke and stick to speaking voice warm-ups tailored to your vocal needs.

Starting your voice warm-up with the tongue twisters

Sure they’re fun, but they should come last. Use your speaking voice warm-up to release tension, get the breath flowing, explore your speaking range and then free up your articulators with hilarious twisters. Try an old classic like Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers to exercise the lips or a newer-soon-to-be-classic like Benedict Cumberbatch broke a delicate luggage rack. You’ll be ready to hop on the mic, hit record and be a true one take wonder!

To avoid these 3 voice warm-up mistakes people make before recording, and more, check out The Voice Coach Podcast here.

Yes, We Get Nervous, But The Buzz After?

We talk about nerves before speaking all the time, don’t we? How awful they feel. The wobble. The dry, clicky mouth. The racing fecking brain. Hey, even the sudden urge to fake your own death to avoid it instead. But I don’t think we talk enough about the bit after.

How to Practise Speaking (Even When It Feels Awful)

I told my husband I ate a kiwi with the skin on. He looked at me like I’d just admitted to chewing tinfoil. “That bloody sounds awful…” he said, in his glorious Bradford drawl. And yeah. To be fair. It does. Hairy. Prickly. Not exactly enjoyable. But it’s actually grand.

You Don’t Have to Be the Best to Try Your Best: Why Perfectionism Gets in the Way of Speaking

I’ve got a 9-year-old who absolutely hates an irritating platitude when things go wrong. I, on the other hand, fecking love ‘em! Last year, I was rolling out: “You win or you learn, you never lose” anytime he didn’t quite get where he wanted. Was proud of that. Wise. Grounded.