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. Good for you, even. Less faff. Extra fibre. Win win.
And yes — it made me think about using your voice. Because of course it did.
Why Practising Speaking Feels So Uncomfortable
The idea of practising using your voice sounds awful.
Exposed.
Cringey.
A bit “absolutely not”.
Feck, you might even think you literally sound awful.
(Side note: you don’t. I promise.)
People don’t avoid voice practice because they don’t see the benefit. They avoid it because of how they think it’s going to feel.
“I Hate the Sound of My Voice” — This Is Very Normal
This is one of the most common things I hear.
Not “I want to sound amazing.”
Just: “I hate the sound of my own voice.”
That reaction isn’t about your voice being bad. It’s about hearing yourself from the outside. It’s unfamiliar. And unfamiliar often feels uncomfortable.
Why Voice Practice Feels Worse Before You Start
Here’s the key bit.
Practising speaking mostly feels awful before you do it.
That’s where the overthinking lives. That’s where your brain starts inventing worst-case scenarios.
Once you start using your voice, something shifts.
Your body settles.
Your breath evens out.
Sound comes out.
Nothing terrible happens.
You Can’t Improve Your Voice Without Using It
Once sound comes out, you’ve got something to work with.
You can listen.
You can adjust.
You can shape it.
Avoiding using your voice keeps it scary. Using it makes it workable.
You can’t fix something you won’t let exist.
How to Get More Comfortable Using Your Voice
You don’t need to love practising speaking.
You don’t need to enjoy it every time.
You just need to stop treating discomfort like danger.
Sometimes the thing that sounds worst is the thing doing you the most good.
Which is deeply annoying. But true.
So eat the skin.
I mean — practise using your voice.
Same thing really.
And for the record… do you eat the skin? 🥝
