VOCAL WARMUP & THINGS TO REMEMBER

Warming up your voice box before a public presentation is a greatly misinterpreted topic.Many people,especially the one's who refer the internet are often misguided with irrelevant vocal excercises which in no way do any good to your presentation.Some of these sites,even the prominent one's lack information in this context.(Here i dont proclaim others wrong.But unlike others i have a scientific reason to back up).Usually what you find there is stuff like;uttering a few vowels and music notes,making different sounds etc. but trust me nothing happen to work on the day of presentation amidst nervousness and stage fright.Even the authors of those articles know this but they got no other alternative than filling up space with anything possible.Here i make an attempt to publish something orginal and effective warmups which i developed through my experiances.Everything posted here has been thoroughly reviewed by vocal experts and ENT's.

Vocal warmup is a very vital tool excel in public speaking.All the actors and professional performers are taught this on the very first day at their office.Till date i havent come accross any great speaker who makes a speech without a vocal warmup.It never looks good when you clean your throat "mrrrrrr hrrrr grrrr" in the microphone before begining with your speech.This basically reveals your unreadiness to speak which makes the crowd less attentive to hear you.If you want the crowd to hear you and give better response whats most important is delivering energy while speaking.If you give energy you get it back in return from the crowd.

"The first blow is half the battle",this itself is a cue for a vocal warmup.Vocal warmup is predominantly more advantageous when you are a less frequent public speaker or a if you need to speak for long hours.Your articulation will become more clear and crisp. You'll be easier to understand. And as you strengthen your speech muscles, you'll be able to talk longer without vocal fatigue.Speaking scientifically,the larynx is a contractive part of the throat.During vocal warmups the larynx expands and the vocal cord becomes broader which prevents losing of breath,heavy breathing and useless speaking complications.Now perform these steps before walking in for a speech:

1)Before going for a speech,drink plenty of water and clear your throat.Never eat something before speech,specially avoid sweet and sticky foods nearly 4 hours before speaking.

2)Swallow something that clears your throat,something like mint.My personal preferance is drinking water boiled with basil leaves.

3)Sing for a few minutes.This would increase the fluency of your speech.While singing your right brain gets activated which is responsible for recognizing patterns and similarities.This will enable you to be more outspoken and steadfast with your points.

4)Strech your voice i.e. hold one sound for as long as your breath persists.Like "aaaaaaaaa","hooooooooo"etc.Start it with lower voulume and gradually increase it.There's no particular logic behind doing this but in some way it does help you while speaking.

5)Gargling is a very good way to clean your throat.Coughing while speaking is something very common and something very irritating.Gargling helps you get rid of this.Gargling with luke warm water mixed with turmeric is found to be more beneficial.

6)After drinking water,rotate your neck in all possible direction.Rotate very slowly for nearly 5 minutes.Then jerk your neck sidewards and vertically.Be cautioned while jerking.Jerking suddenly or forcefully can be disasterous at times.

7)Hold your adam's apple and give it a mild shake.Do the same while performing step-4.This helps you adjust your overtone and gives better understanding of your voice.

8)Excercise your tongue.Roll it back and then forward.Make the tip of the tongue touch all the teeth.Its just a way of warming up your tongue muscles.Remember,doing this for long can exhaust your tongue which shall cause more slip of tongues and stuttering.

DO's & DONT's
Things start getting on your nerve if left for the last day.Although you are expected to practise yoga and vocal excercises long before your final performance still if a few habits are cultivated and a few discarded then your performance will culminate at a spectacular concert.Remember there can be a large number of spectators gathered but there may be a very few audience to listen to you.Just a few do's and dont's is enough to convert all the spectators into audience.These few things which i am about to reveal will forecast a good result eventhough many of them wont be able to answer your"why?" still its always been recommended by professors and politicians who speak nearly everyday.

1)Make a habit of speaking as less as possible.Speaking unecessarilly not only sucks away our vocal strength but also increses errors while speaking.Speaking when asked to speak is a policy adopted by professional speakers.May be thats what makes them professional in speaking.

2)Try to learn new and different languages.Every language has its own set of sound and pronunciations(phonectics).Learning new languages inculcates new ways of speaking.

3)Avoid shouting and screaming.Indulging in useless debates and arguements make things even worse.Experts say there is something like argumentative speech which is often heard from religious leaders who speak with prejudice,prosecution and is always criticised by everybody.Unwanted debates can build your thinking and speaking protocol in such a manner.

4)Deep breathing deepens your voice.Practise deep breathing through meditation whenever time permits.Running is regarded as the best way to keep your lungs healthy.After 30's the upper lungs falls weak and is hardly inflated.For men in their 30's its more advisable to excercise everyday.Smoking and drinking weakens your lungs too,so avoid them.

4)Restrain from the consumption of caffiene.Caffiene is abundantly found in tea and coffee.Its a drug which is responsible for causing tremors.Caffiene accelerates the adrenal secretions as a result of which speaking in nervousness becomes more difficult.

5)Sleep well before addressing a speech.Sleep plays the most crucial role in bringing effectiveness to your speech.It fills your speech with energy and enthusiasm.

6)A good way to reduce your nervousness on the day of your speech is to bring that fear haunting in your sub-concious mind into your concious mind.Say it to yourself "yes today i am going to make a speech.Nothing will go wrong.If something happens i dont care about the criticism."