Strengthening your Voice

Your Preaching and Your Larynx. You can't be a powerful preacher with strained, raspy speech. Here's how to strengthen your voice.

Larry J. Otto is assistant professor of fine arts at Columbia Union College, Takoma Park, Maryland.
In 1880 Ellen White wrote, "Some of our most talented ministers are doing themselves great injury by their defective manner of speaking. . . . Ministers should stand erect and speak slowly, firmly, and distinctly, taking a full inspiration of air at every sentence and throwing out the words by exercising the abdominal muscles. If they will observe this simple rule, giving attention to the laws of health in other respects, they may preserve their life and usefulness much longer than men in any other profession."— Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 404.

Nearly one hundred years later this counsel is still going unheeded by a number of ministers. And going with it is their ability to speak! I have heard men, standing before our teen-agers, try to impress their minds with truth spoken in a raspy tone of voice that made the hearers want to clear their own throats all through the message!

Other men are hardly in such poor condition. They sound quite good (to themselves, at least) but develop significant laryngeal irritation if they conduct two or three successive services.

Sometimes a speaker who is having difficulty with his voice does not realize he sounds so bad. It would be a good practice to tape a sermon periodically and listen to yourself. Also, ask some of your listeners whether they can hear you clearly and whether your voice sounds raspy, airy, or strained.

If you have been having these problems or similar ones, a little voice culture might be in order. Even if you are not presently having trouble, a few of the following suggestions might help you to avoid problems or to enable you to help someone else.

Notice the first point Ellen White makes in the statement above: "Ministers should stand erect." Good posture is vital to good speech. Pretend that there is a hook at the crown of your head and that you are being pulled up by a rope from the ceiling. Or if you prefer, stand against a wall and be sure your heels, buttocks, back of shoulders, and back of head touch the wall. Remember to keep the shoulders as relaxed as possible. In time good posture will become habitual.

Her next advice is to take a full inspiration of air at every sentence. Here is one of the most important steps in using the voice correctly. Many vocal problems come from improper respiration. To feel a "full inspiration" of air, put a drinking straw in the mouth (or purse the lips), then with a finger partially cover the bottom end of the straw. After ex haling, draw your full breath through the half-stopped straw. If that is too difficult, use the straw without covering the end and work up to the other process.

Throw out the words "by exercising the abdominal muscles," Ellen White continues. This is where things get technical and most people give up. The natural thing to do after taking a full breath, such as the one just described, is to let it all come right back out without any resistance. Many get in a hurry to breathe, and let the words and breath come out any way possible without allowing the vocal folds to engage efficiently. The easiest way to feel the abdominal muscles at work is to do either two or three sit-ups or the following: Sit erect on a straight chair with your feet flat on the floor. Grasp the bottom of the chair with your hands, arms straight down. Take a deep breath, then holding on to the chair with the hands, pull your knees upward without any help from the toes.

Once you learn to feel the abdominal muscles in action try phonating a short, accented pa. Be sure to take a deep breath and make the abdominal muscles contract sharply on the p. (It should not hurt!) With this sound successfully accomplished, try ba, then ha. Then say a word, keeping the abdominal muscles contracted throughout the entire word. Try one-syllable words first, such as past, then two-syllable words such as pasture. Next try words without plosive beginnings. Always maintain good breath and keep the abdominal muscles working throughout each sentence.

It would be well for every speaker to take a few brush-up lessons from a competent speech or voice teacher each year just to keep in shape. If you have noticeable speaking difficulty, find help right away. It could be a matter of life or death. Ellen White declared, "I would say to my ministering brethren: Unless you educate yourselves to speak ac cording to physical law, you will sacrifice life, and many will mourn the loss of 'those martyrs to the cause of truth,' when the facts in the case are that by indulging in wrong habits you did injustice to yourselves and to the truth which you represented, and robbed God and the world of the service you might have rendered. God would have been pleased to have you live, but you slowly committed suicide."—Ibid.


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Larry J. Otto is assistant professor of fine arts at Columbia Union College, Takoma Park, Maryland.

February 1979

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