How to improve your speaking voice & volume with the help of apps

Do you speak too softly or speak too quietly when public speaking?

Do people ask you to repeat yourself because they can’t hear you?

Have you been asked during a presentation to speak up?

When you speak too softly in a presentation the audience will strain to hear you and often ask you to repeat yourself. This can cause some people to get in a fluster. The audience may well miss key points or give up trying to hear what you are saying at all. None of which is ideal and brings on a downward spiral. Add to this that the audience will also judge soft speakers as less credible and that is reason enough to want to learn to speak at an appropriate volume.

Anyone nervous tends to get stressed and that constricts the muscles around our voice box and impacts our volume and clarity of speech. Introverted preference personality styles like “Caring” and “Information styles” are naturally softer speakers too so this blog may be particularly relevant for you. For more information on top tips for overcoming nerves before a presentation click here.

If you want to be heard in business presentations, meetings, boardrooms, and on virtual calls you may need to increase your volume. It’s not always as easy as “just speaking up” or using an app – often other issues are causing the low volume such as poor breathing techniques, underlying nerves and fear, or old unconscious beliefs (for example you may have been told as a child ‘stop showing off’). We work with clients at a suitable level for their needs, showing them how being heard in the business environment is a blend of having the right breathing and voice techniques, the mindset to allow this to flow and the right posture and body language to support the voice.

Are you a professional struggling with public speaking? We’ve helped hundreds of professionals become confident speakers. Contact us today to discuss 1-to-1 training and taster sessions.

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So, what is a good volume?

When public speaking the ideal volume will depend on many things, from the environment to background noise, but as a general indicator the average whisper is 30db, a normal conversation is about 60 dB and a Fortissimo (loud) singer is around 80 dB. So, for a good presentation voice without a microphone in a larger room, you might want to aim for 70-80db. Once we’ve taught participants how to breathe correctly and speak at an appropriate volume, we always recommend they practice – thus embedding their new behaviour. With regards to virtual presenting, it is important to check your microphone is working (test it beforehand) Also remember to use all the tips in our body language blog to help portray a clear and confident voice.

Do you think you are speaking too quietly? How can you practise increasing your volume?

1. The old-fashioned way to practise is to have a buddy help you

A. Ensure your buddy is not a fellow soft speaker!
B. Ideally, be in the room you will be giving the presentation in, or a similar one
C. Ask the buddy to sit at the back
D. Practise your presentation for 2 mins or so
E. Ask for feedback on volume and voice projection
F. Repeat adapting to the feedback

2. Prefer to do it alone? You can use apps to help avoid speaking too quietly and check your volume control.

Prefer to do it alone? You can use apps to help avoid speaking too quietly and check your volume control.

At the time of writing this, my favourite app was “Voice-O-Meter” – it has a small charge but allows you to set a volume range from too quiet to too loud. Check out my brief video showing the app in action

I also tested the “Speak Up” app which is free, but less accurate than the Voice-O-Meter. Check out my informal video demo of this app in action. It’s probably quite fun for children as it has pretty visuals but not as accurate or helpful for a business professional looking to improve their volume when giving a presentation in my opinion.

In our “Present With Confidence” programme we show participants exactly how to use their voice, body and mindset to become more confident. We love hearing the difference that our programmes make (literally!) We also have other programmes to work on developing an appropriate mindset where it is totally OK to stand up and be heard (AKA Taming your Public Speaking Monkeys). If you’d like to find out more about how we can help then get in touch today!

If you know you want to improve your presentation skills but aren’t quite sure where to start, visit our page to help you choose the best next steps for you https://simplyamazingtraining.co.uk/choosing-the-right-training