Let's Talk About Posture

/

Do you ever find that when you talk in front of people (like in groups, meetings, or giving a presentation) that your voice feels strained or you feel like you're constantly running out of air?

It can be hard to feel and project confidence when you're straining to speak.

So why does this happen?

People are often surprised to learn that the Alexander Technique was developed to solve a vocal problem. The technique is about making physical changes. What does that have to do your voice?

Well, your voice comes from your body. Your physical state (ie. posture and breathing) are the main factors that affect the quaility of your voice.

What I think can get confusing for people is that they think that need to do something directly to their voice to fix it. Vocal exercises are great and I do teach some of them in my clasess, but simply doing the exercises doesn't necessarily solve the problem of getting choked up or hoarse when you want to come across well and be heard.

The problem actually begins before any speaking even occurs. It happens in the moments just before you speak and has more to do with your thinking/emotions, breathing, and posture. I'll break this down for you.

Thinking and Emotions:

  • Perhaps you're nervous about being on the spot or how others will respond to your ideas.

  • Or you may not be nervous, but maybe (let's say in a group conversation) you're rushing to jump in to have your turn to speak or avoid being interrupted

  • Or...you might be thinking of what you're going to say and trying really hard to hold onto that idea to get it right.


Breathing:

  • You take in a giant breath (and hold it) to try to hold your thought or make it clear that you're about to speak. Then when you speak, you're still partially holding your breath.

  • Or your breathing becomes shallow as a result of feeling self-conscious. You feel like you have less room to breathe.

Posture:

  • Your breathing habits can affect your posture and vice versa.

  • If your posture is slouched or stiff, this will interfere with your breathing. You may find that you strain to speak simply because of poor everyday posture (at the computer and such.)

  • Your breathing and voice may also be impacted if you have the common habit of over-correcting your posture.


The bottom line? Breathing affects posture and posture affects breathing. Thinking affects both posture and breathing. They ALL affect the voice because if your breathing is restricted, you'll strain to speak.

As an exploration, see if you can notice any changes in your posture or breathing in the moments before you speak? If you do notice, see if those habits always occur when you speak, or only in certain contexts.

Interested in learning more on this topic? Click here to learn more about my classes for women. Click here to read more about classes for everyone.