How to make my voice louder?

Probably has to do somewhat with breathing. Practice filling your lungs, and then keep your chest out, but you can continue to breath. Sing songs out loud doing this. Oprah singers often look large chested, because they actually do this as part as their training to carry notes longer and stronger.

Nerves make breathing more shallow, so conquering nerves and taking some slow, deep breaths will help.

You need to learn to project, always mentally talking to the back row of the room.

Also, certain foods will help. Cold food and water tighten up the throat. Warm food, I find Italian foods, to give me a stronger, deeper voice. Warm tea might work for you? The way to help figure it out in my opinion is again to sing along with some music and see when you feel your voice is much stronger.

You can tape yourself and listen to yourself and practice that way. But a lot of people hate to listen to themselves,

@JLeslie I never thought of singing! I haven’t yet sung a song nor I have danced in public. I will try breathing and food advice.

You don’t have to sing in public. Is that what you meant? It can be in your car and shower. :).

Find your local Toastmasters. Sure, they seem a little cheesy, but it will definitely help with your public presentations -it’s cheap and effective.

The best thing that prepared me to speak to a group of adults was speaking to large groups of children. The nerves aren’t quite so bad and you HAVE to speak up to be heard over the kids. Groups of kids (indoors and outdoors as the acoustics are different) helped me ensure that I can speak in a hotel ballroom without a microphone. Some of it is breath control as stated above, but it is mostly practice!

I worked on a stock exchange floor for years. To get ourselves heard we were taught to use our diaphragms much as a singer does.

As you speak, squeeze your stomach muscles to force the air out. This will raise the volume of your voice. Practice around the house, while standing or walking. The more you practice the more natural it feels. Do this while making presentations and soon it will be second nature.

Microphone?

I envy you, mine is so loud I have been known as Foghorn Leghorn. I speak softly and they here me in the Southern Hemisphere, I yell and the universe echoes. Mine is a problem.

Practice. And discipline.

I took a presentation skills workshop while working for a major high-tech company. One of the first things the instructor had everyone do was go to the front and read a short prepared text. She asked: “Can you hear her?” “No!”

She told us to shout. And she asked the rest of the class: “Is that too loud?” Everyone said no. You think you’re yelling, but you’re not.

You have to work at putting volume behind your voice. Even if you don’t gain a stage actor’s skill at projecting, you can learn to crank the volume. You must force yourself to remember it all the time and not let your voice drop off or fade.

Someone who habitually speaks too softly in a group is forcing me to go more than halfway, to compensate for his or her own lack of effort. That turns me off. I used to strain to hear, but now I generally don’t bother to listen.

You need to practice breathing with your diaphram and extending it, it will eventually give you what you need to be heard across the room.

And forget picturing them in their undies, picture them all naked with all their tids and bits hanging out… it will give you all the confidence in the world

@syz I will check that out. A year or two ago, I had been referred to the toastmasters too.
@Kayak8 Next time I will meet a group of young children, I will probably tell them a story!
@zenvelo That’s a great tip! I will practise.
@ZEPHYRA I wish, but not always fortunate to get the mic. Only if you can give a little of your volume…!
@Jeruba My professor did tell me to yell and I thought I was already yelling too much! Sure, I will follow your advice. I wouldn’t want to lose audience because of my voice.
@creative1 lol, I’ll follow first advice better!

To sum up, I need to practise breathing exercises with appropriate food consumption, squeeze stomach muscles and force the air out, remember not to drop off volume, and practise, practise, and practise!

Thank you everyone! I will possibly update upon my improvement in one or two months.

@prasad, if you can find a workshop or class like the one I took, it would be a great idea to take it. Not only can you learn some useful practical tips for improving your presentations but you can also get direct coaching on your specific weak points.

One thing I learned from seeing the “before” and “after” videotapes taken by the instructor was that I have a bad habit of adjusting my glasses while I speak. No one had ever commented on that to me, and no one needed to as soon as I saw the video. It was clumsy and distracting and made me look decidedly amateurish. Seeing yourself perform can be both a humbling (read “embarrassing”) and extremely instructive experience.

@Jeruba Yes, I should do it sooner. Someone to watch and correct me would make a fast way for improvement.

Some recent events have, or perhaps, will change many things for me. Coincidentally, I will be a teacher. You may advise me on teaching techniques now.

Here is an article filled with useful tidbits about all aspects of speaking in public.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/jobcenter/workplace/bruzzese/story/2012-08-05/how-to-command-a-room/56763660/1

The midriff is key. Singing can help you to use it more effectively.

After practicing techniques that you told me, I am happy to inform you that I could now be heard at far corners in the class room. Also, I do ask to check that I am audible.