One of the most overlooked aspects of becoming a great public speaker is learning how to breathe correctly. It seems so intuitive—you do it every day, how could you be doing it wrong? When we get nervous, our heart rate increases and we take smaller, shallower breaths, leaving us with less air to use for speaking.
Breathing affects our pace, pitch, and pauses during a speech, and poor breathing can lead to a speaker sounding and feeling less confident. We’ve pulled together some exercises to use breathing to become a more confident, effective speaker.
Pace
An engaging speaker knows how to vary the pace of their speech to deliver their message effectively. However, many people struggle with pacing due to poor breath control. Speaking too fast often comes from not taking enough pauses to breathe, while speaking too slowly can be caused by not taking in enough air.
What to practice:
Consciously take a breath before you begin your speech and remember to stop and breathe between ideas.
Pay attention to your posture and be sure to take deep breaths from your diaphragm.
Pitch
While you may not think of your voice as having a pitch, your speech is actually a combination of speaking notes—similar to the notes you would sing. It can be difficult to learn to control your speaking pitch. A voice that sounds too high-pitched is most likely due to shallow breathing, while a low or strained pitch is usually caused by not using all the air you take in.
What to practice:
Relax your abdomen and breathe deeper into your stomach, releasing air with your abdominal muscles.
Take a breath in and create a breathy sound by blowing all your air out, repeat while gradually adding more vocal sound.
Pause
You naturally pause to breathe when you speak, but taking an intentional pause in your speech is a powerful way to allow your audience to really take in what you are saying. Many nervous speakers will rush through their speech, forcing their listeners to keep up. Small moments of silence can give weight to the words you’ve said or highlight a main idea while also giving you the chance to catch your breath and refocus.
What to practice:
Be aware of your breathing during the day—awareness of your breath makes for more natural pauses.
Read through your speech and take note of commas, periods, and other punctuation as cues to stop and breathe.
