The ancient Greeks discovered that “The Voice is the Megaphone of the Soul”. They knew that it was your voice that fascinates and captivates an audience and telegraphs your soul power as you speak. It is obvious in singers, like Aretha Franklin, Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder just to name a few of the many great singers.

Breathing is the secret for both singers and speakers. Good breath support for your speaking voice is what the ancient Greeks discovered and what many of us today in our hurried world often ignore. It is the energy of your breath that sets free the soul power of your speaking voice.

Obviously we are all breathing if we are alive, however again in our nano second world we either hold our breath or breathe shallowly while sitting behind our computers and only breathe deeply when we are in the gym or out running. For health reasons it is necessary to breathe well and doctors like Andrew Weill have taught us this with his CD program “Breathing is the Key to Self-Healing”.

However, it is an art to breathe correctly in order to support your speaking voice. Breathing deeply, in a relaxed way and allowing the breath to flow up from your lungs, through your windpipe and through your vocal chords takes awareness, knowledge, and practice. Good breath support gives you control over your voice tone, your resonance, your loudness, and your projection. With this control you sound confident, assertive, energetic, and articulate and deliver a powerful, engaging, and persuasive message that has meaning and impact.

Your intentions, your heart, your soul, and your thoughts, all ride on your breath supported sound that captivates and fascinates your listeners. What does it really mean to captivate or fascinate someone with your voice? It means that your voice focuses an audiences’ attention so strongly that everything else fades away for them. They are no longer thinking about their work, their life, their troubles, what they need to make for dinner. They are captivated and going on a journey with you.

I suggest you follow the tried and true method of the ancient Greeks. Begin with this breathing exercise. Sit or stand up straight with your shoulders down, your eyes straight ahead and you chin parallel to the floor. Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale slowly on a count of 5, through your mouth. Do this exercise five times in order to begin relaxing your breathing mechanism. Then take a deep breath with your shoulders down and simply open your mouth naturally and sigh. Do it again and this time as the breath falls out of your mouth let a little sound come forth naturally. Keep doing this easily without forcing your breath or the sound. This process done over and over will begin to connect you to the easy natural sound of your speaking voice. After you feel comfortable doing this, inhale and as you exhale hum gently, listening to the quality of your humming tone.

Good Breathing is the life force of your voice. In this fast paced world, we cannot afford to ignore the teachings of the ancient Greeks. It is still true that your voice is the megaphone of your soul. And breathing is the power behind a great voice.

Sandra offers a 25-minute Voice Power Studios Accent Reduction & Speaking Skills Consultation, http://www.voicepowerstudios.com/analysis.html or call 877-783-2455.