I would like practical advice on how to improve my voice, how to make
myself heard in groups, how to project (without shouting), how to make
people pay attention to what I have to say.   Just recently, I have
had a mild reflux problem (gone thanks to Nexium), but now have a soft
baritone voice that tires easily and has little resonance.   This
situation negatively affects my job, as I am called upon more and more
to make presentations and moderate meetings. I don't want to be on
"American Idol", I just want to be heard.  I would prefer hearing from
someone who has either provided voice therapy, or has trained for
voice.  Thanks in advance.

---

Clarification of Question by abcdef123456-ga on 08 May 2003 19:18 PDT

I'd like to add that I don't smoke or drink, don't drink coffee and
I'm not overweight.

---

Request for Question Clarification by easterangel-ga on 08 May 2003 22:16 PDT

Hi! Would you accept tips and guidance that we could find on the web.
I am not a voice therapist but as an expert researcher this is the
best way I see that we could serve you that is by finding things on
the web that could answer your query.

Thanks!

---

Clarification of Question by abcdef123456-ga on 13 May 2003 12:03 PDT

Sorry about the slow response; I was pre-occupied with tornadoes :(
I liked the tips from angy.ga the best, but  still appreciated info
collected by other answerers.   How does the payment system work?  Do
I chose only 1?  Or do I owe $15 to everyone? :).

One last request --- could someone find a list of recommended voice
coaches in the OKC, OK area? Thanks!

abcdef123456...

I hope the tornadoes left you in peace. There are some 
researchers based in their path, so we've been watching
them with some trepidation.

It is not expected that you pay for the comments offered below.
These are freely given, though you could assign one of the
commenters whose name is a link (meaning they are official
Google Researchers) to answer the question. Since you've
added a request for further research, any researcher
is free to answer the question, so I will do the honors.

Should you wish to additionally reward a particular commenter,
it is quite common for a customer to open a token question
with "For researchername-ga ONLY" in the title, with a
question price in keeping with the reward you wish to bestow.


Now to your question:
Voice coaches in Oklahoma City were few and far between, 
at least on the internet, however I found the following:

Fitzmaurice Voicework is a methodology presented on a
national basis in workshops or 'labs'. Their homepage:
http://www.fitzmauricevoice.com/home.html

On the homepage, there is notice of a workshop in May
of this year in Oklahoma:

"a five-day workshop focusing on voicework in Oklahoma
 in May 2003, and a five-day workshop focusing on Dudley
 Knight's speech work right after the VASTA conference
 in New York City in August 2003. See the calendar
 section for details and contact information on these
 and other workshops. An application form is now available
 for you to print."

The calendar page reveals that you still have time to
sign up for this event:

=======================================================
    FIVE-DAY WORKSHOP
    May 22 - 26, 2003
    University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond OK
    taught by Catherine Fitzmaurice with Associate
    Teachers Michael Barnes, Micha Espinosa, 
    Saul Kotzubei, Roberta Sloan, and Phil Thompson

    An overview of the major elements of Fitzmaurice Voicework.
     
    contact:
    Dr. Roberta Sloan
    Professor of Theatre, Chair
    Department of Theatre, Dance and Media Arts
    Box 86
    University of Central Oklahoma
    Edmond OK 73034
    tel: 405-974-3471
    fax: 405-974-3472
    e: rsloan@ucok.edu
=======================================================
http://www.fitzmauricevoice.com/events.htm

Dr. Roberta Sloan is also their representative and
recommended voice coach in Oklahoma, if you search
their 'Find a Teacher' link, and her contact info
there is the same as given above:
http://www.fitzmauricevoice.com/teachers.htm#Sloan

The application form for attending a workshop is here:
http://www.fitzmauricevoice.com/applicationform.htm


The only other voice coach I found in Oklahoma City
was from a reference in a newsletter on the website
of the Oklahoma chapter of the National Speakers
Association. Their homepage is here:
http://www.oklahomaspeakers.com/

They should be a useful resource for you, as well.

The newsletter I found is available at the following link:
http://www.oklahomaspeakers.com/pdf/newsletter.pdf

It cites a previous workshop as follows:

=======================================================
"February 9, 2002 • 9 A.M. to Noon w/ Rena Clark

"How To Project and Command The Platform"
 
 Oklahoma's leading "Voice Coach" and active speech
 therapist at the University of Oklahoma will work
 participants at this OSA meeting through voice projection
 exercises, teach techniques for improved speaking skills
 for small group presentations and large arena venues as
 well. You will leave this session with the voice balance
 to possess a powerful new stage performance and persona
 - come learn how to get the butterflies in your stomach
 to fly in powerful projection formation!
=======================================================

I searched for online references for Rena Clark, but she
has no website. I suspect she shouldn't be hard for you 
to locate, however, and you can't get a much better
reference than "Oklahoma's leading Voice Coach".
You might be able to locate her by contacting the Oklahoma
Chapter of the NSA. Contact information is on this page:
http://www.oklahomaspeakers.com/membership/membership.html


That should get you started. I'm sure you'll also get
personal recommendations from those you meet when you 
start to network with these organizations in your area.

Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that
the answer cannot be improved upon by means of a dialog
established through the "Request for Clarification" process.

sublime1-ga


Searches done, vial Google:

"voice coach" "Oklahoma City, OK"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22voice+coach%22+%22Oklahoma+City%2C+OK%22

voice "Rena Clark" OK
://www.google.com/search?q=voice+%22Rena+Clark%22+OK

Many thanks for your quick & informative response sublime1!    I
assume you get the $15.00.     I'd like to tip the other commenters
$5.00 each, if someone will tell me how to do that.

abcdef123456...

I think it will be hard to provide effective advice without
the option of hearing your voice, and since no researcher 
has a way to accomplish this, I would recommend voice
training of some kind, perhaps coupled with attendance to
Toastmasters Intenational:
http://www.toastmasters.org/

I answered a similar question which involved voice training
options here:
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=63299

One of the best options provided in that answer is
Sandra McKnight's Voice Power Studios website:
http://www.voicepowerstudios.com/

She offers 'voice tuneups' by phone:
http://www.voicepowerstudios.com/tune-ups.html

Free weekly teleconferences:
http://www.voicepowerstudios.com/teleseminar.html

Voice coaching by phone:
http://www.voicepowerstudios.com/teleprivate.html

And CDs and tapes for sale:
http://www.voicepowerstudios.com/tapes.html

I hope that helps, and if it satisfies your interests,
let me know, and I'll post it as an answer.

sublime1-ga

I'd like to put ina  plug for a wonderful book by one of the world's
most respected voice training coaches, Patsy Rodenberg, called THE
RIGHT TO SPEAK: WORKING WITH THE VOICE.  She's really good.  It's on
Amazon.com for $20.95 and you can read sample pages there.  Here's the
Amazon blurb, too:

"In The Right to Speak, renowned voice teacher Patsy Rodenburg teaches
you how to meet any speaking challenge with total self-assurance.
Rodenburg has trained thousands of actors, singers, media
personalities, lawyers, politicians, business people, teachers and
students in the art of using their voice fully and expressively
without fear. She has taught them how to breathe, how to support their
breath, how to stretch their voice to meet any vocal effort and how to
have total confidence in whatever they say--'the right to speak.'"

Don't know how much help this will be, but if nothing else, it's
interesting reading!  http://www.lionsvoiceclinic.umn.edu/

Look for a stage actor's voice coach or a classical singing teacher
who will teach you how to support the voice by using the diaphragm,
and other breathing techniques.

Also you will often find that a particular room has a hard wall
surface somewhere that you can use to "bounce" the voice, the way a
swimming coach bounces their voice off the surface of the water.


Making people pay attention is a different thing. Be confident in what
you are saying, say it clearly (not necessarily loudly) and don't um
and er. Use a full stop (English for the dot at the end of a sentence)
to be just that - a full stop and a pause. A comma is a short pause.
Leave the pauses empty - don't talk through them. This will make you
easier to follow.

Do not gabble or rush what you are saying. Give people time to absorb
the content.

If there is a joke in  what you are saying - wait for the laugh, and
don't kill it by coming back in too soon.

And don't overload your audience with information - remember the old
musical hall saying "leave 'em wanting more".

As a voice teacher , I'd like to point out that medications can
adversely affect the voice. So if you didn't have these problems in
the past, they are probably directly related to the medication. A
quick search on the Internet shows that Nexium has been related to
aggravated asthma, coughing, sinusitis, and increased thirst. (
http://www.pharmacynetworkgroup.com/nexium-side-effects.htm ) All of
these things can make speech more difficult. So you may wish to try a
different medication for reflux.

To be heard without shouting simply requires supporting your voice
through your diaphragm. Any good voice teacher can help you with that.
Here's a brief article that will give you an idea of what's involved:

http://www.richspeaking.com/articles/finding_the_power_in_your_voice.html

And another one that goes into a bit more detail:
http://www.greatvoice.com/speaker/vc_library/voicemastery.html

If you have a resonance problem, you almost certainly have tightness
in your throat. You'll have to learn to totally relax your throat, and
rely entirely upon your diaphragm to create sound. You can also "bring
your voice forward" for more resonance. To do this, hum a note until
you feel your lips/teeth vibrate. Now speak with the same forward
"placement." It may be tricky at first, but a teacher can help you
pick up this technique more quickly.

If you plan out what you're going to say ahead of time, and use proper
support, speak in your natural chest voice (lower, not higher), you
should have no trouble having people want to listen to you.

Good luck!
kriswrite

abcdef123456...

In your rating remarks, you said:
"I'd like to tip the other commenters $5.00 each,
 if someone will tell me how to do that."

As I noted in the second and third paragraphs of my answer,
only official researchers can answer a question and receive
a fee. Researchers' names appear blue and have links to
their ratings, so, of the commenters below, only kriswrite-ga
and angy-ga can receive fees.

To reward them, you can open a token question for
each of them, stating in the subject line, e.g.:
'For angy-ga ONLY - improving my voice', and asking them
to provide a simple answer to a simple question, such as 
'What's your favorite color?'. Researchers receive 75%
of the price of questions they answer, so you may wish
to set your price with that in mind. Should any researcher
other than the one you designated answer the questions,
you can reject their answer. While this seldom occurs,
it has been known to happen.

I hope you've found your first experience with Google Answers
a pleasant one, and that you'll find us useful in the future.

sublime1-ga

I'm not positive, but I think you want Rena Cook instead of Clark.
http://www.vocal-authority.com/rena_cook.html
http://www.vasta.org/dir/cookr.html

You might also wish to get a referral from Prof. Judith Palladino at OCU:
http://www.okcu.edu/theatre/bios.asp