How to improve your voice by Diana Ross' vocal coach

CeCe Sammy-Lightfoot, vocal coach to the likes of Diana Ross, Sting, One Direction and Julio Iglesias, and the behind the scenes coach of some of the world’s most popular music based TV shows; The Voice, the X Factor and American Idol, has created a short and free Hack Your Voice Masterclass to support interviews, during which she share’s some of the key lessons she has learned as a professional vocal coach. 

Here CeCe offers her top 5 tips to maximise your voice during a presentation.

1.    Focus on your posture allowing your freedom for your voice‍

Pretend there is a string going from the base of your spine through the top of your head that is pulling up. Be aware of this string and how tall it is. If you start slouching, the string will become very floppy but you need to keep it tight. By imagining this, it may help you to keep your posture upright and tall which in turn will help your voice sound confident, despite the nerves.

2.    Control your voice in a heightened pressured state‍

Find the middle range of your voice by doing “the descent exercise”. A “descent exercise” would help to feel how the high voice could naturally transfer into the chest area. This “chest area” voice will help the person to speak clearly and not to speak too fast or too high.  It would project a greater sense of calm and control.

3.    Make your entrance‍

Film yourself and look back at how you walked into the room. As you look at what you have filmed, look at your shoulders to see if you are slouching and remember to smile.

4. Your presentation is a performance, fine tune the key deliverables‍

As you film yourself, say out loud your key points. Do not get distracted. Those are your key points. It is also very helpful to create an “edited” version of what you will say during the presentation. I would not suggest scripting what you want to say as that can sound unnatural and prevent you expressing your personality, but it is helpful to be clear in advance about the key points you want to convey. 

5. Embrace you, project the best version of yourself

The impression you want to leave an audience with is going to depend on the message you are going for. But some things remain the same whatever that may be. You want to show the best version of yourself - be authentic, project confidence and competence.

Always excel at the basics.  Use your voice to project your worth to ensure it is used to its highest potential. 

Hack Your Voice is a series of online Masterclasses, teaching us to train our voice effectively, for success in different situations.  Whether that be for impressing someone on a first date or standing out in a job interview, there is a Masterclass to help