The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:
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Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.
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I would like to improve my voice and articulation skills. Growing up I had an "open bite" (front teeth did not touch) which caused a plethora of respiratory and speech issues. Fortunately, this specific problem was corrected through orthodontics + speech therapy. The improvement was notable and I today can give a talk or go through a job interview without much trouble.
However, I still often mumble through my words, doubly so if I'm nervous or excited. The "mumbliness" persists even if I speak in my native language, although to a smaller degree since many of the tricky English phonemes (e,g, dental fricatives) aren't common in Portuguese. I also feel that my voice sounds too "soft" (lack of projection?) when I listen to recordings of myself.
My current plan is to hire a voice coach remotely to discuss and work on these issues, but I have no idea what's the difference between a good and a bad coach. Has anyone here done something similar and perhaps could share what things I should be in the lookout for in order to ensure I'm not getting duped?
Alternative suggestions are also welcome.
Read this book before hiring a voice coach - trust me. I've had issues with my voice for years.
https://www.amazon.com/Voice-Book-Caring-Protecting-Improving/dp/1556528299
Will look into it. Thanks for the recommendation.
Np. Happy to chat if you have more questions about it. Losing your voice repeatedly can be rough!
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I don't have much productive to say except that really going for it and projecting your voice in whatever context (apart from actually intimate conversations with friends) feels weird but ends up being somewhat normal. Public speaking training years ago helped me understand this, unless you are unnaturally loud it will simply sound like you are speaking confidently, then it becomes natural. I was guilty of mumbling and speaking very softly until I addressed this.
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