Though great actors can convey an emotion or experience to an audience without saying a word, no actor can successfully convey a dramatic text without possessing total command of their voice. From slowing your words to projecting well, mastering the speaking voice for acting often requires the same training as for singing. To powerfully connect an audience to a story, you'll need to learn a few techniques to strengthen and enrich your speaking voice for acting.
Instructions
1. Connect to your breath. A strong and controlled speaking voice for acting is no different than a strong singing voice. Take full deep breaths that expand your lower torso, and avoid "shallow" breathing in your upper torso. Allow your diaphragm--a large muscle at the bottom of your lungs--to do the work of breathing.
Practice exercises to control your breath. Many warmups used by singers are effective for preparing the speaking voice for acting, especially ones that emphasize strengthening the diaphragm and relaxing the lips, tongue and mouth.
Lay flat on the floor as you breathe. Feel your stomach rise and fall as you take deep breaths. Hum on your exhale and "buzz" air between your lips (allow them to flap). Do this a few times, then on your next exhale say "ah," allowing your jaw to relax open and your tongue to fall forward and to the bottom of your mouth. Place a hand on your lower abdomen, and exhale saying a short, percussive "huh" over and over until you run out of air. Feel how your diaphragm punches your air out and naturally draws air back in with almost no effort on your part.
2. Project your voice by using resonance. Stage performances rarely use microphones, which means you must develop techniques to project your voice. Use the natural resonance of your lungs and your "mask"--the open chambers of your sinus cavity and mouth--to amplify your voice.
Distinguish where you are "placing" your voice. Feel where your voice is vibrating as you speak or hum. If your voice is vibrating in the back of your throat or high in your sinus cavity, you aren't making use of your resonant chambers. Placing your voice forward in your mask will immediately increase the volume of your voice. Keep your voice relaxed and "open" (where your vocal cords aren't pinched or strained) to use the large resonant chamber in your lungs, slowing the rate of speech. Practice shifting the placement of your voice back and forth to understand the difference.
3. Learn and practice good diction. Even when a dramatic situation compels you to speak quietly on stage, excellent diction--the distinct pronunciation of words--will allow you to slow your rate of speech and help the audience understand you.
Develop the muscles that control articulation--the tongue, lips and jaw--by practicing tongue twisters such as "red leather, yellow leather," or "unique New York." Incorporate these tongue twisters into your warmup to connect them to your breathing.
Practice over-pronouncing every letter of your words, focusing especially on consonants at the beginning and end of each word. Find a place in between this exaggerated speech and your everyday speech that sounds natural, and rehearse your scenes or monologues with this placement.
4. Know what you are saying, how you will say it and why. Understanding the text of your script is imperative to conveying its meaning to an audience. Your words create the world of your performance as much as the scenery, lights and costumes. Being unclear about the meaning of your words will leave your audience adrift.
Study and rehearse your lines in the context of your character's motives or personality, not just the situation. Depending on how you've developed your character, you will likely place emphasis on different words or adopt slower rhythms for their speech patterns. Even if a character calls for a very casual, everyday manner of speaking, it's still important to understand the rhythm inherent in that speech to authentically and consistently raise, drop, quicken or slow your speaking voice for acting.
