It was a total failure. Only a breath came out of my mouth, a scratchy nothing. That’s two years ago. Some nerves were injured during a thyroid operation. Diagnosis: unilateral vocal cord paralysis .
Not a day went by that I didn’t become painfully aware of how much I was missing something that I had taken for granted before – my voice. i am a journalist Interviews or radio recordings were suddenly unthinkable. On the playground I had to whisper frustratedly to other mothers if they could call my children for me. A speech therapist helped me step by step to find my voice again. train breathing. practice missions. loosen jaws tones. To hum. It was slowly getting better. But my voice didn’t suit me for a long time. She was too weak, too high, too brittle. That was not me. My hurt voice made me vulnerable.
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The voice color
Our voice is the first to tell when soul and body are out of balance. “Such a loss of voice is dramatic for those affected. It’s only when you don’t have one that you realize how important it is,” says Birgit Pascher, an ENT doctor from Friborg in Switzerland who specializes in hearing, speech and voice disorders. Experts like her know exactly how closely voice and mood, i.e. the psyche , are connected. Their sound often reveals first that the body-soul balance has gotten out of joint. “I have a thick neck,” we say when something annoys us. Others have to constantly clear their throats. And especially women speak (too) softly and (too) high.
But if you beep instead of speaking, you won’t be taken seriously. Even the best training and the greatest experience are useless. Thin voices are rarely heard. Or they are simply overruled by male organs. “Excuse me, sir, I haven’t finished my presentation yet,” Ms. could (and should) explain confidently and in a firm voice Let it be said?!” That no longer sounds confident. More like a stubborn child. Or – even worse – hysterical. Anyone who fights for listeners in this way may continue to talk, but he will no longer achieve anything.
The voice seminar
In the seminar , many women hear for the first time how strong their voice really is Communication trainer Paul Johannes Baumgartner from Munich knows this problem. “A no has to sound like a no. With many women, however, there is an invisible or,” explains the voice professional. Especially when the pitch goes up at the end of the sentence because of excitement or self-insecurity. What was intended as a statement becomes a question that sounds like a plea.
In Baumgartner’s seminar “The Power of the Female Voice”the participants therefore learn to present their points of view clearly and unequivocally. “Often, upbringing prevents women from speaking confidently,” says Baumgartner. “Many have been taught that women who loudly and clearly represent their position are hyenas.” This inner damper needs to be broken. In order to achieve this, Baumgartner analyzes the voices of his clients, practices conscious diaphragmatic breathing with them , lectures on posture, articulation and speaking speed. In the protected seminar atmosphere, many women get really loud for the first time. “It’s an important aha moment,” says Baumgartner.
Voice can be trained
That doesn’t mean, however, that whoever shouts the loudest is right. It also depends on the content. “If we are not sure about the content, this is expressed in our body language and also in our voice,” Baumgartner clarifies. And the Munich speech therapist Angela Rösch adds: “Our voice reveals, even unconsciously, what we actually think about the content of what is said.”
However, anyone who anxiously tries to avoid slips of the tongue because, as Sigmund Freud already warned, they reveal our innermost being, may to relax. “Such slips of the tongue are actually revealing something,” explains Prof. Gary Dell, linguist and psychologistat the University of Illinois in the USA, the current state of research. “But only how articulate we are.” No more, but also no less. Because the fact that we can speak at all is a masterpiece of our brain. To do this, three different “networks” have to be coordinated in fractions of a second. “They can sometimes trip over each other,” says Dell. The result: slips of the tongue. “Or imagine you’re having dinner with a colleague who’s wearing a new watch,” Dell continues. “Then it’s quite possible that you’ll order a watch from the waiter instead of a fork.” But that only shows that something is catching our attention.
Train the voice
Hidden Desires? none. The perfect voice? There is not any. But it can be trained like a muscle. Nonetheless, someone who is asked to take a position that they don’t actually support will probably sound unconvincing. Fear and joy can also be heard. Radio presenters therefore like to set up a mirror in front of them so that they remember to smile – and the voice sounds more likeable. Fear , on the other hand, narrows the voice. Anyone who is afraid of a lecture is stressed. This leads to muscle tension, less breathing volume, the vocal folds in the larynx come under pressure, and the mouth and throat feel dry. The result: the voice weakens – and that triggers new stress. “It’s a vicious circle“, says speech therapist Rösch. But this can be broken with relatively simple means. “If I notice that my voice becomes thin and squeaky when I’m stressed, it can help to do relaxation exercises such as Qigong or autogenic training ,” advises doctor Birgit Pascher . The perfect voice? There is not any! But everyone can train their voice, just like an athlete can train his body. Angela Rösch has therefore put together some exercises for Tolfioow. And my own voice? It’s full again. The nerve injury has healed. If I’m not tired and stressed, it even sounds better than before the operation thanks to speech training.
Here you will find Angela Rösch’s voice exercises for imitation and training.
