4 Benefits of Humming for Speaking Skills
The way you breathe has a direct effect on the voice.
To have a warmer voice, have silent and even breaths.
To have an annoying voice, have loud and uneven breaths.
Controlling your breath doesn’t have to be a boring process.
Instead, it can be quite delightful.
‘How can I make controlling my breath a delightful process, Armani?’
Through humming.
Humming is a way for you to view your voice as a musical instrument.
Humming is known as melodically warping your voice.
In this article, you will learn some staggering benefits of humming.
Benefit #1: Better Speaking Voice
Have you ever seen a ukulele before?
Those tiny-looking guitars.
Imagine if you are just strumming 1 string the entire time.
Will it sound good?
‘No, not really.’
But imagine if you add at least 1 new string to the ukulele.
Automatically, you have opened up more possibilities.
When opening up more possibilities, you are capable of generating more sounds.
Go on…
Add another string!
The voice works in a similar way too.
A person with a monotone voice predominantly uses 1 vocal cord.
By humming, they are capable of discovering new vocal cords.
More strings to build a melodic voice.
That’s one of the benefits of humming.
Benefit #2: Vocal Stamina
A common problem with public speaking is stamina.
It’s easy to get tired when you have been speaking for a long time.
With the humming technique, you are capable of warming up the vocal cords more.
This allows you to exercise the micro muscles around the throat region.
Strengthened micro muscles allow for more movement.
Which means you have loosened tissues for the breath to flow through.
Seamless breathing keeps you cool and composed.
The words flow out rather than being pushed out.
Soon, you have more stamina when you are speaking.
Benefit #3: Reduces Stress
When we fight anxiety by thinking, we get more anxiety.
When we fight anxiety with action, we get peace.
Humming is when you consciously alter your breath for melodic sounds.
By doing this, you bring the mind back to the present reality.
Once you come back to the present reality, nerves melt.
Therefore, humming is a strategic way of stabilizing the mind back to the present moment.
The power of now allows you to feel calm.
A speaker who is calm makes their points with crystal clarity.
Benefit #4: Better Delivery
Growing up, I wasn’t a big fan of dissecting music.
I would listen to songs but wouldn’t bother analyzing them.
By the time I began recording a podcast, I would listen back to my episodes.
Some episodes sounded very choppy.
And I didn’t like that.
I wanted it to sound smoother.
I wanted it to be more melodic.
Like hearing a song.
So, I began seeing how rappers, singers, and producers viewed their music.
How would they go about listening to rhythms?
They had a scientific approach to consuming music.
I became fascinated.
Soon, I discovered that rhythms didn’t just stop at music.
It also spilled over to communication as well.
A powerful preacher has a rhythm to their voice.
The rhythmic voice hooks the audience members to the preacher’s sermon.
I do not know if the preacher is consciously or subconsciously altering their voice.
But often, when you believe in your message a lot, there is a rhythm that begins emerging.
With humming, you soon begin to perceive the musicality behind messages.
You no longer only hear raw words.
Instead, you hear the tone.
If you are someone who often gets into disagreements and is like:
‘I didn’t even say anything bad…’
Then it was probably your tone.
The delivery, my friend.
With humming, you improve your delivery.
Soon, sharp messages are better received.
How and When to Practice Humming
‘Okay, when should I practice and how should I get started?’
That really depends on you.
Freestyle with some humming sounds that work for you.
Or go on YouTube and find a rhythm that captures your interest.
You’ll have a base to get started with and can experiment from there.
‘When should I practice?’
Once again, that really depends on you.
For example, right before recording YouTube videos…
Rather than thinking too much about what you are going to say.
You can do a quick humming session.
By humming, you warm up your voice and bring yourself back to the present moment.
Another time to practice humming is right before you are about to practice your speech.
You have a speech coming up for your sister’s wedding.
All eyes are going to be on you.
So, you’re practicing by yourself.
Before you start practicing, hum. This will allow you to:
- Warm up your voice.
- Make yourself present.
- Feel mentally stimulated.
- And use your instrument to its maximum potential.
How and when you hum is up to you.
The purpose of this article was to show that humming is not something that only sounds cool.
It’s also a fun way to improve your speaking skills and feel calmer in the process.
Speak Easy and Speak Smoothly
Now you know some of the benefits of humming.
If you are bored and are looking for an exercise to polish up your speaking game, try humming.
It’s not just a time suck.
Humming has practical benefits that will allow you to:
- Feel calmer.
- Sound warmer.
- And improve your overall delivery.
The more you know the voice, the more you view it as an instrument.
The more you view it as an instrument, the more you are willing to experiment.
And the more you are willing to experiment, the more you are like the ukelele player discovering one new string after another.
For more practical tips on improving your speaking skills, be sure to check out my book:
- Speak Easy: How to Be Articulate, Assertive, and Audacious Around People.
This book will help you discover what to talk about, how to deliver your message, and how to polish up your delivery over time.
