Your voice can be one of the most powerful and revealing things about you. Does yours support or detract from you and what you want to say? Research indicates a clearer voice, with lower pitch and more vocal variety, is preferred by listeners. You have more control over your voice than you realize, and can use specific voice techniques to bring greater impact to your words.

In this stimulating day led by speech pathologist Laura Purcell Verdun, explore the foundations of healthy, effective, and dynamic voice use. Through presentations augmented by in-class exercises, learn how the voice works; how vocal demands, as well as the voice itself, change throughout the lifespan; techniques for improving vocal quality; and how to empower the voice you depend on every day of your life.

9:30–10:45 a.m. How Your Voice Works

Examine your voice as a biomechanical system that works through the coordination and balance of airflow, vocal-fold vibrations, and resonance.

11 a.m.–12:15 p.m.  Your Voice Across the Lifespan

Different stages of life bring their own vocal demands. Younger speakers may want a more confident voice. Older speakers may require a stronger, clearer voice: As people stay active longer, their voices need to endure. Verdun considers how to keep your voice healthy; medical and physical influences on voice function and impairment; what determines vocal quality; features that make a more (or less) desirable voice; and the characteristics of voices that lead and influence. 

12:15–1:30 p.m.  Lunch (participants provide their own)

1:30–2:45 p.m.  Your Speaking-Voice Toolbox

Pick up practical techniques to improve the resonance of your voice, make optimum use of breath, and pace your speech. Explore how to vary your inflection, make your voice loud enough so you are heard the first time (without sounding angry), and to cultivate vocal endurance that gets you through the day. Strategies for preventing or improving on vocal challenges as you age are also covered.

3–4 p.m.  Preventative Wellness for Your Voice

Take home tips for daily voice care; strategies for recovery following strain and overuse; and useful vocal exercises.

Verdun, owner of Voicetrainer, LLC, is a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist and communication coach with more than 20 years’ experience in the refinement of voice and rehabilitation of voice disorders.