During her time, Pam invited us into the world of fine speech and sustainable breathing technique! She highlighted that many of us have fallen into the terrible habit of vertical breathing. This style of breathing only utilizes the top portion of our lungs limiting our oxygen intake while simultaneously putting unnecessary stain on our shoulder and neck muscles. Sustainable and proper breathing involves full use of your diaphragm which allows your stomach to expand completely filling your lungs. When it comes to speech, there have been a number of quirks she has identified and helped her clients overcome through a variety of exercise to control tone, volume, and power.
Pam’s training and experience as a singer taught her how the vocal instrument works and how to make it more powerful. Her experience as a voiceover artist gave her insights into how different parts of the voice affect the listener in very specific ways.
Pam has held workshops for U.S. Attorneys, trainers with GE Healthcare, the local chapter of ATD, and the Women’s Business Council at SC Johnson. She also works with individual clients.
Below are a list of common exercises and a link to a Ted talk discussing proper breathing habits.
Exercises
- Body position – stand, bend over at the waist, slow roll up, stacking the vertebrae and then pulling the string up through the top of the head.
- Head position – push head forward then bring back to position – look in the mirror to check there is no double chin
- Breathing – fill the belt around the waist, let the abdomen pop out
- High hoot to find the upper register – feel the vibration between your eyebrows and behind your eyes
- Upper middle register – breath through the nose then yawn - feel the openness on the roof of your mouth and space behind your front teeth – feel the vibration in your cheekbones – say “hi” as a breathy Marilyn Monroe
- Middle register– tongue flat and low, tip touching the back of the bottom teeth –say Ahh, Ayy, Eee, Ooooh, Oooo . Fill the hand six inches in front of your mouth with air– show your teeth - feel the vibration behind your top teeth
- Lower register – say “huh” with lots of air - feel the vibration in your breastbone