Free Public Speaking Course

How to Improve your Vocal Fitness

Exercises to help you learn to speak clearly and confidently

How will improving my Vocal Fitness and voice improve my confidence?

Vocal Fitness gives you better control

The muscles that make up your voice are no different to the muscles that make up your body.

A person who can lift 200kg in the gym has a surplus of lifting strength and stability. This means they can move weights more than the weights move them (otherwise the bar wouldn’t lift, it would tip or fall to the ground). Strong people don’t lose their balance, they don’t get injured, they can go faster, and lift more for longer.

In a similar way, a person can develop surplus of vocal strength and stability. Their mouth muscles can better control the mass of their tongue as it moves around the mouth to make sounds. They don’t lisp, they don’t mumble, they can speak more clearly, with more volume and control of their vocal variety.

Better control makes you more engaging

When you have better control of your voice (surplus of vocal strength and stability) you can better match what you’re saying to how you want to say it.

Having this Hollywood level of vocal fitness makes you pleasant to listen to, which makes audiences engage with and appreciate your content more.

So let’s get started and build up your vocal fitness!

Lesson 1

Increasing vocal strength and stability

Why?

Because increasing your accuracy and speed will cause your mouth muscles to adapt and strengthen.

Words with a SH sound (Show) require your tongue to contract inwards to allow space for air to hiss.

With with a TH sound (That) require your tongue to lengthen to the back of your front teeth.

When you have to move the mass of your tongue quickly from in to out - some might “overshoot” and their tongue will bypass the teeth on TH sounds - causing a lisp.

Here is a range of different sounds that will form part of our strength and stability practice:

Stops/plosives (stopping and releasing air)

P, B, T, D, K, G

Fricatives (vibrating and hissing air)

F, V, S, Z, SH, TH

Affricates (releasing air sharply)

CH, J

Nasals (resonating air through the nose)

M, N, NG

Liquids & glides (running air over a held position)

L, R, Y, W

Lesson 2

Repeat these sentences 3x as fast as you can

If you stumble or mumble a word it doesn’t count

Use a stopwatch

Try to go faster than my times

GENERAL PRONUNCIATION

"Peter briskly packed the blue crate with crisp crackers."

(P/B vs. K/G → hard plosive shifts)

"She sells sharp shells swiftly, though thick thistles still thrive."

(SH ↔ S ↔ TH clusters → fricative challenge)

"Greg’s grand gray dragon growled and grasped green grapes."

(G/K ↔ R clusters → back-to-front tongue shifts)

"The quick judge checked Jill’s jokes just before January."

(CH ↔ J → affricate contrasts)

"Frank’s vivid voice veered from fervent whispers to frozen shrieks."

(F/V ↔ W ↔ SH → labiodental ↔ glides ↔ fricatives)

"Larry rarely rolled red rugs right around the room."

(L ↔ R minimal pairs → liquid contrast workout)

"Many nimble men mention numbers while humming harmonies."

(M ↔ N ↔ NG nasal family, with vowel variation)

"Yolanda usually yells yet yearns for yellow yachts."

(Y glides ↔ vowels → front-of-mouth agility)

"The swift squirrel squirmed strangely through the shrinking shrub."

(S/SH/SK clusters → fricative + consonant blend agility)

"Bright vowels arise as ice, oak, and air echo out loud."

(Full vowel spread, with diphthongs and open/closed contrasts)

Lesson 3

Repeat these sentences 3x as fast as you can

If you stumble or mumble a word it doesn’t count

Use a stopwatch

Try to go faster than my times

Fricatives (F, V, S, Z, SH, TH)

"The thoughtful thief couldn’t fathom the fisherman’s swift shift of fortune."

(TH ↔ F ↔ SH)

T: 7:10

"The vicious thief thoughtfully vanished before the chef’s shout."

(V ↔ TH ↔ F ↔ SH)

T: 5:03

"The thief thought the fisherman’s philosophy was foolish yet fascinating."

(TH ↔ F ↔ SH)

T: 5:97

"Vivid visions of philosophy vanish when the thief shifts focus."

(V ↔ PH/F ↔ SH ↔ TH)

T: 6:24

"She thoughtfully shifted the vicissitudes of fate into a fashionable phrase."

(TH ↔ SH ↔ S ↔ F)

T: 7:54

"The fisherman’s father found himself flustered by the thief’s vicissitudes."

(F ↔ TH ↔ S ↔ V)

T: 7:40

"Thoughtfully, the thief thanked the fisherman for the fresh fish."

(TH ↔ F ↔ SH)

T: 5:55

"Few fathom how swiftly vicissitudes shift from fortune to failure."

(F ↔ TH ↔ S ↔ SH)

T: 6:90

"The thoughtful fisherman fashioned a phrase to fend off the thieving visitor."

(TH ↔ F ↔ SH ↔ V)

T: 6:90

"Vicissitudes often vex thieves who think too fast and fish too slowly."

(V ↔ TH ↔ F ↔ S)

T: 6:95

"Through vicissitudes and fathoms, the thoughtful thief fished for fairness."

(TH ↔ F ↔ SH ↔ V)

T: 7:10

"She thoughtfully shifted from fathom to thief, then from fisherman to vicissitudes."

T: 7:75

"The theater thief vanished with a fashionable flourish."

(TH ↔ F ↔ SH ↔ V)

T: 4:04

"She viciously shifted the philosophy from foolish to fresh."

(V ↔ SH ↔ TH ↔ F)

T: 4:97

"The feverish philosopher found solace in a swift shift of vision."

(F ↔ V ↔ SH ↔ S)

T: 7:14

"Thoughtful visitors vanish swiftly when faced with fierce challenges."

(TH ↔ V ↔ S ↔ F ↔ CH)

T: 6:50

"She fashioned a feverish phrase that vexed the vicious critic."

(SH ↔ F ↔ V ↔ S)

T: 5:70

"The chef thoughtfully chose a fresh fish for the festive feast."

(SH ↔ TH ↔ F ↔ S)

T: 6:10

"A foolish visitor thought the fashionable shop was vanishing soon."

(F ↔ V ↔ TH ↔ SH)

T: 5:30

"Through feverish shifts, the philosopher fashioned a vivid vision."

(TH ↔ F ↔ SH ↔ V)

T: 6:17

Lesson 4

Repeat these sentences 3x as fast as you can

If you stumble or mumble a word it doesn’t count

Use a stopwatch

Try to go faster than my times

Agility between Fricatives and stops/plosives

voiced ↔ unvoiced alternations (e.g. V vs P, Z vs T)

front ↔ back tongue shifts (TH/S ↔ K/G)

"Fred packed five fresh peppers before breakfast."

(F ↔ P/B → labiodental fricative to plosive burst)

"The swift bats fought fiercely for food."

(S/F ↔ B/T → alveolar and labiodental against bilabials)

"Victor’s voice boomed between vast valleys."

(V ↔ B → voiced fricative to voiced plosive)

"Sophie carefully placed six sharp spears."

(S/SH ↔ P → fricatives into bilabial stop)

"The thief tried to break through the stone steps."

(TH ↔ T/B ↔ S → interdental fricative into stops)

"Frost covered the crisp potato patch."

(FR cluster ↔ P/T → labiodental to alveolar)

"Busy zebras darted swiftly past the fences."

(Z ↔ D/T ↔ S/F → rapid voiced/unvoiced changes)

"Sheepish chefs dropped fresh fish fillets."

(SH/F ↔ D/P → palato-alveolar fricatives into plosives)

"The grave king gave gifts with a soft sigh."

(G/K ↔ V/F/S → velar stops mixed with fricatives)

"Philip’s photo captured puffing volcanoes."

(PH/F ↔ P/K → fricative to plosive contrast in clusters)