- Warming your vocal cords will give your voice a more resonant, forward sound, just as warm muscles will work longer and more smoothly. Speak out loud to yourself, in your normal voice or in the accent you want to practice. Then, hum for three to five minutes so that your lips vibrate. Speak again, listening to the differences. Your voice should sound slightly stronger and more resonant.
Open your mouth as if yawning and cycle through your vowels. With your mouth open, start with "oo" for about ten seconds. Move to "ah, eh, ee, eye, oh, you" saying each vowel sound for at least ten seconds. Cycle through your vowels this way about ten times. This will help eliminate nasal tones and replace them with resonance.
Breathe, sitting with your back straight and your legs crossed, or your feet flat on the ground if in a chair. Pull deep, slow breaths down into your lower abdomen and let them out just as slowly. This helps loosen tight muscles and vocal cords, lowering the register of your voice from a nervous squeak to something calmer and more pleasant. - Find a recording of the accent or voice pattern you want to match. Movies, voice CDs and sound bites are all good for this; just make sure you have a variety of words to listen to. Listen to the recording several times, paying close attention to how the speaker pronounces their vowels and the cadence of their words. Does the speaker draw out his or her O's? Are the R's rolled? Is the cadence stilted or rhythmic? Take note of all of these things.
Speak along with the recording, mimicking the speech as best you can. Don't worry about saying the sentences perfectly, just say as many words as you can with the speaker. Your mouth may get sore from using different muscles to speak differently. When your mouth is no longer sore after speaking with the recording, begin practicing by pausing the recording and repeating back sentences. Practice this each day until you feel comfortable, then begin practicing your voice on friends and family.
Warming the Voice
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