Today, I'll discuss speaking techniques, particularly avoiding showing lower teeth as we age. With time, certain muscles, especially the blue muscles, weaken, while the red muscles become stronger. Mature individuals tend to show fewer lower teeth when speaking, while younger people tend to show more. It's important to refrain from overusing certain muscles to prevent skin sagging and facial drooping. Let's practice vowel sounds without excessive jaw movement to maintain a youthful appearance and reduce tension in the neck and facial muscles.
1. Don't show lower teeth when speaking
Exercise 1 involves using a mirror or your phone's selfie mode to check your mouth movements while speaking. Hold your fist in a hook shape and repeat after me, focusing on not showing your lower teeth. Practice saying various sentences like "Hello" and "I like carrots" while holding the hook position. Try talking to someone on the phone or Zoom while maintaining this posture for as long as possible. After a few minutes, release the hook and continue speaking with the same posture. Use a camera to ensure that your lower teeth are not prominently visible. This exercise helps train you to minimize showing your lower teeth while speaking.
2. Tongue movement
Is about being aware of your mouth and tongue movements. When speaking, focus on keeping your tongue in the upper part of your mouth rather than letting it rest on the lower chin. This helps avoid excessive tension on the lower chin and prevents the showing of lower teeth. Instead, imagine the air pressure hitting the palate and resonating in the nasal cavity, which is where the sound should be produced. By maintaining this positioning, you can achieve better resonance and clarity in your speech.
3. Try to avoid throat speaking
Tip 3 advises against throat speaking and emphasizes the importance of maintaining relaxed shoulders and a down-turned neck when speaking. Throat speaking, also known as frog speaking or neck speaking, should be avoided. People with good looking faces often have better voices due to favorable facial structures for sound production. To summarize the three exercises and tips: 1) Hold the chin position while talking, gradually releasing the finger support. 2) Direct the air pressure to hit the palate. 3) Keep the shoulders down and the neck relaxed to prevent throat speaking.
Summary
These exercises and tips aim to improve your speaking technique and enhance your vocal presence. Exercise 1 focuses on not showing lower teeth while speaking, using a hook hand posture and practicing with sentences to train yourself. The second tip emphasizes tongue placement, keeping it in the upper part of your mouth to avoid tension on the lower chin and achieve better resonance. Finally, tip 3 advises against throat speaking and encourages relaxed shoulders and a downward neck position for optimal vocal production. By incorporating these practices, you can enhance your speech clarity and overall presentation.
