Spring 1992

ARTICLE TOOLS

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Jack felt his voice failing. It tired quickly, whether he was singing, counseling, or preaching. It often became weak and hoarse. Frequently he had a sore throat, and he had virtually no singing voice.

Jack increasingly strained in order to be heard. He kept turning up the volume on the PA. But he suspected this was a temporary solution at best. He would have to find a more permanent answer if he wanted to continue his public ministry.

Jack is like many ministers who fill their weeks with sermons, committee meetings, and countless conversations. Unintentionally, they abuse their voices. Voice fatigue sets in. Even if they don't develop chronic hoarseness, weakness, or vocal nodes, their effectiveness as speakers may be diminished by weakened or forced voices.

The human voice is like a musical instrument. And like a musical instrument, the voice is not always played beautifully. But you can train your voice to produce a pleasant, confident sound. As your skills increase, your voice can command more attention and strengthen the message-much as a virtuoso summons more from a musical composition than a beginner.

Some people think, God just didn't give me a good voice for speaking or singing. It's true that not everyone has "golden pipes," but anyone can improve the sound of his or her voice. The point is not to develop a "stained-glass voice" but to strengthen the natural voice we've been given.

After six months of voice lessons, learning the proper use of vocal muscles and breathing, Jack felt his voice becoming stronger. His hoarseness and sore throats cleared up, and his voice sounded better, too.

Here are some of the things Jack discovered to help improve his voice.

Since our bodies house our voices, good posture becomes ...

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