Y’know breathing is a reflex, the most natural thing in the world. But panic, such as a new situation or studio, a big story, the number of viewers … stops us breathing naturally. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both foc...
Feb 10, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Breath control will… give you a voice that’s stronger and more confident, rather than thin and breathy. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both focusing exclusively on your vocal image on audio and video channels with two m...
Feb 09, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 40
If your voice has more support it will have more ‘expressive agility’ to make your message more engaging. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both focusing exclusively on your vocal image on audio and video channels with two...
Feb 08, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Using vocal fry (sometimes referred to as ‘scraping the barrel of the voice’) reducing your ability to project and have colour, and using it for too long will cause your voice to tire. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, bot...
Feb 07, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 38
The slow relaxation of the diaphragm controls your airflow in a measured and consistent way. Such breath control will: · Give you more ‘vocal fuel’ for longer sentences and proper intonation, avoiding mumbling and ‘tailing off’ · Give you a voice that’s stronger and more confident, rather than thin and breathy · Give a more relaxed sound · Give the ability to breath less often, and less noticeably, so you can time your breaths to coincide with the natural breaks in your speech. From BBC presenta...
Feb 06, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 37
If you practice ‘fast-snatch, fast-release ’, it can lead to gabbled sentences and a garbled meaning, and so we need to be able to control the air as we exhale it. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both focusing exclusivel...
Feb 05, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Sit up straight and place a hand on your abdomen and the other in the centre of your chest. Then breathe in deeply and you should find the abdomen rises and then the chest expands and then on the exhale the abdomen falls and then the chest falls. So, you’re creating little waves with your body as you breathe. Such ‘leading from the abdomen’ helps create calm. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to ...
Feb 04, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Diaphragmatic breathing: · Relaxes the larynx which means you can speak for longer without getting hoarse · Brings in more air so you can get to the end of a sentence without running out · Better breathing gives you more confidence leading to a more relaxed body and a slightly lower register · Your shoulders are not rising and falling with each breath, a possible distraction for viewers · Your neck is less tense and so muscles and veins won’t be as obvious, again, noticeable on screen. From BBC ...
Feb 03, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 34
The air comes into the body ideally through the mouth or ideally the nostrils. It is natural to breathe through your mouth when presenting or in general conversation, as it is faster, but air breathed in through your nose is warmed, humidified and filtered before it travels to your lungs. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts,...
Feb 02, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 33
It’s easy! Even a baby could do it. In fact, they do, and so did we all until many of us ‘unlearnt’ it! From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both focusing exclusively on your vocal image on audio and video channels with two m...
Feb 01, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 32
It’s the military-type ‘stomach in, chest out’ way of breathing that makes the shoulders rise … and creates a pain in the neck, literally. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both focusing exclusively on your vocal image on ...
Jan 31, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 31
‘Breathing for broadcasters’ – how to do it properly; what ‘breath control’ is and how it will help you on air; how to cut down on ‘breath-snatches’; the various ways breath can help your voice sound richer and fuller; how CO2 can help your on-air COnfidence; breathing exercises; loads more tips and a few ‘voice coach’ stories… and the best sport for newsreaders to do. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily...
Jan 30, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Here’s how to perfect your posture. Have your feet shoulder-width apart and in line with your hips. Rock slightly on your soles so you feel a good balance between pressure on your toes and your heels. Your feet should feel ‘grounded’, with your big and small toes and your heel feeling in contact with the floor. Your back should not be ram-rod straight (there are natural curves in the back for a reason, to support parts of the body at different parts of the abdomen and torso), but it should still...
Jan 29, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Better breathing leads to less tension and more confidence, which is often the boost you need to get through your on-air miles. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both focusing exclusively on your vocal image on audio and v...
Jan 28, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 28
When you are sitting, your guts, stomach (and your large lunch) are displaced, and pushed into the dome of the diaphragm, restricting its ability to work properly. Standing allows things to settle back into a better place, and so help your breathing technique. If you need to sit and things feel a bit tight, then loosen a belt or undo a button to feel easier… just do it out of sight, and remember to do them up again later. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTE...
Jan 27, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 27
With radio and TV we are speaking to people we can’t see and yet they are sometimes many hundreds of miles away. To our prehistoric brain this doesn’t make sense. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both focusing exclusively...
Jan 26, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Sitting close to someone else with that person’s ear maybe two feet away, they may not project their voice quite as much as a sound engineer would like. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both focusing exclusively on your v...
Jan 25, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 25
The chair you are sitting on can give you a ‘confidence shot’, or a ‘confidence shock’. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both focusing exclusively on your vocal image on audio and video channels with two main aims: · To g...
Jan 24, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 24
The coccyx is commonly referred to as the tailbone, is at the bottom of your spine, and is the remnant of the tail that our ancestors had several million years ago. Indeed, other mammals have a similar bone and still have a tail, such as horses. The term coccyx is derived from the ancient Greek for ‘cuckoo’, as the last three or four bones of the coccyx resemble the beak of that bird. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE i...
Jan 23, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Consider that altering the settings on your chair is a little like altering the ‘settings’ in your physical stance or sitting position. A notch or two changes the backrest, a turn of the wheel to alter the tilt of the seat, a slight alteration of the armrest … Now review your own position : shifting your feet forward an inch or two, moving your body weight onto your bottom, raising your head a ‘notch’ or two. A series of slight alterations to ‘man and machine’ will relax you, create more confide...
Jan 22, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Most presenting roles happen from a seated position. And you can get a lot of help with sitting and therefore breathing by having an ergonomically adjustable chair. Every model is slightly different, and they can be quite expensive, but get one on which you can alter various parts of the mechanism. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV,...
Jan 21, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Air comes from breathing depends on breathing and muscle control, muscles which are almost always holding your hold body in a state of ‘relaxed tension’. Mental pressures are soon shown as ‘bad’ physical tension (for instance in your stomach, shoulders or jaw), which will affect your posture, breathing, and voice. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator ...
Jan 20, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 20
An exercise I have used with clients is to: · Have your back against the wall… · with shoulders and buttocks touching it too · Position your feet nearly touching the bottom of the wall, maintaining a good ‘grounded stance’, supporting your body on each complete foot (rather than the ball or the heel) · Now bend the knees and slide down the wall maintaining your posture as best you can. · Then reverse the movement and (if you can!) slide up the wall. On both occasions, try not to use the wall as ...
Jan 19, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Your spine affects your breathing – and you’re probably already starting to see now how all of your body is interconnected in helping you produce a good voice. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both focusing exclusively on...
Jan 18, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Humans known how to breath instinctively, it’s a natural responsive thing to do. Individually since our first few seconds on Planet Earth we have filled our lungs and screamed! But now we’ve got to unlearn all the bad posture and breathing habits we have picked up on that journey from bawling baby to baby broadcaster. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communica...
Jan 17, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Your voice is powered by air. And a good voice is supported by ‘good’ breathing and muscle control. To speak effectively, you use your entire body, not just your ‘voice box’. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both focusing...
Jan 16, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 16
After breathing, there follows a hugely complex system of linguistic gymnastics involving your vocal cords, tongue, teeth, and palates to form sounds as directed by your brain’s ‘memory bank’ of ‘what sounds in what order, make a sensible sentence’. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's th...
Jan 15, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 15
“Human beings live in what is probably the most sophisticated, complex living organism that’s ever walked on the face of the earth. What we can do with our system, or mind, our voice, the sounds we can make, are beyond any other creature. What we have is truly remarkable.” Peter Jacobson From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, ...
Jan 14, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 14
You may need an audio or video recording app on your phone, and probably an empty house! A word of warning: if you have not heard your ‘recorded self’ before you may be in for a surprise. That’s because we are used to hearing ourselves ‘internally’ because the effect that the various ‘sound-tunnels’ and vibrators in the skills have on the voice that we are producing ourselves. Only we hear us this way. Everyone else hears us the way you will hear you on tape. It feels awkward at first, but it’s ...
Jan 13, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Professional athletes like Usain know that a good warm-up can make a significant difference in terms of both injury prevention and running efficiency. From BBC presentation trainer Peter Stewart (@TweeterStewart), GET A BETTER BROADCAST, PODCAST AND VIDEO VOICE is a short, daily guide to help you become a stronger voice communicator on radio and TV, podcasts, video, voiceovers and webinars. It's the audio version of the book Peter's writing of the same name, both focusing exclusively on your voc...
Jan 12, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 12
