3-Week Challenge: Learn to Speak Louder (Get a Louder Voice)

The science behind this program

To learn how to speak louder, it’s important to uncover the root of the issue. You don’t have to spend years diagnosing the actual reason why you can’t speak louder. We’ll try to fix all the five main problems through daily exercises and tasks, and since all of their benefits overlap each other quite nicely, you’ll unlock a louder voice by the end three weeks (or sooner) assuming you are consistent. Sometimes you may see the effects right after an exercise, but for a lasting change, you’ll need to complete the challenge.

There are 7 main problems hindering your ability to speak louder:

  1. Non-diaphragmatic inhalation
  2. Improper breathe support
  3. Poor vocal resonance/placement
  4. Incomplete vocal fold closure
  5. Shyness/insecurity
  6. Posture
  7. Vocal underuse

Please read about them in detail (information about posture and vocal underuse is provided in the rules below).

  • Non-diaphragmatic inhalation
  • Improper breath support
  • Poor vocal resonance
  • Vocal cord closure
  • Shyness/insecurity

When you use your diaphragm to breathe, you bring air into the lower part of your lungs. These lower lobes have a larger surface area than the upper ones, allowing you to take in more air.

This extra air gives your voice more power, making it significantly louder when you speak. This is how you fully engage your respiratory system while talking.

However, simply inhaling with the diaphragm is not enough on its own. The real power and control comes from the exhalation phase when vocalizing.


Here’s a video of the diaphragm contracting (moving downward to increase the space for your lungs expand) and relaxing.

Rules (Important)

  1. Posture: Posture plays a major role in your lack of projecting your voice. Since we spend most of our time sitting nowadays, you’ll have to perform some daily 5-minute exercises for your posture through this challenge.

    Please understand that if your posture is poor, the other tips will not work. You might be mind blown by the improvement posture alone can bring. Follow this video for instructions.
  1. Vocal underuse: Most people naturally learn to speak loudly when their job or environment requires consistent vocal projection. Humans adapt; if you don’t use your voice enough, it loses its ability to project.

    After each day’s exercises, you’ll read aloud for at least 5 minutes, keeping the text at eye level instead of looking down.

    Optionally, try to speak from your diaphragm instead of straining your throat, even if you don’t fully understand the technique yet. Keep this mindset during the reading practice.

    Additionally, you can try using your voice more in daily life to practice. Instead of texting, call people. Go out more and engage in conversations. You could even pretend you’re being interviewed and record yourself on camera speaking out loud. Get creative in finding ways to use your voice more regularly.

  2. Real-life projection: On certain days, you’ll be given tasks that require you to speak louder with real people. Before attempting to project your voice, remember to never tense up your muscles. Instead, consciously try to relax your muscles, even if you’re unsure of the specific technique. Simply tell yourself to “relax my muscles” with the intention of staying loose and untensed. Additionally, make an effort to slow down your rate of speech while projecting your voice louder.

  3. Reminder: Set a daily reminder on your phone (preferably early in the day) to read your day’s challenge.

Are you prepared to get a stronger and powerful voice? Make sure you’re ready to be consistent.

Fun Fact:

Contrary to popular belief, the chest cavity does not actually resonate or amplify the voice. It lacks the proper air-filled spaces required for resonance. The true resonating areas are the throat, mouth, and nasal cavities. Any vibrations felt in the chest result from efficient vocal cord vibrations, not from the chest itself resonating the sound.

The program: speak louder

Day 1: the feel

This first day, you’ll get a feel of what it is like to use your diaphragm to breathe.

To get started, download an interval timer app that accurately guides you on when to inhale and when to exhale.

You can create an online timer here. Now follow these steps:

Diaphragmatic breathing
  1. Set both your inhale & exhale timer to 5 seconds for today

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Inhale through your nose for 5 seconds and feel your belly expand 👃

  4. Making sure only your belly is moving, and your shoulders and chest don’t move much 🧘

  5. Initially, you can keep one of your hands on your belly and the other one on your chest to make sure you’re breathing properly 🫱

  6. It’s important to avoid forcing or holding your breath, as this can lead to tension and strain in your vocal muscles. This can happen when you try to inhale or exhale for too long or too forcefully 😶

  7. When you force your breath, you may feel a sense of tightness or discomfort in your chest or throat 😔

  8. As you exhale through your mouth for 5 seconds, imagine that your belly button is being pulled back toward your spine 😮‍💨

  9. When you exhale, allow your breath to flow out smoothly and steadily, without trying to push the air out forcefully

  10. Do this exercise for 5 minutes

Here’s an example:

Day 2: Lip Trills

Lip trills help you with resonance as it helps balance oral/nasal resonance. This allows your voice to resonate forward through the oral cavity for better projection. It also helps with breathe support as you have to make sure there’s enough air for a long lip trill. Overall, it’s a good exercise to get a louder voice.

This is a video by Vinh Giang, who’s a communication expert. Follow this video to complete today’s task. He suggests you do this exercise everyday, which you can do as an additional exercise, but it’s completely optional.

Part TWO: Insecurity exercise I

After completing today’s “home exercise”, you’ll practice projecting your voice outside. When speaking to people (e.g., store employees), instead of your typical distance, take one step back. Speak to them from that slightly increased distance. Don’t be concerned about others overhearing you – in fact, intentionally project your voice so others around can hear you as well. Repeat this exercise in 3 different situations with 3 different people today.

Day 3: Proper vocal fold closure

As you know by now that if your vocal folds don’t close properly while phonation, your sound will be breathy and will lack strength. This makes your voice less louder than it could be. The “Go” sound is known close your vocal folds properly. So, that’s what you’ll practice today.

Watch this video and then follow the instructions.

The Go sound
  1. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  2. Follow along the above video, making a “Go” sound on the scale 📺

  3. There are 5 exercises, do each exercise for one minute ⌚

Day 4: exhale and sound

This exercise is similar to the day one’s exercise. The only difference is that you’ll make a sound while exhaling with your diaphragm this time. This will train your diaphragm for both inhalation and breathe control, training you speak louder.

Make a timer here and follow the instructions.

Diaphragmatic breathing with sound
  1. Set both your inhale & exhale timer to 5 seconds for today

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Inhale through your nose for 5 seconds and feel your belly expand 👃

  4. Making sure only your belly is moving, and your shoulders and chest don’t move much 🧘

  5. It’s important to avoid forcing or holding your breath, as this can lead to tension and strain in your vocal muscles. This can happen when you try to inhale or exhale for too long or too forcefully 😶

  6. When you force your breath, you may feel a sense of tightness or discomfort in your chest or throat 😔

  7. As you exhale, make an “HAH” sound for 5 seconds, making sure you’re not out of breathe before the time ends 🔊

  8. Make sure that you allow the breathe to leave your body instead of forcing it out while making the sound (notice your belly relaxing slowly) 😮‍💨

  9. Do this exercise for 5 minutes

Day 5: Grounding

This exercise helps you feel what using your full voice might feel like. And the bounces make sure that your diaphragm are producing the “HAH” sound. Take off your shoes, set a timer for 5 minutes and follow along what’s shown in the video.

Part TWO: Insecurity exercise II

After completing today’s “home exercise”, you’ll practice projecting your voice outside. When speaking to people (e.g., store employees), you have to make sure 1-2 more people hear your conversation with the person you’re talking to. Try to go out and find opportunities to do this task with 5 people today.
Try to do this everyday, or at least have the intention of doing so.

Day 6: Vocal Straw exercise I

As you know now, for an amplified voice, you need to place your speaking voice properly. Today you’ll do another exercise for that using a straw. Get a thin straw (barrel of a pen also works if it’s thin), watch the video and read the instructions.

  • Exercise I
  • Exercise II
  • Exercise III
  1. Set a timer for 2 minutes
  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑
  3. Put the straw in your mouth 🥤
  4. Take a deep diaphragmatic breathe through your nose 👃
  5. Start humming through the straw without changing the pitch 🫨
  1. Same as exercise one but this time, after every second of humming, pause the hum for a second, but continue blowing air through the straw ⏯️
  2. Make sure while both humming and blowing the air, the effort is exactly equal 🌬️
  3. Repeat for 2 minutes
  1. Same as exercise I but this time vocalize little bumps into the sound, with the same pitch, like shown in the video 🌬️
  2. Don’t breathe in through the straw. Only breathe in through the nose 👃
  3. Do this for 2 minutes

Day 7: Panting

Today, you will strengthen your diaphragm more directly using panting. This exercise helps you speak louder in three main ways:

  1. It helps strengthen your weak diaphragm muscles.
  2. It teaches you what it feels like to exhale using your diaphragm.
  3. It gives you an idea of what it feels like phonate with the help of your diaphragm.

Firstly, you’ll pant without sound, then you’ll pant with some sound and finally, you’ll do scales panting. Watch this video, then read the instructions and start the exercise.

  • Panting without sound
  • Panting with sound
  • Scales panting
  1. Set a timer for 2 minutes
  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑
  3. Pant slowly without making a sound for 1 minute, making sure your abs are relaxed ‍💨,
  4. Start increasing the panting speed after the first minute until the timer ends
  1. Set a timer for 2 minutes
  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑
  3. Pant slowly while making a sound for 1 minute, making sure you feel that it’s coming from your diaphragm instead of your throat ‍💨
  4. Start increasing the panting speed after the first minute until the timer ends
  1. Set a timer for 2 minutes
  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑
  3. Pant slowly while making a sound for 1 minute, going from a low pitch to a high pitch sound 🎼
  4. Make sure you feel that it’s coming from your diaphragm instead of your throat ‍💨
  5. Start increasing the panting speed after the first minute until the timer ends

Day 8: vocal fold closure exercises

Today you will train your vocal folds to come together just enough to touch and produce an optimal sound, not less so that you’re voice is breathy and not more so that you’re vocal folds press.

You’ll use a virtual piano app to for your warm up. You don’t have to produce the exact match note, just try to come close. Think of it this: “Would my sound match with this note if it were a song?”

Here’s the app: https://www.musicca.com/piano

Different notes should be used to match for men and women

Watch the video and follow the instructions.

  • Warmup
  • Exercise
  1. Set a timer for 1 minute
  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑
  3. Make a kind of nasally “E” sound, as shown in the video 🔊
  4. Try to match the note of the “E” sound with the piano note as shown in the video 🎹
  5. Make sure you’re not feeling any discomfort in your throat 😩
  1. Set a timer for 5 minutes ⌛
  2. Make sure your lips are barely open throughout the exercise 👄
  3. You will feel some vibration around your mouth 🫨
  4. Glide from your lowest note to your highest note saying the word “Know” (or “Whoop” or “Wooo”) ☝️
  5. Now glide from your highest note to your lowest note saying the same word 👇
  6. Repeat both the variations until the timer ends

Day 9: Realistic Diaphramatic breathing

Another diaphragmatic strengthening exercise to get a louder voice. We’re making it more realistic step-by-step. This time you won’t inhale for longer since you don’t inhale for 5 seconds in real life before speaking.

Here are some facts:

  • When people speak normally, the inhalation or breath intake is typically quite brief, lasting only around 0.2 to 0.5 seconds.
  • Exhalation (breathing out) during speech is much longer, usually around 4-6 seconds before needing to inhale again.
  • The inhalation is usually through the nose to allow continued vocalization during the brief breath intake period.
  • Speakers tend to inhale after exhaling about 75-90% of their vital lung capacity during speech exhalation

Make a timer here and follow the instructions.

Realistic Diaphragmatic breathing
  1. Set both the inhale timer to 1 seconds & exhale timer to 5 seconds

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Inhale through your nose for 1 second and feel your belly expand 👃

  4. Making sure only your belly is moving, and your shoulders and chest don’t move much 🧘

  5. As you exhale, make an “HAH” sound for 5 seconds, making sure you’re not out of breathe before the time ends 🔊

  6. Make sure you allow your breathe to leave your body instead of forcing it out 😮‍💨

  7. Do this exercise for 5 minutes

Day 10: Vocal Straw exercise II

You’ll do the same vocal straw exercises again today. This exercise is very impactful in helping you speak louder with ease. Here you go:

  • Exercise I
  • Exercise II
  • Exercise III
  1. Set a timer for 2 minutes
  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑
  3. Put the straw in your mouth 🥤
  4. Take a deep diaphragmatic breathe through your nose 👃
  5. Start humming through the straw without changing the pitch 🫨
  1. Same as exercise one but this time, after every second of humming, pause the hum for a second, but continue blowing air through the straw ⏯️
  2. Make sure while both humming and blowing the air, the effort is exactly equal 🌬️
  3. Repeat for 2 minutes
  1. Same as exercise I but this time vocalize little bumps into the sound, with the same pitch, like shown in the video 🌬️
  2. Don’t breathe in through the straw. Only breathe in through the nose 👃
  3. Do this for 2 minutes

Part TWO: Insecurity exercise III

This time after completing your home exercises, go out and when speaking to people (e.g., store employees), instead of your typical distance, take two steps back. Speak to them from that slightly increased distance. Repeat this exercise in 3 different situations with 3 different people today. Try to do this everyday, or at least have the intention of doing so.

Day 11: two words exhale

This is the same diaphragmatic breathing exercise you did earlier but this time you’ll exhale two words as you allow yourself to exhale using your diaphragm.

Make a timer here and follow the instructions.

two words exhale
  1. Set both the inhale timer to 1 seconds & exhale timer to 5 seconds

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Inhale through your nose for 1 second and feel your belly expand 👃

  4. Making sure only your belly is moving, and your shoulders and chest don’t move much 🧘

  5. During the exhale, as your belly button naturally moves back towards your spine, speak any two words of your choice while extending the sound of those words for the entire duration of your exhale 🔊

  6. Make sure you’re not out of breathe before the exhale timer ends ⏰

  7. Make sure you allow your breathe to leave your body instead of forcing it out 😮‍💨

  8. Do this exercise for 5 minutes

Day 12: Glottal compression

Glottal compression refers to the resistance of vocal folds to airflow, plays a key role in managing pressure and airflow during speech and singing. In the video, the speaker shows three exercises:

  1. MM exercise
  2. Continuity glottal compression
  3. Added vowel “Aaa”

Watch the video and do each exercise for 2 minutes (total of 6 minutes).

Day 13: Diaphragmatic reading

This is the same diaphragmatic breathing exercise you did earlier but this time as you exhale, you’ll read for 3 seconds while varying your tone a lot. You’ll vary your tone a lot because people tend to become monotone while doing this exercise.

Varying your voice means adding more emotions to your voice, as if you’re acting on a stage. You exaggerate emotions in your words, you try to feel the words more, try doing the same while reading here.

Make a timer here and follow the instructions.

Diaphragmatic reading
  1. Set both the inhale timer to 1 seconds & exhale timer to 3 seconds

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Inhale through your nose for 1 second and feel your belly expand 👃

  4. Making sure only your belly is moving, and your shoulders and chest don’t move much 🧘

  5. During, as your belly button naturally moves back towards your spine, read any thing slowly for 3 seconds while projecting your voice 📖

  6. Avoid looking down while reading try to keep the text at your eye level and make sure you’re not out of breathe before the exhale timer ends ⏰

  7. Make sure you allow your breathe to leave your body instead of forcing it out 😮‍💨

  8. Do this exercise for 5 minutes

Part TWO: Insecurity exercise IV

After completing today’s “home exercise”, you’ll practice projecting your voice outside. When speaking to people (e.g., store employees), you have to make sure 2-3 more people hear your conversation with the person you’re talking to. Try to go out and find opportunities to do this task with 5 people today.
Try to do this everyday, or at least have the intention of doing so.

Day 14: forward placement

You’ll do two exercises today.

I already told you about the “throaty” voice problem (sound not resonating and amplifying in the open, forward oral cavity). This heavily prevents you from projecting your voice. Today you’ll fisrt practice feeling the resonance in your mask (forward placement) and then you’ll place it (making a sound and feeling the resonance in your mask at the same time).

Watch this clip and then read the instructions to start the first exercise.

Humming
  1. Set a timer for 5 minutes

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Take a deep breathe through your nose and feel your belly expand 👃

  4. Making sure only your belly is moving, and your shoulders and chest don’t move much 🧘

  5. As you exhale, start humming with your mouth closed. Make sure you feel the vibrations near your lips and nose 🫨

Now, you’ll hum and make sounds in combination to feel your mask area resonating while you’re making make sounds. This exercise helps you practice amplifying your sounds in the mask area before they come out, making your speaking voice louder.

Watch this video clip and then read the instructions to start the exercise.

Humming with sound
  1. Set a timer for 5 minutes

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Take a deep breathe through your nose and feel your belly expand 👃

  4. Making sure only your belly is moving, and your shoulders and chest don’t move much 🧘

  5. As you exhale, start humming. As you hum, open your mouth and make a sound. You’ll still feel some vibrations but mostly inside your mouth this time. Don’t worry too much about perfection 🫨

Day 15: Stretching

This exercise focuses on stretching your vocal cords to target the cricothyroid muscle. Keep your lips barely touching. This setup allows for vibrations in the lips, teeth, or nose, indicating the use of a semi-occluded vocal tract. This means the vocal cords lightly touch without breathiness.

With the word “know,” you’ll glide from your lowest to the highest note, maintaining the open throat and slightly parted lips. Feeling vibrations in the front of the mouth is a good sign.

Repeat 10-15 times.

Part TWO: Insecurity exercise V

This time after completing your home exercises, go out and when speaking to people (e.g., store employees), instead of your typical distance, take two steps back. Speak to them from that slightly increased distance. Repeat this exercise in 3 different situations with 3 different people today. Try to do this everyday, or at least have the intention of doing so.

Day 16: Diaphragmatic reading II

Repeat the diaphragmatic reading exercise you did on day 13. Make sure to read with pitch and tone variations.

Make a timer here and follow the instructions.

Diaphragmatic reading
  1. Set both the inhale timer to 1 seconds & exhale timer to 3 seconds

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Inhale through your nose for 1 second and feel your belly expand 👃

  4. Making sure only your belly is moving, and your shoulders and chest don’t move much 🧘

  5. During, as your belly button naturally moves back towards your spine, read any thing slowly for 3 seconds while projecting your voice 📖

  6. Avoid looking down while reading try to keep the text at your eye level and make sure you’re not out of breathe before the exhale timer ends ⏰

  7. Make sure you allow your breathe to leave your body instead of forcing it out 😮‍💨

  8. Do this exercise for 5 minutes

Day 17: Vocal cord closure exercises

Another vocal cord strengthening exercise. Try to feel your vocal cord coming together lightly and not too hard. Sometimes people over correct and this ends up making things worse.

This video shows 6 exercises, follow the instructions and do each exercise for a minute.

Part TWO: Insecurity exercise VI

After completing today’s “home exercise”, you’ll practice projecting your voice outside. When speaking to people (e.g., store employees), you have to make sure 3-4 more people hear your conversation with the person you’re talking to. Try to go out and find opportunities to do this task with 5 people today.
Try to do this everyday, or at least have the intention of doing so.

Day 18: Diaphragmatic reading III

Making the diaphragmatic speaking exercise more realistic, you’ll be reading for 5 seconds now. Make sure to read with pitch and tone variations.

Make a timer here and follow the instructions.

Diaphragmatic reading
  1. Set both the inhale timer to 1 seconds & exhale timer to 5 seconds

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Inhale through your nose for 1 second and feel your belly expand 👃

  4. Making sure only your belly is moving, and your shoulders and chest don’t move much 🧘

  5. During, as your belly button naturally moves back towards your spine, read any thing slowly for 5 seconds while projecting your voice 📖

  6. Avoid looking down while reading try to keep the text at your eye level and make sure you’re not out of breathe before the exhale timer ends ⏰

  7. Make sure you allow your breathe to leave your body instead of forcing it out 😮‍💨

  8. Do this exercise for 5 minutes

Day 19: forward placement II

You’ll repeat the two forward placement exercises you did on day 14.

Watch this clip and then read the instructions to start the first exercise.

Humming
  1. Set a timer for 5 minutes

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Take a deep breathe through your nose and feel your belly expand 👃

  4. Making sure only your belly is moving, and your shoulders and chest don’t move much 🧘

  5. As you exhale, start humming with your mouth closed. Make sure you feel the vibrations near your lips and nose 🫨
Humming with sound
  1. Set a timer for 5 minutes

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Take a deep breathe through your nose and feel your belly expand 👃

  4. Making sure only your belly is moving, and your shoulders and chest don’t move much 🧘

  5. As you exhale, start humming. As you hum, open your mouth and make a sound. You’ll still feel some vibrations but mostly inside your mouth this time. Don’t worry too much about perfection 🫨

Day 20: Lip Trills

Lip trill also helps connect breath pressure to the vocal folds, enabling steady airflow for projecting your voice loudly from start to finish.

It trains consistent air pressure, as the trill will cease if airflow is too little, making it a useful exercise for improving speaking loudness.

Watch the video and follow the instructions.

Lip Trills
  1. Set a timer for 6 minutes

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Do single pitch lip trills for 3 minutes 👄

  4. Make sure your lip trill lasts long, so don’t exhale too much air all at once 🌬️

  5. Always breathe in through your nose whether your mouth is open or closed 👃

  6. After 3 minutes, do the 3212321 pattern like shown in the video for another 3 minutes 🔢

Part TWO: Insecurity exercise III

This time after completing your home exercises, go out and when speaking to people (e.g., store employees), instead of your typical distance, take three steps back. Speak to them from that slightly increased distance. Repeat this exercise in 4 different situations with 4 different people today. Try to do this everyday, or at least have the intention of doing so.

Day 21: Diaphragmatic reading IV

Repeat the diaphragmatic exercise for the last day of this challenge. Make sure to read with pitch and tone variations.

Make a timer here and follow the instructions.

Diaphragmatic reading
  1. Set both the inhale timer to 1 seconds & exhale timer to 5 seconds

  2. Stand or sit comfortably with your feet flat on the ground and your shoulders relaxed 🪑

  3. Inhale through your nose for 1 second and feel your belly expand 👃

  4. Making sure only your belly is moving, and your shoulders and chest don’t move much 🧘

  5. During, as your belly button naturally moves back towards your spine, read any thing slowly for 5 seconds while projecting your voice 📖

  6. Avoid looking down while reading try to keep the text at your eye level and make sure you’re not out of breathe before the exhale timer ends ⏰

  7. Make sure you allow your breathe to leave your body instead of forcing it out 😮‍💨

  8. Do this exercise for 5 minutes

Conclusion

I hope this course made your voice significantly louder. If it didn’t, I’d suggest you see a voice coach for more personalized help.

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