Yell at Me

The goal of an interview is to get your message across while connecting with your audience through both your vocals and your visuals. Some media trainers will tell you that all you need to do is smile to get buy-in from the audience. Besides the fact that few of us naturally smile while speaking, forcing a smile can look awkward—or even creepy. And if your default expression is overly cheerful, it can come across poorly when discussing serious or tragic topics.

Instead, focus on sounding and looking engaged in the conversation. One of the easiest ways to do that is to project your voice—a simple technique that also happens to be the most common and effective tip we give at DMG. Here’s why:

Projecting Your Voice Leads to Natural Vocal Modulation
Do you struggle with sounding monotone? Even if you don’t, many people have trouble sounding conversational, especially when nerves kick in.

When you project your voice, your vocal range naturally expands. Your tone rises and falls more easily, key words receive emphasis, and your delivery becomes more dynamic. In other words, projecting your voice helps create the vocal variety that keeps audiences engaged.

Many people try to force enthusiasm by artificially changing their tone. A better approach is to simply speak with more projection. The energy follows naturally.

What You Do Vocally Naturally Extends to Your Visuals
Do you look sleepy on camera? Then speak up.

The energy required to project your voice is often mirrored in your facial expressions. Your eyes appear brighter, your face moves more naturally, and your eyebrows lift to emphasize key points. You achieve all of this without forcing happiness, concern, or sadness. Instead, you create an engaged default expression that allows you to add the emotion appropriate to the topic at hand.

How Loud Should You Be?
You may be asking: How loud should I be?

A good benchmark is to imagine speaking to a group of 10–15 people without a microphone. That’s usually the right level of projection.

For many soft-spoken people, proper projection feels like yelling. It rarely sounds that way to listeners.

The safest way to determine the appropriate volume, however, is to work with DMG. We can help you find the level of projection that gives you the vocal presence and visual engagement needed to connect with an audience.