How to warm up your voice before a presentation
Your throat feels tight. Your first few sentences come out thin, and you stumble until you settle in. A few minutes of warmup means you start the way you’d normally finish.
iPhone · 4.7 stars · Featured by Apple
A voice warmup gets your breath, lips, tongue and voice moving together before it counts. These are standard exercises that voice coaches, actors and singers use, and you don't need any equipment or a quiet studio.
Pick the 3-minute version before a quick call, or the 5-minute one before a presentation. Want more exercises to build a routine of your own? See these vocal warmup exercises, grouped by what each one does.
The 3-minute warmup
Lip trills
Blow air through loosely closed lips so they flutter, like a motorboat. Keep your jaw soft. It loosens your lips and gets you breathing out in a steady stream.
Humming pitch glide
Hum a comfortable note, then slowly slide up to the top of your comfortable range and back down. Feel the buzz in your lips and face. Keep it gentle and don’t push for the high notes.
Breath reset
Hand on belly. Breathe in for 4 counts so your belly moves outward, pause for 1, breathe out for 6. 3 rounds. This settles your breathing before you speak.
The 5-minute warmup
Body scan and posture reset
Stand or sit tall. Roll your shoulders back and down. Unclench your teeth, let your jaw hang, and let your tongue rest low in your mouth. Shake out your hands and arms. Tension in the body shows up in the voice.
Slow belly breathing
Hand on belly. In for 4 counts, pause for 1, out for 6. 8–10 rounds. A slow, longer out-breath is a simple way to take the edge off pre-talk nerves.
Breath-and-speech sentences
Breathe in, then say a sentence out loud on one out-breath. Start with 5 words and build up. This trains you to finish a sentence without gasping or trailing off.
Sustained hum
Hum “mmm” on a comfortable note for as long as is easy, around 10 seconds. Feel the vibration in your lips and face. Then open the hum into a word, like “mmm-many”, and keep that buzzy, easy feeling as you speak.
Adjust for the setting
Calls, rooms and long days
Video calls
Microphones pick up a thin, tight voice easily. Do the humming glide right before you join, and sit up so your breath isn't squashed. You don't need to be louder, just warmed up.
A room or stage
Do the 5-minute warmup. Your voice has to carry further, so spend longer on the sustained hum and slow breathing rather than pushing for volume once you start.
Back-to-back meetings
Your voice is already warm, but it may be tired. Between calls, swap the warmup for a sip of water and one round of the breath reset.
First thing in the morning
Your voice is usually lower and rougher after sleep. Give it a few extra minutes: do both routines, and talk a little before the meeting starts.
Leila Bostic
Voice coach & speech therapist
Astound's warmups are short, guided and filmed with Leila, so you can follow along on your phone in a few minutes before a meeting instead of reading steps off a page.
Every lesson is taught on video by Leila herself. A real speech therapist and voice coach, not an AI.
“I did the warm ups only a few times. My recordings show a major improvement! I went from squeaky Lauren to the real deal Lauren. Amazing.”
Frequently asked questions
What if I only have 60 seconds to warm up my voice?
Do the breath reset and the humming pitch glide. Between them they settle your breathing and get your voice going gently. A full warmup is better, but a minute is much better than nothing.
Should I drink water before speaking?
Yes. Sip water beforehand and keep some nearby, because a dry mouth makes speaking harder. Temperature is personal preference. Some people find dairy leaves their mouth feeling coated, so skip it beforehand if that’s you. If caffeine makes you jittery, go easy on it before a big talk.
What if my voice still shakes after warming up?
Some shakiness in a high-pressure moment is normal, and it often settles once you’re a minute or two in. Slow breathing beforehand helps. If it happens regularly, short daily breathing and voice practice usually helps more than a one-off warmup. If your voice shakes even when you’re calm, see a doctor or speech therapist.
When is the best time to do a voice warmup?
In the 5–10 minutes before your presentation, call or meeting: in a bathroom, a quiet corridor or your car. You don’t need a mirror or any equipment.
More guides
Breathing
Breathing exercises for public speaking
Warmup
Eight vocal warmup exercises for speakers
Breath control
How to stop running out of breath when speaking
Projection
How to project your voice without straining
Nerves
How to stop your voice shaking when nervous
Confidence
How to sound more confident when you speak
Your voice
Why do I hate the sound of my voice?
Self-affirmation
Do self-affirmations work? What the science says
Research
The science of voice
