Finding Your Voice in 2026

Finding your voice is not just about speaking clearly or loudly, it's about speaking with confidence, calmly and engaging with your audience or listener. Your voice is linked to your breathing, it's one system. Breathing is involuntary - you don't have to 'work at it', you do it all the time.

Practising deep breathing to find your voice and confidence

Your Voice Is Connected to Your Breath

Your voice depends on your breath, you cannot breathe in and talk at the same time, your speech is always an out breath. Your voice is powered by the controlled release of air from your lungs. When you breathe shallowly or hold tension in your jaw and face, your voice becomes restricted. This restriction can make you sound nervous, unsure, or even unheard.

The practice of deep breathing helps to stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system, bringing us to a calm state.

Many people unconsciously clench their jaw or grind their teeth when stressed or anxious. This tension tightens the muscles around the throat and mouth, limiting airflow and making it harder to speak clearly. When your breathing is shallow or uneven, your voice lacks strength and resonance.

By focusing on your breath and releasing tension in your jaw, you create space for your voice to flow naturally. This physical freedom helps you to express yourself with clarity and calm.

How Grounding Helps You Find Your Voice

Grounding means connecting your body to the present moment and the physical world around you. It helps you feel stable, centred, and secure. When you are grounded, your breathing becomes steady and regular, which supports a clear voice.

When you lose your grounding, that's when you can feel anxious or overwhelmed and stumble. This leads to speaking quickly, mumbling, or avoiding speaking altogether. Grounding techniques bring your attention back to your body and breath, calming your nervous system and allowing your voice to emerge naturally.

Simple Grounding Techniques to Try

• Feel your feet on the floor: Sit or stand with your feet flat. Notice the contact between your feet and the ground. Imagine roots growing from your feet into the earth. This is particularly helpful when speaking or making a presentation - check for your toes, notice your feet firm in your shoes this takes your attention away and slows your breathing.

• Deep breathing: Breathe in slowly through your nose, filling your belly with air. Exhale gently through your mouth. Repeat for several breaths, focusing on the sensation of air moving in and out.

  
  

Practising these techniques regularly can help you stay grounded during conversations, talks and presentations - when you need to find your voice.

Relax your jaw

When your jaw is tight, it restricts the movement needed for articulation and affects your breathing patterns. This tension often results from stress, poor posture, or habitual clenching.

Try this:

• Massage the jaw muscles: Use your fingers to gently massage the masseter muscle, just trace a line from the bottom of your ear to the jaw and you find it. Massage gently and release your breath, sigh deeply.

• Practice gentle jaw stretches: Open your mouth slowly as wide as comfortable, then close it. Repeat several times.

• Mindful awareness: Check in with your jaw throughout the day. If you notice clenching, consciously relax it.

  
  

Releasing jaw tension improves airflow and allows your voice to sound more open and confident.

Building Self-Confidence

Finding your voice is tied to self-confidence. When you speak with a steady breath and relaxed body, you feel more in control and authentic. This shows confidence as others perceive your tone, pace, and volume. Set yourself small challenges each week or month, for example speaking up in a meeting, offering to deliver a presentation or speaking to a person in your team you hardly ever talk to.

Some people find affirmations helpful, for example - “My voice matters, I matter” or “I speak clearly and confidently”.

Remember, focus on the moment when you speak rather than worrying about judgments or mistakes, and engage with your listener or fellows. Over time, these habits build a strong foundation for confident communication, and it will show or rather leak out, in your body language and presence - you will have gravitas.