Why your voice is losing the room, and what to do about it

By Melissa Thom, Founder and Principal Coach at BRAVA

We've all experienced a time when we've walked into a room with something to say. But then lost our nerve and felt that half the room has mentally moved on. In those moments, It's rarely the content and almost always the voice, connection and delivery.

You're speaking faster than you’re thinking

Speed is the most common voice problem I encounter in professional contexts. When we're anxious, we accelerate our delivery: the words arrive faster than the listener can receive them. Speed signals nerves, that you don't quite trust what you're saying.  The fix is counterintuitive: slow down and pause more. A deliberate pause signals that you're in control. It gives listeners time to receive what you've just said. The pause is one of the most powerful tools in any speaker's repertoire, and almost nobody uses it deliberately until they've been taught to. As someone who has worked with my spoken voice for many years: as a radio broadcaster on breakfast, pitched in marketing, advertising and the startup world, hosted live events, presented podcasts and voiced hundreds of narrations and commercials for over 30 years, I will die on the hill of the power of the pause. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Your breath is too shallow

Your voice is powered by breath. The depth and quality of your breathing directly affects the resonance, steadiness and authority of the sound you produce. Most professionals in high-pressure situations breathe up in their chest: short, fast, shallow breaths that keep the voice thin. Learning how to use the breath to power the voice efficiently changes the sound of your voice almost immediately to help you produce a richer, more resonant sound. This isn't a trick; it's physiology, and it can easily be learned with the right guidance.

You're performing confidence rather than feeling it

We talk so much about mimicry in our work. Many high-achieving people have developed a 'presenting voice': slightly louder than their natural voice, more deliberate, more careful, and usually completely disconnected from the warmth and humanity they show in every other context. The irony is that this performed confidence is less convincing than the real thing. What audiences respond to is presence; the sense that a real person is speaking to them directly with genuine conviction. I work a lot with presence in sessions, and it is the single most important element when seeking to connect with an audience.

What to do about it

The most important thing I can tell any professional is this: you cannot hear yourself the way others hear you. The habits working against you are almost always invisible from the inside. This is why the most effective route to voice development is working with someone who can hear what you're doing and respond in real time. BRAVA Business voice coaching works with professionals at every level, from board presentations to senior leaders and teams who want to understand why their communication isn't landing.

This approach to voice development, grounded in breath, presence and connection, is central to The BRAVA Method™, the framework Melissa has developed across 30 years of professional broadcast, voice science, and certified coaching practice.

  BRAVA Business - voice coaching for professionals

Bespoke one-to-one and team sessions. brava.uk.com/business

Also curious about voiceover? The VO Foundation Course is where that exploration begins.

Three evenings online, £180 inc.VAT. Led by Melissa Thom. brava.uk.com/courses/foundation-course