Shadowing Practice: Why Your Voice Shakes When You Speak (And Exactly How to Stop It) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
1
I want to tell you about the worst moment I have ever had while speaking in front of people.
2
I was standing in front of a room, fully prepared.
3
I knew my material, I had rehearsed and the moment I opened my mouth, my voice came out shaking.
4
Not slightly, noticeably.
5
And I could hear it.
6
And because I could hear my own voice, I got more nervous.
7
And because I got more nervous, it got worse.
8
And I just stood there thinking, why is this happening to me?
9
I know this stuff.
10
Then why is my body betraying me?
11
and if you have ever felt the same this video is for you
12
and i promise you by the end of this you will understand exactly why it happens
13
and you will have the tools to stop it welcome back
14
to speak with power i'm captain ruta kumar singh i'm a former army officer
15
and i'm your communication and presence coach
16
and today we are going deep on to one of the most common fears i hear from the professionals
17
and speakers i work with
18
the shaking voice it doesn't matter
19
if you're speaking in a boardroom presenting to a team speaking on the stage
20
or just raising your hand in a meeting
21
if your voice shakes it steals your credibility right in the moment you need it the most Come on, let's fix it today.
22
Okay, now let me go back to that story I started with.
23
Because I think understanding where this comes from is just as important as the fix.
24
Early in my career as a Judd Advocate General's Branch Officer in the Indian Army, I was asked to present in front of a room of senior officers.
25
people with experience, authority and titles.
26
And I remember standing outside that room and telling myself, you have got this.
27
all the self -talk which you do, You know this.
28
Just go in and speak.
29
And I genuinely believed that I was enough.
30
I walked in, I was introduced, I stood up and the moment the attention of the room shifted to me, Every single eye on me,
31
something happened in my body that I did not ask for and could not control.
32
My heart started hammering.
33
My throat went dry.
34
And when I spoke, the first two sentences came out with this slight tremor.
35
This wobble in your voice that I knew was there and that I was convinced everyone in that room could hear.
36
So let's talk about why it happens.
37
Because once you understand the why, the fix makes a lot more sense.
38
So when you stand up to speak in front of people, your brain reads the situation as a threat.
39
not a physical threat, you're not in danger as such.
40
But your nervous system doesn't always know the difference between there's a line in front of you
41
and there are 30 people staring at me, waiting for me to say something smart.
42
The response is the same.
43
Your body floods with adrenal.
44
your heart rate goes up your breathing gets shallower.
45
Blood moves away from your digestive system and toward your muscles
46
because your body is getting ready to either fight or to run.
47
And your voice, your voice is powered by your breath.
48
It needs a steady controlled flow of air to come out smooth and consistent.
49
But when you are in that nervous state, your breathing becomes shallow and unsteady.
50
So the voice wobbles.
51
It's not a weakness.
52
It's not a character flaw.
53
It's a completely involuntary physiological response.
54
The people who seem completely calm when they speak publicly, they have either trained their nervous system to respond differently
55
or they're not a person this is the version most people don't want to hear They're still nervous.
56
They have just found out a way to work with it instead of against it.
57
That's the whole game.
58
So what is the solution for this?
59
How do we fix it?
60
Fix number one, and this is the most important one.
61
Breathing.
62
But not the way most people think about it.
63
Most people try to remember to breathe while they are already speaking, which doesn't work.
64
Because by the time the nervousness is already running
65
and your conscious mind is too busy trying to remember what to say next.
66
the breathing has to happen before you speak in
67
that moment just before you open your mouth whether it is before you stand up
68
or before you're introduced or even while someone else is still talking and you know you're about to contribute
69
That is when you focus on your breathing.
70
I'm going to tell you the exact technique.
71
It's called box breathing.
72
Some of you might have heard about it already, and it takes about 30 seconds.
73
Breathe in for four counts.
74
hold for four counts and then breathe out slowly for four counts one round.
75
That's it.
76
And repeat it.
77
Do it once, maybe twice.
78
What this does it, it activates your parasympathetic nervous system, the calm down system
79
and starts pulling your heart rate back down before you have
80
even said a word i do this before every single session
81
i run every single presentation every live video i am on
82
every video i record on youtube like this it looks like
83
nothing from the outside i just look like i'm sitting quietly but on the inside i'm resetting my nervous system
84
just in 30 seconds.
85
But do it before you speak, not while you're already in it.
86
Fix number two.
87
Lower your voice intentionally.
88
Here's what I mean when I say that lower your voice intentionally.
89
See, when nervousness will hit, your vocal cords will tighten, physically tighten.
90
And when your vocal cords are tight, your voice goes higher and thinner, which is exactly the register where shaking is most noticeable.
91
So one of the fastest ways to reduce the wobble is to consciously bring your voice
92
down in a pitch not fake law, not performing a deep voice that isn't yours,
93
just consciously dropping your register slightly lower than where your nervous system is trying to push it.
94
Think about it this way.
95
When you're relaxed talking to a close friend or your family, your voice naturally sits at a comfortable mid to lower register.
96
That's your real voice.
97
That's the voice that comes from a relaxed throat.
98
When you're nervous, it climbs up.
99
Your job is to bring it back down.
100
Practically, how do you do this?
101
So before you speak, hmm, literally, hmm, quietly in the car, in the bathroom, outside the room,
102
humming warms up your vocal cords and bring them back to
103
relaxed position and it takes only 10 seconds and it works my little goes my little goes
104
all right let's move to fix number three
105
give the nervous energy somewhere to go because the energy
106
that makes your voice shake doesn't disappear you can't just suppress it
107
but you can redirect it
108
so i had this client a senior manager excellent at her
109
job incredibly knowledgeable who would freeze the moment she had to
110
present to a leadership team her voice would shake she would lose her train of thought
111
and afterwards she would be devastated because she knew she hadn't shown up as herself
112
and when we worked together one of the first things i told her was Stop trying to be not nervous. Be nervous.
113
That is losing a battle if you try not to be nervous.
114
Instead, use that nervous energy somewhere.
115
Let's redirect it.
116
Here's what that looks like in practice.
117
So before you speak, press your feet firmly onto the floor.
118
Feel the ground under you that physical grounding actually helps your nervous system orient itself.
119
You're literally angering your energy.
120
Then use hand gestures where you speak.
121
Controlled, intentional gesture.
122
Because when your hands are moving purposefully, the nervous energy that was sitting at one place in your chest has somewhere to flow.
123
It moves through your arms
124
and out through your gestures instead of traveling up into your throat and coming out as a shake.
125
You can also move around a bit if it's a big stage, let the energy flow and not be stuck at one place.
126
She started doing this in practice.
127
Feet grounded, gestures intentional, moving around and within two sessions she was presenting to
128
that same leadership team and she came back and told me, I actually enjoyed this time.
129
Same room, same people, completely different experience because she stopped fighting her nerve and started channeling it properly.
130
So let's recap.
131
Three things to do the next time your voice starts to shake.
132
One, box breathing before you speak, not during.
133
Four counts in.
134
hold Four counts out, hold.
135
30 seconds outside the room or before you start.
136
2. Lower your voice intentionally.
137
Hmm, before you go in, bring your real voice back.
138
3. Ground your feet, use your hands, give the energy somewhere to go instead of fighting it stuck at one place.
139
Try even one of these next time.
140
That's all I'm asking.
141
One.
142
And then come back and tell me in the comments what happened.
143
I genuinely want to know.
144
If this helped you, subscribe to my channel because I'm on this channel every single day talking about communication,
145
confidence, presence and the skills that actually change how the world experiences you.
146
I'll see you tomorrow.
147
Jai Hind.
148
Namaste.
✨ Recommend Video
Speak English with Authority | Stop Sounding Nervous When You TalkB2
2
121 sentences

Speak English with Authority | Stop Sounding Nervous When You Talk

American AccentBusiness EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
How to Start a Speech: The Best (and Worst) Speech OpenersB2
1
102 sentences

How to Start a Speech: The Best (and Worst) Speech Openers

Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
How To Speak Like A Billion-Dollar CEOB2
4
219 sentences

How To Speak Like A Billion-Dollar CEO

Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
#1 Communication Expert Explains Why You're Not Actually Shy | Vinh GiangB2
3
460 sentences

#1 Communication Expert Explains Why You're Not Actually Shy | Vinh Giang

Business EnglishInterview EnglishDaily Conversation
How To Articulate Your Thoughts More Clearly Than 99% of PeopleB2
2
192 sentences

How To Articulate Your Thoughts More Clearly Than 99% of People

Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
When You Focus on Yourself & Stay Silent, Everything Falls Into Place | Best Motivational SpeechB2
529 sentences

When You Focus on Yourself & Stay Silent, Everything Falls Into Place | Best Motivational Speech

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
How I dealt with Performance Anxiety (as an "Anxiety Expert")B2
1
210 sentences

How I dealt with Performance Anxiety (as an "Anxiety Expert")

American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
How to Stop Rambling (Even If Your Mind Goes Blank)B2
5
158 sentences

How to Stop Rambling (Even If Your Mind Goes Blank)

Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
why you hate your recorded voice (and how to fix it)B2
1
164 sentences

why you hate your recorded voice (and how to fix it)

Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Most People Get Confidence Completely Wrong...B2
2
365 sentences

Most People Get Confidence Completely Wrong...

Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
How to Be More Articulate How to Speak Confidently and Clearly by Daniel GolemanB2
2
380 sentences

How to Be More Articulate How to Speak Confidently and Clearly by Daniel Goleman

Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
Job Interview Questions And Answers | English Podcast For Learning English | Daily Life ConversationB2
5
357 sentences

Job Interview Questions And Answers | English Podcast For Learning English | Daily Life Conversation

Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students

Why practice speaking with this video?

This video offers invaluable insights into the challenging experience of having a shaking voice while speaking in front of an audience. Such occurrences can undermine your confidence and credibility, whether you're presenting in a boardroom, participating in a meeting, or addressing a crowd. By understanding the psychological and physiological factors behind this reaction, you can learn effective strategies to manage your nerves and deliver your message more effectively. Practicing with this video not only enhances your public speaking skills but also contributes to improving your English pronunciation and overall communication prowess. By integrating the techniques discussed, you can leverage a shadow speech approach, wherein you mimic the speaker’s style, tone, and delivery, fostering greater fluency and reducing anxiety.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

1. Present Perfect Tense: The speaker often uses the present perfect to describe experiences, as in “I have ever had.” This structure emphasizes the ongoing relevance of past experiences to the present moment.

2. Conditional Statements: Phrases like “if you have ever felt the same” illustrate how to express hypothetical situations. This is essential for conversational English and making connections with your audience.

3. Direct Speech: The use of reported and direct speech, such as “I told myself,” helps convey authenticity and builds rapport with listeners. If you practice these structures, you can improve your ability to express yourself clearly and confidently.

4. Adverbial Phrases: The speaker uses phrases like “in front of a room” to provide context that enriches the narrative. Incorporating similar phrases into your vocabulary can enhance your descriptive abilities in English.

Common Pronunciation Traps

When practicing this video, pay attention to certain pronunciation challenges that may arise:

  • Tremor: This word involves a specific stress pattern that can be tricky. Ensure you emphasize the first syllable: TRE-mor.
  • Adrenal: This word has a soft "d" sound, which may be difficult for some speakers. Focus on producing a clear uh-DREEN-uhl to avoid confusion.
  • Wobble: This word should be pronounced with a distinct emphasis on both syllables: WOB-uhl.

Utilizing a shadowing app, you can practice mimicking the speaker’s intonation and rhythm, which greatly aids in improving your English pronunciation. By engaging in shadowspeaks exercises, you can boost your confidence and minimize shaking in your voice, leading to clearer communication in your future speaking engagements.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itwas asked · was introduced · was convinced
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowhave ever felt · have just found
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thingpeople who seem · thinner, which is

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →