How to Breathe Properly for Optimal Speaking
Have you ever stood up to speak and suddenly felt like you couldn’t breathe? Your chest tightens, your voice trembles, maybe your thoughts race.
Or what about your overall breathing throughout the day? Do you feel like you’re unable to use the full breathing capacity of your lungs?
That feeling—of not being in control—often starts with the breath.
But here’s the good news: how you breathe affects not only your voice, but your mind, and you can learn to control it. I'm Julie with San Diego Voice and Accent, and in this video, I'm going to show you exactly how to breathe correctly for optimal speaking performance, and how specific breathing techniques can instantly reduce anxiety before you step into the spotlight…and automatically improve your breathing throughout the day, even when you’re not thinking about it.
These are techniques that work whether you’re speaking in a meeting, giving a presentation, or just trying not to panic before raising your hand.
Stick around, because mastering this is a game-changer!
Why Breathing Matters: The Connection
So, why is breathing so crucial? First, let's talk about your voice. Your voice is literally powered by air exiting your lungs and vibrating your vocal cords. Watch this short video from the National Institutes of Health about how the voice is made in the body - it’s really cool.
Inconsistent or shallow breathing can result in weak, shaky, or strained sound. You might even run out of air mid-sentence or sound quiet when you speak.
This type of shallow breathing is exactly what happens when we’re anxious or nervous, like before speaking. When we feel anxious, our breathing becomes shallow and centered up here, in the upper chest, and it actually triggers more tension, especially in the throat and shoulders, and gives us less breath to work with when we speak. It signals danger to your brain and actually increases feelings of panic.
Good breath support starts lower—from the diaphragm, the muscle right under your lungs. When you breathe deeply and fully, your belly should move more than your chest. That’s how you access the kind of breath that supports clear, grounded speech.
Think of your breath as the fuel for your voice. More controlled fuel means a smoother, stronger, more resonant engine!
So there is some good news here: You can consciously change your breathing pattern to shift your body out of fight-or-flight and into a calmer 'rest and digest' state. There have been numerous research studies that back this up, and I’ll link to a few of them in the description below. These studies show that a simple shift in your breathing pattern can result in an immediate reduction of anxiety, and also give you long-lasting improvements in feelings of calmness throughout the day, even when you’re not thinking about it. That’s amazing!
In this video, I’ll first discuss the foundation of all breathing and all the breath exercises that you’ll learn about in this video - diaphragmatic breathing - and how you can use this style of breathing to properly support your voice when speaking.
Then I’ll discuss another vital piece of the breathing puzzle - what exactly normal, healthy breathing should look like, especially at rest when we’re just sitting and not doing anything strenuous - and how your breathing patterns can have dramatic implications for your overall lung and brain function.
Lastly, I’ll share three simple breathing exercises that you can use to, number one, immediately improve your state of calmness and reduce your anxiety in high-stress situations, and number two, chronically improve your state of calmness and reduce your anxiety throughout the day.
The Foundation: Diaphragmatic Breathing (Belly Breathing)
The absolute cornerstone of effective breathing for both speaking and calmness is Diaphragmatic Breathing, sometimes called 'belly breathing'.
The diaphragm is the main muscle involved in breathing, and it’s involved in all types of breathing. Breathing at rest, breathing during exercise, breathing while sleeping, breathing when we take a big breath - the diaphragm is always involved. But most of us, especially when stressed, breathe shallowly, using more of the chest and shoulder muscles.
Watch this. This is inefficient breathing that’s not utilizing our full lung potential.
Instead, we want to focus on breathing deeply, using the diaphragm - a large muscle sitting below your lungs. When it contracts, it moves down and pulls air into the lower part of your lungs. You might experience this as the belly moving outward as you inhale; that’s why this is sometimes called belly breathing.
So, let’s try diaphragmatic breathing. I want you to do this seated, though you can also practice standing up if you’re comfortable with this style of breathing.
Place one hand on your chest and the other gently on your belly, just above your navel.
Now, inhale slowly and deeply through your nose.
Focus on letting your belly expand outwards, pushing your hand away. Try to keep the hand on your chest relatively still.
Feel the air filling your lower lungs.
Now, exhale slowly and completely, either through your nose or gently pursed lips. Feel your belly gently retract inwards.
Let's do a few together: Inhale... feel the belly rise... Exhale... feel the belly fall.
This is your 'speaking breath'. It provides maximum air capacity with minimum effort, supporting your voice naturally.
Applying Diaphragmatic Breathing to Speaking
How do you use this while actually talking? Well, you don't need to exaggerate it constantly.
The goal is to make this your default way of breathing. Practice it throughout the day.
When speaking, aim to take relaxed, diaphragmatic breaths during natural pauses between sentences or thoughts. This will naturally slow you down and force you to take more time to breathe. That’s usually a good thing. Take your time here. It’s more important to take a deeper breath and fully refuel the lungs when speaking.
Remember to speak on the exhale. Your outward airflow carries your words. Don't try to squeeze out words on an empty tank.
This gives you better volume control, allows for longer phrases, reduces vocal strain, and makes you sound more grounded and confident.
The Dangers of Overbreathing
But most of us aren’t breathing this way, right? What are most of us doing? We’re taking shallow breaths while speaking, which isn’t taking advantage of our full lung capacity. We’re also doing this during the day when we’re just sitting at our desks, typing on the computer or using our phones. This type of shallow breathing is not efficient, and what it actually leads to is an increase in the number of breaths we take per minute. Scientists call this overbreathing, which means most of us are breathing too many times during the day.
Overbreathing isn’t a good thing. I’m going to get a bit technical here, but I think this is interesting, and I hope some of you will find it interesting as well.
Some research studies have shown that when we overbreathe due to taking these more frequent, shallow breaths, it leads to lower levels of carbon dioxide in the blood and brain, which, in turn, reduces the amount of oxygen that makes it to our brain. This triggers our brain to want more oxygen, and it triggers us to take more breaths - this is sort of what’s happening when a person hyperventilates. This causes the cells in our brain to become hyper-excited, which means there’s too much activity going on between the cells of the brain - there’s too much noise. And once that happens, our brains become less efficient at paying attention or processing information or learning new things.
So you can see how chronic overbreathing can lead to some amount of negative consequences in terms of our ability to focus, to pay attention and concentrate, and our ability to learn new information.
Normal, Healthy Breathing
So far, you’ve learned about diaphragmatic breathing and how it’s the foundation of all effective breathing patterns. You’ve also learned that most of us use a less optimal breathing pattern when speaking and when at rest, where we take more frequent, shallow breaths, and how if we do this chronically, it can lead to a reduced capacity for our brains to concentrate and learn new information. Now, I want to discuss what constitutes normal, healthy breathing patterns, and how to know if you are using them.
Scientists think that normal, healthy breathing means a person will inhale six liters of air per minute of breathing. This typically equates to about twelve breaths per minute, when a person is just resting and casually breathing in and out.
However, as I mentioned earlier, most of us breathe too many times per minute, anywhere from fifteen to twenty breaths per minute. These breaths tend to be shallower, and thus more frequent, and they aren’t nearly as efficient at accomplishing what breathing is supposed to do: bring in oxygen to our lungs and body, and expel carbon dioxide from our lungs and body.
Carbon Dioxide Tolerance Test: How to tell if you’re breathing normally
You might be wondering: How do I know if I’m breathing in a normal, healthy way?
Here’s one test you can do to help you figure this out. I didn’t create this test; I got it from The Huberman Lab podcast about breathing, which I’ll put a link to in the description below. You should definitely check out that podcast if you’re interested in learning more about this topic.
The test is called a carbon dioxide tolerance test, and it will give you a rough estimate of how well you can control your breathing at the voluntary, muscular level and at the chemical level, which means how well you manage the carbon dioxide in your system. It’s very easy to do, but I have to caution you not to do this near water or while driving. Be careful and make sure you’re in a safe environment, so be seated and comfortable. It’s also important to know that this test has nothing to do with cardio fitness levels, so it’s not like the more fit you are or the more you exercise, the better your carbon dioxide tolerance will be. You also should know that your performance in this test can fluctuate based on other factors, like how well you’ve slept the night before or how much stress you’re feeling at the moment. So your numbers can fluctuate day by day.
Here’s what you do. Sit down, and find some way to measure the time, be it your phone, a watch, or a stopwatch. Breathe normally for a few minutes, and you should be doing nasal breathing only, which means inhale through your nose and out through your nose. If you can’t do that safely, maybe you have some nasal obstruction or blockage that prevents you from breathing comfortably through your nose, you can use your mouth, but use pursed lips to better mimic the same type of resistance you’d get from nasal breathing.
Inhale through your nose as deeply as you can. You want to fill up your lungs from the bottom to the top, so be sure to allow your stomach to expand outwards as you inhale.
When your lungs are completely full, start a timer and time how long it takes you to deliberately control the exhalation as you exhale through your nose. You’re going to need to rely on your stomach muscles, diaphragm, and rib muscles to help control the exhalation. You don’t want to blow all the air out immediately. You want a controlled, sustained exhalation.
Stop the timer when your lungs are empty. Don’t hold your breath at the end, just stop when your lungs are empty and note the time. Once you’re done, you can breathe normally again.
I’ll give you some time right now to complete this test. So go ahead, sit down, get out your watch or timer, and take a few normal, deep breaths.
Then get ready to complete the test: You’ll take a full, deep breath in through your nose or pursed lips. Then you’ll time how long it takes you to exhale all of the air in your lungs with a long, controlled exhale through your nose or pursed lips.
Get ready, and start.
If it took you twenty-four seconds or less to reach empty lungs, this means you might have low carbon dioxide tolerance. If it took you anywhere from twenty-five seconds to forty-five seconds to reach empty lungs, this means you might have moderate carbon dioxide tolerance. And if it took you forty-six seconds or longer, this might mean you have a high level of carbon dioxide tolerance.
If you have low tolerance, write down the number three. If you have moderate tolerance, write down the numbers five to six. And if you have high tolerance, write down the numbers eight to ten.
How to Improve your Carbon Dioxide Tolerance: Box Breathing
You may have noticed a pattern here: if you have a lower carbon dioxide tolerance, that might translate to you taking more shallow breaths per minute, or in other words, overbreathing or breathing too often. And if you have a higher carbon dioxide tolerance, you might be a person who is handling their carbon dioxide levels pretty well, and so your breathing patterns might be considered more healthy or normal.
For those of you who want to improve your carbon dioxide tolerance, and thus, improve your natural, resting breathing patterns, here’s how you do it.
Remember those numbers you wrote down: three for low tolerance, fix to six for moderate tolerance, and eight to ten for high tolerance. That number tells you the number of seconds you’ll complete each phase of what’s called Box Breathing.
Box Breathing is a popular style of breathing that’s been around for a while now, and it can help to improve not only your carbon dioxide tolerance, but also your normal pattern of breathing at rest.
It’s called Box Breathing because that’s sort of what you’re doing when you complete a cycle of this exercise: you first inhale for a certain number of seconds; then you hold your breath for that same amount of time; then exhale for that same amount of time; then hold your breath for that same amount of time. So you can imagine that you’re drawing a box in the air with this cycle, all four phases with equal duration of time.
If you wrote down the number three, you’ll box breathe for three seconds, so three seconds inhale, three seconds hold, three seconds exhale, three seconds hold. For those of you who wrote down five to six, you’ll follow the same cycle but do it for five to six seconds for each phase. And for those of you who wrote down eight to ten, you’ll do the same cycle, but for eight to ten seconds per phase.
You’ll want to complete a total of two to three minutes of Box Breathing, one to two times per week for two to three weeks. After that time, you might notice that the box breathing becomes easier, or your breathing at rest becomes easier. That’s great - that’s what you want. When that happens, take the carbon dioxide tolerance test again and see if your tolerance has improved.
It’s important to remember that you don’t want the box breathing to be too strained or challenging, especially not at first. You want the box breathing to be easy at first because you want this to carry over into your daily breathing habits. The box breathing exercise is designed to increase your neuromechanical control of the diaphragm, which is the main muscle involved in breathing. Once you have better control over the diaphragm in this controlled way, it will translate to improvements in the brain circuits or brain cells that control the diaphragm, so these benefits in breathing can happen automatically, without you having to think about it or control it.
Ultimately, what you want is deeper and less frequent breathing when at rest, even when you’re not consciously thinking about your breathing.
Breathing Exercises for Pre-Speaking Anxiety
Okay, you're about to present, give a speech, or walk into an important meeting, and the nerves hit hard. Your heart's racing, your palms are sweaty. What do you do?
This is where targeted breathing techniques work wonders. They actively calm your nervous system. And remember - breath works both ways. Yes, your anxiety affects your breath—but your breath can also change your anxiety.
I always say, you can’t breathe like a calm person and stay anxious. Try it - you just can’t!
So here are three breathing techniques that I teach my clients to use before a presentation or speech. Which one you use depends on how much time you have. If you’ve got a few minutes before you’re expected on stage or before your presentation or meeting begins, and you can sneak away to a place that’s quiet, then try either of these first two techniques.
Box Breathing
The first technique is to do Box Breathing like you learned earlier in this video. I’ll quickly review the steps here:
Find a quiet spot if you can, even a restroom stall works!
Gently exhale all your air through your nose.
Now: Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of three, four, or five. You don’t want this to be taxing on your system - so whatever length of time you use should feel comfortable and calming.
Then, hold your breath gently for the same count, either three, four, or five seconds.
Exhale slowly and completely through your mouth or nose for the same count.
Then hold your breath with empty lungs, gently, for the same count.
That’s one cycle or one box. Repeat this cycle for one to two minutes, focusing on the counting and the sensation of breath.
4-7-8 Breathing
Here’s the second breathing technique you can use if you’ve got a few minutes to spare before you’re expected to begin your presentation or meeting.
It’s called the four-seven-eight breathing technique, and it was developed by Dr. Andrew Weil. Here’s how you do it.
Sit comfortably.
Exhale completely through your mouth, making a gentle 'whoosh' sound.
Then close your mouth, inhale quietly through your nose for a count of four.
Hold your breath for a count of seven.
Exhale completely through your mouth, making that 'whoosh' sound, for a count of eight.
That's one cycle. Repeat it three to four times.
The long exhale is key here for triggering relaxation.
Use these techniques in the minutes before you need to speak. It shifts your physiology from anxious to calm.
Physiological Sigh
Here is the third breathing technique you can use to quickly shift from feeling anxious to feeling calm. It’s the most simple of the techniques, and takes just a few seconds to complete. It’s called the physiological sigh, and it’s the fastest way to reduce stress, induce calm, and restore the level of balance in your nervous system.
Here’s how you do it:
Stand or sit comfortably.
Take a full, deep breath in through your nose to fill up your lungs from the bottom to the top - remember to use your diaphragm and feel your belly move outward as you inhale.
Then once you’ve reached full lung capacity, take a second, quick inhale through the nose to force in just a little bit more air.
Then complete a long exhale through the mouth, and you can purse your lips to create just a bit more resistance if you want.
And that’s it!
You can repeat the physiological sigh as many times as you want, but you should feel some relief of stress and anxiety from just one sigh.
Breathing Exercises for Chronic Improvement in Calmness and Anxiety
You’ve just learned three different breathing techniques you can use to induce feelings of calm when you’re feeling anxious in the moment, like just before you give your presentation, or even when waiting in line to purchase your groceries - that can be somewhat stressful as well, especially if you happen to be in the slow line.
But wouldn’t it be great if you could do a set of breathing exercises that would change your brain state at baseline? So that you’d just automatically feel calmer and less anxious throughout the day, without even thinking about it?
Well, good news! Research has been done in this exact area, and yes, there’s a breathing exercise you can complete that will do just that - change your brain state at baseline, and help you to feel less anxious and more calm overall throughout your day.
And the exercise is simple and you already know how to do it. It’s the physiological sigh, but not just one sigh. To get the benefit of chronic, automatic, baseline reduction in anxiety, you need to do several cycles of the physiological sigh.
You should spend at least five minutes a day doing cycles of the physiological sigh in order to see those long-lasting benefits.
Just as a quick review: to complete a physiological sigh, you inhale through the nose to full lungs, then take a second, quick inhalation to really open up the lungs. Then complete an extended exhale through pursed lips until your lungs are empty. Do this for five minutes a day for a couple of weeks, and you should start to see the benefits of chronic, long-lasting improvements in calmness and reduced anxiety.
Practice Makes Perfect
Like any skill, mastering your breath takes practice.
Don't just wait until you're anxious! Try out these various breathing techniques - diaphragmatic breathing, Box Breathing, the four-seven-eight technique, and the physiological sighs - and find the one that works best for you. Then practice that technique daily – maybe for a few minutes when you wake up, during your commute, or before bed.
Try the anxiety-reducing breath techniques even when you're calm, so they feel familiar when you actually need them.
The more you practice, the more natural and automatic deep, supportive breathing will become, both for your voice and your nerves.
Thanks so much for watching this video! I hope that the exercises you learned today will help you to not only control your breath, but also control your nerves. Which technique are you going to try first? Let me know in the comments below.
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Thanks again for watching, breathe easy, and happy practicing!
