The Little Book of Speaking Up: Find Your Voice in 5 Minutes a Day with 65 Whole-Body Exercises

by Jutta Ritschel

Overview

What is your voice saying about you?

Your unique voice—its volume, tone, and pitch—is the invisible key to a good first impression. But stress can cause your voice to falter—right when you need to speak up! Now, breath therapist and music teacher Jutta Ritschel offers 65 easy exercises to keep your voice always well-tuned—whether you’re rehearsing a speech or performance, or simply seeking your most confident self.

• Stretch like a cat: Free tense muscles, widen your rib cage, and breathe deeply.
• Read aloud: Practice expressing emotion!
• Befriend your voice: Hear the difference between how you sound to yourself and to others.

Most important of all, you’ll learn to find comfort in silence—and hear your inner voice before you speak.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615196067
Publisher:	The Experiment
Publication date:	10/15/2019
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Jutta Ritschel is a music and voice instructor with more than thirty years of experience specializing in breathing and vocalization. She teaches privately, is a lecturer at the University of Augsburg, Germany, and consults on countless workshops and continuing education classes. Her artistic practice includes performing as an ensemble singer and producing musical projects. A trained pianist, she went on to study elementary music education and is a professionally certified breath therapist and educator. Drawing upon the wealth of her long-standing pedagogical and artistic practices, as well as her personal vocal experience, she connects her clients to a plethora of resources, paths to creativity, and a newfound joie de vivre.

Editorial Reviews

08/19/2019

Ritschel, a voice instructor and lecturer at the University of Augsburg in Germany, offers simple, and sometimes simplistic, physical practices meant to strengthen voice in her brief, snappy debut. These playful practices often reveal Ritschel’s professional history as a children’s music educator, and thus may take adult readers outside of their comfort zones. Activities include crawling on all fours to imitate a cat (to loosen tense muscles) and pretending to be an airplane by mimicking engine noises and spreading one’s arms (to vibrate, and thus awaken, the body). Not all of the exercises seem directly related to strengthening vocal expression; many are more generally aimed at promoting physical mobility and emotional well-being. To emphasize the generally positive feelings she wishes to produce with her book, Ritschel inserts feel-good quotes and poems throughout, authored by a broad array of historical and contemporary figures, including the Buddha, Marcus Aurelius, and her own son. The approachable style is complemented by colorful, lively illustrations. Ritschel’s exercises and prompts will provide helpful ways to facilitate expression for all members of a family. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

[Ritschel offers] physical practices meant to strengthen voice in her brief, snappy debut. The approachable style is complemented by colorful, lively illustrations. Ritschel’s exercises and prompts will provide helpful ways to facilitate expression for all members of a family.”—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher