It’s hard to sound happy on a whim out of nowhere so we have come out with some tips and tricks to help you sound happy immediately. Basically, you’ll want to emulate happiness with your body language and your voice will follow. Also, some external foods and drinks will help to bring your happy voice to the surface.
Smile while speaking
The easiest and fastest way to make yourself sound happy is by smiling while talking. It’ll immediately make your voice tone brighter and happier. A lot of voice-over artists apply this trick while reading scripts where they ought to sound upbeat.
It’s almost impossible to not sound happy as you’re smiling. You can even try to smile looking at yourself in the mirror before attempting a happy voice. It’ll feel silly but should help to set you in the mood before performing.
Laugh once in a while
To sound happy introduce occasional laughter into your speech, it’s something happy people do. You don’t need to overdo it but a burst of laughter here and there will set you in a good mood and if done naturally will make you sound as happy as you’ve ever been.
If it’s hard for you to laugh naturally out of nowhere, you can prepare a few memes or silly videos on your phone in front of you and glance at them to induce natural laughter.
Relax to sound happier
When you’re happy you’re relaxed. It’s hard to pretend to be happy if you’re stiff.
Before attempting to sound happy do some relaxing exercises for both body and voice, it’ll also help with voice acting if that’s what you’re doing. When stretching focus on your upper body as it affects your voice the most. Here are some exercises that will help to relax and achieve a happier voice:
- Move your head slowly in a circle motion
- Stand slightly bent forward and swing your arms back and forth with your shoulders completely relaxed
- Raise your both arms upwards stretching the whole back and shoulder area
- Tilt your head to both sides
- Yawn
- Do some humming by creating ‘Ohmmm’ sound
Sound energetic
When we’re happy we usually have a lot of energy in the voice. So keep a varying pitch and avoid sounding monotone if you want to have a happy voice.
The easiest way to sound energetic is by actually having a lot of energy, so make sure you’re having plenty of sleep. Don’t try to perform very early or late in the evening as it’ll make it much harder to keep the energy up.
Drink caffeinated beverages
Caffeine can help to boost your mood and make you sound much happier. It makes your body produce dopamine which gives a feeling of euphoria and boosts your energy. Both of which will make you feel nice and happy.
So, you can drink some coffee, tea, cocoa or other caffeinated beverage of your choice before attempting a happy voice to make yourself sound happier.
Eat bananas and dark chocolate
Both bananas and chocolate have a lot of tryptophan amino acid which is used to create a happiness hormone – serotonin. In addition, both bananas and dark chocolate contain sugars that give a lot of energy and induces the production of insulin which then further enhances the transfer of serotonin to the brain.
Just make sure you’re eating dark chocolate as it’s cocoa that gives most of these pleasant effects. While milk chocolate has a lot of sugars it doesn’t consist of a lot of cocoa.
Listen to your favorite music
Listening to the music you like can significantly boost your mood. Hence before attempting a happy voice put on a track you like. Try to find something more upbeat and if you can dance to it then it might help to set you in a good mood even faster. Move your hips, perform some silly moves and you’ll get into a good mood in no time.
Remember, that our mind and voice follow the body, so even if you don’t feel too content at the moment make your body move and then a naturally happy voice will come out.
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