When people ask a question about a vocal challenge they are asking out of their own desire to have a strong reliable voice, which is a moment of great power and invitation. The following questions are moments of great potential. Do any of them resonate with you?

Q. When I'm speaking and training a lot my voice gets really tired or I get a lot of phlegm in my throat. How can I prevent this so I can be more effective in front of my audience?

All those conditions are caused by the same thing: you are not completely supporting your speaking voice. Excess phlegm is the body's way of protecting the vocal apparatus; think of it as a cushion. The resulting tendency to clear the throat increases the phlegm. The fatigue is caused by lack of complete vocal fold phonation (how the vocal folds come together).

For the short term, do some vocal warm up exercises before your speaking engagements. The muscles that bring your vocal folds together need to be strong, flexible and warmed up. Find a good warm up program.

For the long term, treat your voice like you would any exercise program you would do to maintain health. Your voice needs proper care and exercise just like the rest of your body. Develop a voice training program that will strengthen your vocal phonation and support. Work with someone who can help you know what good vocal function feels like. Do the program consistently for five or ten minutes a day and your voice will be healthier.

Q. How can I practice projecting my voice to make it more impressive and appealing?

First here are some practical suggestions. Use exercises to warm your voice up. Speak your favourite song lyrics (for the lyrical aspect of your voice). Search for articles on topics that interest you and practise with them. Write a story and speak that out loud. Feel the sound in your whole body not just your throat.

Practicing voice exercises will help you with the physical sound. As for the rest of it, the most impressive and appealing voices belong to those who come from the heart and are living their life full of joy and appreciation.

Q. How can I stop sounding nasal? It makes me sound like a little kid. It also irritates others so they don't want to listen to me. Help!

What's happening is that you aren't accessing your chest register. Rather than 'get rid of' that sinus cavity resonance, you want to add the chest resonance to it.

Place your hand on your chest a little below your collar bones. Then make as low an Ah sound as you can. If you can feel a vibration you have accessed the chest register. Do that a few times each day to make it stronger.

Q. For many years I have sought to improve my speaking voice but have come to increasingly dislike the way I sound. Can voice training be of any help?

You are listening to your voice and focusing too much on what you dislike. Your perception of your voice needs to be a kinesthetic experience not an auditory one. To have a good experience of your own voice pay more attention to how it feels.

To practise that awareness, ask yourself questions. "How does it feel right now? Does it feel good? Can I feel it in my body?" You will find your own questions too.

Q. I have a really noticeable accent and sometimes people have to ask me to repeat what I've said. I've stopped speaking up in meetings because of this. How can I get rid of my accent?

Being misunderstood is very stressful, and stress has a real affect on the body. It makes your throat muscles tense and disconnects you from your breath. In this situation if you are not forced to participate, choose to speak or not speak depending on how calm you feel. When you want to speak, breathe deeply and slowly. Focus on feeling the sound coming from your body not your throat. This will help you break the pattern of the past and your accent will not be a stumbling block to people understanding you.

Q. How would you define an organic voice?

You want the full presence and resonance of your voice without having to consciously think about it. The more you think about your voice as lacking something, the more that condition will be your experience. Your organic voice is the natural, unconsciously produced whole sound that is an auditory demonstration of all the potential you were born with.