Quick summary: People who explain an idea clearly over tea often lose that voice in front of a slide, because they start performing a careful speaker role instead of using the range they already have. Research on infant directed and pet directed speech shows that adults change pace, pitch, emphasis and pauses for a listener, so the useful step is to keep the words the same and choose an intention such as reassurance, invitation or firmness. That choice supports confidence and makes a talk easier to follow, which matters for well being and for any setting where clear communication affects care, teaching or decisions, so rehearse a few checkpoints, record the opening, and begin with someone you want to reach rather than waiting to feel certain.

Some of the most articulate people I know can explain a complicated idea brilliantly over a cup of tea. Put them in front of a slide marked “Introduction” and suddenly they sound as if they’ve been hired to read the terms and conditions.

The problem is rarely that they have no voice. It is that they have started trying to sound like a Speaker: capital S, unnaturally careful, and rather less alive than the person who was talking five minutes earlier.

Through teaching, singing and speaking coaching, I ask people to look for their expressive range in places they may have overlooked. Think about how you speak to a child who needs reassurance, a friend who has done something brave, or a dog who is about to steal your lunch. Your pace, pitch, emphasis and pauses change. You can be gentle, firm or delighted, sometimes without planning a single word of it.

There is research behind the everyday observation that we adapt our voices to a listener. A cross-cultural study of infant-directed speech and song found recognisable acoustic patterns in the way adults address infants. In a different context, research on pet-directed speech found that adults changed aspects of their speech and that dogs attended differently to that speech than to adult-directed speech. Neither study shows that talking to your dog will make you a brilliant presenter. They illustrate a smaller, useful point: a flexible voice is part of ordinary human communication.

Here is a way to put that observation to work. Say this sentence aloud: “Here is the one thing I want you to remember.” First, say it as though you are reassuring someone. Next, say it as though you are inviting a colleague into an interesting idea. Finally, say it firmly, as though a decision depends on it. Keep the words exactly the same. What happened to the pace? Where did the emphasis move? Did you leave a pause?

Now imagine opening a real presentation. Choose the intention that fits your audience and your message, then speak the first sentence again. You needn’t bring your dog voice into the boardroom. The point is to notice that you can make a choice about how you communicate. That choice does not depend on waiting for nerves to vanish.

Of course, voice alone cannot rescue a talk that has no destination. Before worrying about sounding impressive, decide what the listener should understand or do when you finish. I like to rehearse around a few clear checkpoints rather than memorising every turn of phrase. Know the route well enough that you can wander: ask a question, follow a reaction, explain something another way, and still find your way back.

A useful rehearsal question is not “Did I deliver every line perfectly?” It is “Could someone follow me, and did I sound like I was speaking to them?” Record thirty seconds of your opening. Listen once for the message and once for the voice. If either sounds borrowed, try again with a real person in mind.

Confidence can grow while you are doing the speaking. You do not have to feel utterly certain before you begin. Start with something you know, someone you want to reach, and a voice that has been yours all along.

Edlin Somorin is a Hertfordshire-based singer and public speaking coach working as Edlin Wayfinder. She has taught at the University of Hertfordshire. She holds an MSc in Psychology and is writing “Speak Anyway”, a practical book on building speaking confidence through voice, preparation and connection.