Voice and Delivery · Intermediate
Keep the Buzz Alive When You Open to a Vowel
Published
Keep the Buzz Alive When You Open to a Vowel: a practical lesson from Guy Monroe’s book Sound Like You Mean It, with a focused exercise for your next speaking situation.
Find The Buzzing Bees moves from hum to vowel to phrase while maintaining the sensation of resonance.
Start with what is happening
Before you change anything, describe the moment in observable terms. What did you do, what happened next, and where did the difficulty appear? Keep that description separate from a broad verdict about your ability. The clearer the moment, the easier it is to choose a practice that fits.
Put it into practice
Follow the progression slowly: hum, open to a comfortable vowel, then speak a short phrase. Notice whether the sound stays clear as the form changes.
Keep the first repetition small enough that you can pay attention to the behaviour you are testing. Once it is clear, repeat it in the form you are likely to need: standing if you will stand, with a listener if the task involves another person, or with the relevant passage from your presentation. Change one variable at a time so you can tell what helped.
Watch for this trap
Holding the hum too tightly or pushing the vowel louder. If you notice yourself doing it, return to the exact action you chose to practise. You do not have to solve every aspect of speaking in one attempt.
Carry the skill into a real situation
Practise the transition at conversational volume before using it in presentation material. After the attempt, write down what you actually did and what you observed. Use that evidence to decide whether to repeat the same drill, make it slightly harder, or choose a different point to practise.
Why this works
The exercise trains continuity from one sound shape to the next. The point is to turn an abstract intention into a behaviour you can observe, repeat and refine. A useful practice gives you information for the next attempt, rather than asking you to judge your entire performance at once.
This lesson draws on Guy Monroe’s book Sound Like You Mean It, which develops vocal laws, breath, vowels, resonance, phrasing, dynamics, body, recovery, and deliberate practice under pressure. The exercise here is a practical application of the book’s teaching, not a substitute for working through the full method.
FROM GUY MONROE’S BOOKS
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Related to this article: Find The Buzzing Bees moves from hum to vowel to phrase while maintaining the sensation of resonance.
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