h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Great to see this on the front page... again! to 2Legs!

I thought that it may be an idea to have add ons for improving breathing, now that we know how its done.

I used to do a lot of reading in public (from a pulpit if you must know) and one of the people involved in giving us training gave us some valuable advice. If you are nervous your breathing is shallower and in men, in particular, it leads to your voice being higher.

When you pronounce your first syllable after shallow breathing it may come out as a squeak which can be very disconcerting and add to the nervousness so always take a deep breath before you start.

To improve your ability to take deep breaths there are loads of exercises you can do. One which I enjoy is based on the phrase "One by one they climb the stairs".

Find somewhere where you will not be overheard, unless you are fantastically oblivious of the stares of strangers. Driving alone in the car is a good place, but it is probably better done standing up to give maximum capacity lung expansion.

Breathe deeply and say as loud as you can, "One by one they climbed the stairs."

Take a deep breath again and loudly say, "One by one they climbed the stairs and two by two they climbed the stairs"

After each breath add another one so on breath three you will be saying, "One by one they climbed the stairs and two by two they climbed the stairs and three by three they climbed the stairs."

How many can you get to before running out of breath. With practice you will increase your lung capacity and your ability to project.