A ten-minute voice and body warm-up for presenters

In short: Warm up for ten minutes before you present, record or go live. Start with breath, then loosen the shoulders, neck and jaw, then work the lips and tongue, then hum, then speak a few sentences at the volume you will use. Drink room-temperature water, avoid fizzy and ice-cold drinks, and eat a small snack that is not chocolate.

By Alastair Greener, presenter of Present Yourself in a Minute · Updated 5 November 2026

Ten minutes of warm-up before you speak helps your breath, body and voice settle together. Run the routine below in the room you are about to speak in, or in the corridor if that is where you are. Start with breath, move through the body, then the lips, tongue and voice, and finish with a few sentences at the volume you will actually use.

Before you start

Warm up ten to twenty minutes before you speak, not as you walk on. Keep a bottle of room-temperature water within reach, and skip fizzy drinks and ice-cold water. Have a small snack if you need one, but not chocolate. If you are about to present on a big stage, give the loosening step longer, because a big stage asks more of your body.

Alastair Greener, from Present Yourself in a Minute: four one-minute episodes on warming up, voice care, tongue twisters and stretching. Four minutes. Captions are on; turn them off in the player.

Read the transcript

How does warming up your body and voice improve your confidence? This is present yourself in a minute. Getting your voice and body ready before you present will not only help your vocal skills and body language. It will also help you feel more confident. It's no surprise that professional actors and presenters often have a warm-up ritual before they perform. Not only does it help them physically. It also helps psychologically. The process will help calm your nerves and it will also give you time to mentally prepare and focus on what you're about to present. So allow yourself between 10 and 20 minutes before you present to thoroughly warm yourself up and you'll find more tips on how to do this in the “using your voice” and “body language” series of videos. Thanks for watching. Why is it important to look after your voice when you present? This is present yourself in a minute As I said, in the introduction to this series, your voice is the most important asset in your presentation skills toolbox. So it's essential you look after it. The main thing is to keep it lubricated, so drink plenty of water before and during your presentation and it's a good idea to stay away from ice cold and fizzy drinks. before you begin presenting, loosen up by wiggling, your shoulders, relaxing your neck, releasing your jaw. I'm taking in some slow deep breaths. Warm your voice up by doing some vocal exercises like humming, which loosens up your vocal cords. Then try some tongue twisters and we'll talk more about them in the next video. How can tongue twisters help you and your next presentation? This is present yourself in a minute. Tongue twisters like a happy hippo hopped, and hiccuped is a great way to warm up, your voice and facial muscles before you give a presentation. It's a great habbit to get into because tongue twisters. Help your articulation, increase the clarity of your voice and they'll help prevent you from tripping up over your words. Different ones will help you enunciate, certain sounds better like - - And so on, there are lots of examples on the internet and I have a sheet available for you on the resources page of the Present Yourself website, make doing a series of tongue twisters. A habbit before you present, it will make a huge difference. Thanks for watching. Do you warm up your body before you deliver your talks? This is present yourself in a minute. Professional speakers will usually warm up their voices with some vocal exercises before they present. But what about a body warm up? This is something that's often overlooked, but a proper warm up can make a huge difference to the way you present. especially if you're nervous. Because warming up your muscles not only helps you physically, but it's also great psychologically. They are also particularly important if you're on a big stage in front of a large audience because you'll now want to move around more. And when you're fully warmed up, your body language will be more open and positive. So before you present, make sure you have enough time for a few stretch watches as well as your vocal exercises.

The routine

Breathe, two minutes. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and one hand on your belly. Breathe in for a count of three, hold for four, and breathe out for five. Repeat until your shoulders drop.
Loosen, two minutes. Roll your shoulders backwards, then forwards. Drop your chin to your chest and roll your head slowly from side to side. Open and close your jaw a few times, then shake out your hands.
Lips and tongue, two minutes. Say a few tongue twisters at a steady pace, first slowly, then a little faster. The tongue twisters page has a set you can use.
Hum, two minutes. Hum a comfortable note and let it slide up and down. Feel the buzz in your lips and nose. Finish by opening the hum into an "mm" and then an "ah".
Speak, two minutes. Read two or three sentences from your talk aloud, at the volume you will use in the room. Stop at each full stop and breathe out fully before the next sentence.

A worked example

Say you speak at 2pm in a room with a stage. Set a timer for 1:30 to drink your water, 1:40 to start the routine and 1:50 to finish and walk to the room. The routine fits in the gap without rushing, and you arrive with your breath already steady.

Common mistakes

Starting too early and then sitting in a cold corridor for an hour with a dry mouth.
Doing the sound exercises at full volume in a shared office or a busy corridor.
Pushing the voice past comfort. Stop if your throat hurts or your voice cracks.
Skipping the speaking step. It is the one that tells you whether the warm-up has worked.

This is general guidance. If your voice has been hoarse or painful for more than a couple of weeks, see a GP or a speech and language therapist rather than trying to work through it with exercises.

Before a media training day at the barn, run this routine before you come into the studio, so you start the first recording warm. The media training page explains how the day runs, and the first-timer guide to a media training day covers what to expect when you arrive.

Want to practise it on camera? A media training day at the barn puts you in front of real cameras, with playback and coaching. Media training day →

Related guides

The picture at the top of this page is an illustration, not a photograph of a client or a real job.

Questions we get asked

How long should a voice warm-up take before a presentation?

Ten to twenty minutes before you speak is the usual window in Present Yourself's advice on warming up. The routine here fits inside that, with a few minutes spare to get to the room.

What should you not drink before presenting?

Avoid fizzy drinks and ice-cold water. Room-temperature water is the better choice, kept to hand while you talk.

Can a warm-up fix a sore voice?

A warm-up helps a tired voice settle, but it does not treat an illness or a strain. If your voice has been hoarse or painful for more than a couple of weeks, see a GP or a speech and language therapist.

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