You don’t need a grand piano or 14 spare hours a week.

Just a walk, a hum, and a little intention.

Your Voice Is a Muscle. Warm It Up Like One.

If you’re using your voice all day to persuade, explain, connect—or win—then your vocal cords deserve as much care as your closing argument.

But let’s be honest: no one’s got time for hour-long warmups.

Here’s the good news: you can protect your voice and calm your nervous system in under 2 minutes, using one of the simplest, most powerful tools available:

Humming.

Why Humming Works: The Science Behind the Buzz

Humming does more than just wake up your voice. It activates your entire vocal system—and your nervous system too.

✅ It connects breath to voice.

This creates vocal ease and helps reduce strain—especially critical if you're doing hours of testimony, depositions, or argument.

✅ It tones the vagus nerve.

Your vagus nerve controls the “rest and digest” branch of your nervous system. According to research, vocalizations like humming stimulate this nerve and help regulate stress. (Source)

✅ It improves resonance.

Humming sends gentle vibrations through your face and chest, helping you find the “buzz” of efficient sound production without strain or force.

✅ It’s low effort and low risk.

No fancy technique is required. Even 30 seconds can increase airflow, wake up your range, and improve tonal clarity.

Habit-Stacking: How to Fit Voice Work Into Your Real Life

The secret? Habit stacking.

Coined by James Clear in Atomic Habits, this approach links a new habit (like vocal warmups) to something you’re already doing.

Here’s what that looks like:

1. 🚶 Walking to court? → Hum.

2. ☕ Waiting for your coffee to brew? → Hum.

3. 🔄 Rebooting your laptop? → Hum.

4. 🧴 Refilling your water bottle? → Hum.

No need for perfect pitch. No need for full songs. Just let the hum ride your breath. Feel the vibration in your nose, lips, or chest? That’s your vocal system gently activating.

🔁 BONUS: Humming is the perfect warm-up to stack with yawn-sighs for a full-body reset. (More on that here.)

What It Looks Like in Real Life

You don’t need rehearsal rooms. You need mindfulness.

Here’s how I use micro warmups daily:

1. I hum in elevators.

2. I hum on the walk to grab coffee.

3. I hum while setting up for Zoom.

4. And yes, I hum and warm up in the grocery store.

No added time. Just added intention.

Want to Level Up? Expand Your Hum

Once you’ve started humming consistently, try these upgrades:

➡️ Slide gently through your range (the fancy word for this is glissando 💅)

➡️ Move from chest voice to head voice

➡️ Connect to a yawn-sigh to stretch your breath and relax your larynx

➡️ Pair with physical movement—like a shoulder roll—to further relax the body

If you’re curious how to build a full, custom warm-up routine, I walk you through the steps in my free guide below 👇

✅ Try This: A 60-Second Reset You Can Do Now

1. Inhale deeply through your nose.

2. Hum gently on the exhale.

   Feel the vibration between your lips or in your nose.

3. Repeat 2–3 times.

4. Stretch it out with a soft yawn-sigh.

5. Notice how your voice feels.

   More connected? Less strain? You’ve just warmed up.

Don’t Skip the Warm-Up. Just make it do-able.

Warming up doesn’t have to be theatrical. It has to be practical.

Your voice is the most-used tool in your trial practice. Humming helps you protect it, access more range, reduce fatigue, and keep your message connected.

You don’t have to add time. You just have to add awareness.

🎁 Ready For More?

📥 Grab the free guide: The 6 Ingredients of a Perfect Vocal Warmup

Includes 3 more exercises to add range, energy, and vocal stamina—perfect for long speaking days.

TL;DR:

1. Your voice is a muscle. Warm it up like one.

2. Humming is science-backed and courtroom-friendly.

3. Stack it onto routines you’re already doing.

4. Combine with yawn-sighs for a nervous system boost.

5. One hum at a time, you build vocal clarity and connection.

You’ve got the tools. Now use them on purpose.

Until next time... keep fostering your voice.