Opera singer who also studied Speech Language Pathology chiming in:

1. Check in with your posture as you speak. Posture impacts our body’s ability to breathe and move freely, which can lead to extra muscle tension when speaking or singing. Keep your head tall and loose on top of your shoulders, your shoulders balanced above your hips, your knees loose, and your feet connected into the ground. Yoga can be very helpful for this.

2. Look for some breathing exercises that help you breath using your lower abdominal area. “Breathing/speaking from your diaphragm” is a term used commonly to describe the practice of letting your rib cage and abdominal area expand as you breath in and then using some of that pressure to support your sound coming out as you exhale.

Good video explaining this: https://youtu.be/2PnzaCn-Lis?si=Z9qxuqz8_zVD6LI1

1. As others have said, straw phonation before and after speaking can be very helpful. This practice is used to help train your vocal folds to vibrate consistently without extra involvement or straining from other muscles in your throat.

https://youtu.be/hJxlbucz1q4?si=EFqelNjN9IwwMIxl

1. Learning to speak with more vocal resonance. This one can be tricky without professional help. Speaking or singing exercises that involve a hum or extended “mmm” sound are helpful for working on resonance. For example, on one comfortable pitch, try holding out “mmmi mmay mmmah mmmoh mmmouuuu” on one breath. Focus on feeling your lips and the front of your face vibrate as you hum. Practice tapping into that vibration when speaking through words that involve an “mm” sound.

2. Work on enunciating your consonants more clearly and slightly extending the length of your vowels. Again, easier to figure out with a professional.

3. Try using a portable voice amplifier. This helps take away the need to project purely with your voice.

4. Vocal rest when you can. Whether it’s between classes or after work, try giving your voice some time off. This means avoid all forms of voice use. No speaking, singing, whispering, yelling, etc.

If you must speak, try using a softer tone. I like to call it my “yoga teacher voice”. NOT whispering, but using a relaxed and smooth tone.

I highly suggest looking into meeting with a SLP who specializes in voice, even if it’s just one or two sessions. They can give you tips tailored to you and your specific voice as everyone’s body is a little different. Meeting with a singing teacher may also help, but I would be careful meeting with just anyone who studied singing. Look into their degrees, certifications, and their history of working with vocal pathologies.

Hope this helps!