Ventriloquism is an illusion that makes it sound like two separate people are talking. You will need to develop a voice for your puppet that sounds different than your own. Then you must practice switching quickly from your own voice to that of the puppet. At first you will get mixed up, but don’t worry — soon you will be doing it naturally and automatically.
The hardest part of being a ventriloquist is talking without moving your lips. Try to keep relaxed and natural. Part your lips and teeth slightly to allow the words to pass through, and try not to move your jaw.
Lip control takes practice ... and more practice. It must not appear as though you are talking at the some time the puppet is supposedly talking. Some letters of the alphabet are easy to say without lip movement; others are very difficult, but it can be done.
To make it possible to speak the difficult letters without moving the lips, the ventriloquist uses what is known as "Sound Substitution". It is good for ventriloquists to begin with what is called the "Beginner's Alphabet": A, C, D, E, G, H, I, J, K, L, N, 0, Q, R, S, T, U, X, Y,Z. Those are the letters that are fairly easy to say without using your lips.
Try it. Say the following sentences with as little lip movement as possible.. (Use a mirror to check yourself. )
"THIS IS NOT SO HARD. I CAN DO IT. SEE. IT'S EASY. OKAY."
That wasn’t hard, was it?
Now try the following sentence. Still use the mirror.
"VENTRILOQUISM WILL BE A SNAP. BELIEVE ME."
That was harder, wasn’t it?
What made the difference? It was the type of words you used. The second sentence contains five of the six most difficult letters to say without moving the lips: B, P, M, V, F, and W. You can make your job easier by avoiding words that contain these troublesome six letters. But a ventriloquist learns to use all the letters of the alphabet, and you can learn to say ANY word without moving your lips.
Begin now to practice using the six difficult letters without moving your lips. Try the following letter substitutions:
Instead of "B" substitute a "D"
Instead of "P" substitute a "T"
Instead of "M" substitute a "N"
Instead of "V" substitute the "TH" as in "THEE"
Instead of "F'" substitute the "th" as in "ETH"
These substitutes are not exact substitutes of the true sound, but they will sound quite acceptable. Soon you will he able to say almost any word without lip movement and your audience will be able to understand what you are saying. And most of the time they will not notice that you are substituting letters.
You will find yourself still moving your lips at times, even using the substitute letters. But it can be done, and PRACTICE is the key. One rule to remember is this: always THINK the letter you want your audience to hear, and not the substitute letter or sound you are using. For example THINK the letter "B" while you substitute the letter "D".
Practice next to match the movements of the puppet's mouth with the words. This is called synchronization. Look in a mirror and watch your own mouth while you speak. Notice how sometimes the mouth opens wide, other times only a little, but it usually makes some movement with each spoken syllable. Operate your puppet so it does the same.
Now that you know how to make your puppet talk, don't forget other important movements: The turns and tilt of the head; gentle, rhythmic movements of the body. Do not move the puppet without purpose - every move should make the puppet more lifelike.
Remember: It's an illusion. What will make your ventriloquism work well is your ability to move the puppet in a lifelike manner, and the believability of your own reactions to the puppet. The most important aspect of successful ventriloquism I have found is that while performing or practicing, you must enter a frame of mind where you believe your companion is real. That may sound ridiculous, but the more real he/she becomes to you during your routine, the more real he/she will become to your audience. This I guarantee. The sound and sight of two people talking about an interesting subject make ventriloquism work.
Once again, here are the steps for doing ventriloquism: