There are lots of tricks, the first is to be able to hear your self properly. The next is to get to know your range and don’t stretch too far beyond that range so straining your voice. You will know when you have done this as it will hurt ! Also making exaggerated shapes with your lips to help form sounds can help with clarity, don’t mumble, if you have something to say, say it and don’t be shy !!!!! Also learn about switching between your chest and head voices (chest voice is bloomy and head voice is squeaky). Good control of this can also help with clarity.

The next thing is to sort out some EQ, which can make a huge difference! The optimal settings will vary from gig to gig depending on the size and shape of the room so don’t be afraid to experiment. EQ can de-muddy a voice and make it sound clearer. The best way of doing this is cutting mid frequencies and boosting treble (careful with that feedback now !).

Following that you may want to experiment with effects (delay / reverb / chorus etc.... you know the score if you play the guitar !!) of which there are many. If you are recording compression is a must though not so important for playing live. Digitech do a thing called a Vocalist 300 which I’m about to get hold of specifically for vocals, I can let you know if it is any good. I think it is about $200.00

When I was working as a soundman we got by with a Midiverb II a 7 band EQ and a desk which went into a 1k rig (All for 3 vocals).

The next thing you might want to consider is experimenting with backing vocals, these can make the difference between sounding like a high-school bad and a professional band. They may take a while to get right but it is worth it !

Stick with it dude, the more you sing the better you will sound. I remember frightening old ladies and making small children cry (unintentionally this time) when I started singing. I gets better just stick at it !!!