Using a finger to gently feel laryngeal structures in the midline, first find the thyroid notch in the superior margin of the thyroid cartilage and then move the finger inferiorly over the laryngeal prominence and down the anterior surface of the thyroid angle. As the finger crosses the inferior margin of the thyroid cartilage in the midline, a soft depression is felt before the finger slides onto the arch of the cricoid cartilage, which is hard.