Listen to your own voice on playback. Do you like what you hear? It’s a well-known fact that the majority of people surveyed after hearing their recorded voice are disappointed. Some are even horrified at what they hear.
"Do I really sound like that?"
For people who require convincing vocal communication for their livelihood such as selling, lecturing, teaching, negotiating and so on, it is essential they are able to deliver their presentation with the best and most effective skills.
Total control of the human voice is not quite as straightforward as many of us imagine. Far too often we simply take speaking for granted. Sure, it’s easy to speak, but what sort of impression is being made on the listener?
Consider some of the human emotions which can affect the voice. For instance, let’s say you are addressing a large gathering in a hall. You have center stage, complete with lecturn and microphone to assist. However, in front of a packed hall you’re probably a little nervous and this can create tension in the vocal chords making your voice croaky and uneven. Your audience is likely to switch off.
If you need to speak with authority and conviction to stress an important feature of your delivery, do you understand how to modulate the tone of the voice to draw attention and highlight the main points?
What about monotony of a presentation? It’s so easy for audiences to fall asleep if the speaker doesn’t understand how to keep the voice fluid, interesting and free from dull monotonous verbiage.
Don’t think these problems are common to speechmakers. Even on a one-to-one basis the same principles apply. The obvious difference between speaking to a large group as distinct from a small group, or just a single person, is that large groups are not likely to interrupt and shut you up. They’ll just tune out.
Singing and speaking require an identical method of vocal production for correct delivery. Singing is simply a prolonged extension of the tone produced from human sound. Nature provides us with all the necessary basic equipment, but to get the best results we do need to understand how to use it properly.
Serious singers can spend a lifetime studying for a professional career. In fact, good singers hardly ever stop learning. After all, nobody will engage a singer who can’t sing well. Yet, with speaking you may be pleasantly surprised how much more confident you will become and how much more efficient you will sound when you understand how to make the voice actually work FOR you, to enhance your delivery.
Let’s look at some of the fundamentals of voice production. The first essential is correct breathing, together with effective breath control, supported by a strong upright posture.
To keep the voice fresh and clear the muscles in the throat and vocal chords must be totally relaxed and supple.
To build volume and impact the body must produce strong resonance in both the chest and the head. It is simply wrong to try and produce good tones from the throat. The entire upper torso must be employed in the vocal process.
To some people, both singing and speaking with good quality tone and agility seems to come naturally. For most of us, we need to be coached.
Are some languages easier to speak than others?
Not surprisingly, the answer is ‘yes’. Mediterranean languages such as Italian, Spanish and French which flow freely on vowels are far easier to pronounce than language such as Russian and other Eastern European dialects with sometimes difficult consonant combinations.
English is a blend of both types where both vowels and consonants are of equal importance. In addition, good English requires understanding the right way to pronounce diphthongs – double vowels which are connected through a gliding effect.
The study of the voice for efficient speaking is neither complicated nor extensive. As an opera singer and somebody who has spent many years speaking publicly prior to making aliyah in 1999, I have learnt how to achieve the best results with my voice, both artistically and in an informative manner.
Check my profile on JobShuk for more details. I’d be happy to assist.
Lloyd Masel