Why doesn’t the fellow who says “I’m no speech maker” let it go at that, instead of giving a demonstration?
Frank McKinney Hubbard
This is not a book about elocution and I am not a drama teacher so don’t expect me to show you how to develop a deep melodious voice, throbbing with emotion, if you normally speak in a thin, squeaky little voice. No matter how you sound, you probably dislike your own voice if you have ever heard it on a tape recorder. This chapter describes techniques to help you create a more interesting voice and avoid the faults common among inexperienced speakers.
Few people like the sound of their own voice. This is because throughout your life you have heard your voice through the bone of your jaw, while everyone else (including the tape recorder) hears it straight from your mouth. Hearing yourself on tape for the first time is a shock, so try to be objective about it. However, if you feel your voice is a serious handicap, seek professional advice and if necessary join an elocution class. Unfortunately, I can’t hear you speak so I can’t judge, but of all my clients I only recommend a small percentage to seek further help.
The most common complaint people have about their voice is their accent. I sound so posh and stand-offish” — “I sound so
common I don’t like the way I pronounce my Rs” — “My Southern accent makes me sound unintelligent.”
Regard your accent as part of your personality and only consider changing it it you cannot be understood. There are many examples of successful men and women who have made a feature ot their accent: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, and Jesse Jackson.
To be an effective speaker you need:
• To be heard.
• To be understood.
• To have variety in your voice.
How to be heard
There are speakers whose soft voices make it difficult for their listeners to hear them, even in a small group. In addition there may be background noise — road work and traffic outside in the street, air conditioning or heating noise inside, as well as the general office hubbub in the adjoining rooms. After a while listeners give up straining to hear the quiet voice of the speaker and indulge in some internal conversations with themselves.
With larger audiences, you may have to speak over the sound of latecomers arriving, the rattle of china and cutlery as well as coughing and nose blowing.
The secret of voice projection is to use your breath to support your voice as you speak from the stomach. If you exert pressure on your throat muscles to speak louder, your voice will sound strained and you will end up with a sore throat.
In order to speak well you must breathe well
Most of us don’t use our lungs well. In our everyday lives we take short shallow breaths and only fill the top half of our lungs. Under stress we breathe more rapidly but because we
“There may be background noise, road work, traffic outside in the street, air conditioning, as well as general office hubbub in adjoining rooms.”
are not using the full capacity of our lungs, we become breathless; when we are speaking, we can even run out of air before we reach the end of a sentence.
The deeper you breathe the more air you Will have to sustain your voice and project it to all your listeners.
Try placing your hands on your ribs and feeling your lungs inflate. Now take a deep breath and count aloud on that one breath. You should reach 30+ but don’t cheat. Full lungs will enable you to finish long sentences with no urns or ers, will kill some of your panic and take the strain off your larynx so that you will be able to project your voice like an opera singer.
Imagine that the air in your lungs is like water coming out of a garden hose; it can dribble out over the lawn or you can place
your thumb over die end and direct it to the furthest corners of the garden. When you count out loud, control your air so that you can extend it for longer and longer. Each time you attempt this counting exercise, try to increase your breath control to reach a higher and higher number and to extend your voice to the far corners of the room and beyond.
Projecting through a wall
Imagine that your voice is a laser beam and it can penetrate the wall into the next room. You will need lots of air to extend it in a controlled jet, past your voice box and unrestricted by your throat muscles and out through your mouth. Practice reading from this book into a tape recorder in your normal voice and then again projecting into the next room. You should be able to hear the difference as you use more air to carry your voice further and further. There is no excuse for not being heard. If you suspect or have been told that you have a soft voice, keep using more air in your everyday conversation. At first it may feel unnatural and too loud, but persevere and you will find that people take more notice of you and interrupt you less. If you develop a strong voice, you will be perceived as someone who is worth listening to and you will have no trouble participating at meetings. Don’t let your voice drop at the end of sentences, but maintain the same volume right to the final full stop.