No Speech Lessons! - Articles - Andrew Schwartz

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No Speech Lessons!
by Andrew E. Schwartz

As an effective presentor, a good voice is your primary tool. Speaking voices of both beginners and experienced presentors are often weakened by carelessness and bad habits which diminish the overall effect of their presentation. Because of this, a presentor must constantly evaluate his or her voice. It is possible to do this in two steps without taking special voice lessons, by listening to it as others would hear it, and by practicing proper speaking until it becomes a habit.

Listen: Make and listen to a good recording of your voice, and compare it to the voices of other presentors. If available, use high-fidelity equipment, but good office dictating equipment can suffice. (Where video tape systems are available, you will have opportunity to see and hear yourself). Choose about five minutes worth of text on a familiar subject. Look ahead for ends of sentences and paragraphs to use as pauses for breathing. Test the recording equipment for proper microphone distance and recording volume. Start the equipment, pause for ten seconds, breathe deeply, and begin. Read the passage aloud several times, making sure of pronunciation and punctuation. Remain as relaxed as possible; do not strain or hurry. Reading in solitude will help. Keep your voice natural and conversational. Speak from as deeply within your body as comfortably. This will give you a recording sufficient for self-evaluation and practice.

Play your recording several times, listening to the way you have pronounced individual words and sounds. Gradually your ear will develop a new sensitivity and alertness. Careful listening and objectivity will allow you to identify areas of your voice which need improvement

While listening to the recording, especially at the beginning, many people find themselves saying “That doesn’t sound like me”. This is because the sound absorption, conduction, and resonance of your own body structures and cavities tend to distort what you hear. You also will discover imperfections which you never knew you had, such as dropped endings, slurred syllables, and accents. Most of these can be corrected with practice, and there are few life activities where more opportunity for practice is afforded than in speaking.

In order to evaluate the recording of your voice most effectively, use this checklist. (Add any other items that you think you might be necessary to pay special attention to in your particular case; e.g., a regional accent that ought to be curbed or modified).

The mood and general temper are appropriate to the occasion.
The volume of the voice is strong enough that the listener does not have to strain to hear it.
There are variations in the voice, such as inflections, volume, and emphasis which convey variations in meaning.
The voice is friendly and pleasant, not harsh, uncultured or improperly accented.
The words are enunciated clearly and are pronounced correctly.
Ends of sentences and thoughts are obvious in the voice.
The voice is calm and controlled. It does not strain or break.
The voice seems to have feeling and reality. It does not sound contrived as if the speaker were reciting as opposed to conversing.
If a video tape is used, the posture of the speaker is erect and poised.

Even after this complete analysis, you may still detect problems in your speaking voice. Often this is due to nervousness and fear. There are several methods to take in alleviating nervousness while at the same time improving your overall training presentation.

One of these methods is the use of emotion. An emotional involvement in a subject carrys over into physical speech. Such emotion actually has the effect of displacing other emotions such as nervousness or fear.

Attempting to generate your voice from as deep within your diaphragm as possible while maintaining comfort and naturalness will also have a tendency to relax you. The net effect will be improved quality, in both tone and volume. Since you are relieving your throat, neck, and jaw muscles of some of the work which they must not be doing anyway, you will find yourself better able to use them in shaping the sounds which come from deeper within your body.

Nervousness also creates rapid speaking, which in turn causes words to run together, syllables to slur, and endings to drop. In addition, speaking too rapidly has a tendency to raise the pitch of the voice, giving a strained, harsh, or twangy quality. Speaking too slowly, however can cause the voice to drone or drawl and become monotonous. Proper speed regulation adjusts to the nature of what is being said. Generally, phrases to be emphasized are spoken more slowly. Increased speed builds tension unless it is deliberate and controlled to attain a dynamic effect.

There are other factors besides nervousness and fear which can hinder a speaking voice. One of these is awkward structures wich are further emphasized in a voice with a speech impediment. If you have a speech impediment such as difficulty in pronouncing the “s” sound, try not to include any structures or phrasing that will emphasize the difficulty or cause stumbling. For instance, a person with this particular difficulty must avoid a statement such as, “Several specific sedimentary solutions serve to satisfy....” When one of these crops up take a moment to rephrase it. Remember that it is impossible tocompletely avoid awkward structures without making your speech sound overly contrived. Concentrate only on the most obvious and/or habitual of your own.

Lack of volume control can also harm a presentation. Volume is controlled by forcing out more or less air. The “wind” thus produced is formed into specific kinds of sound as parts of words by the modifiers—tongue, lips, jaw, teeth, and palate. In consciously practicing speech improvement, it is necessary to become more aware of these modifiers and even to overemphasize them while practicing. This will lead to better voice production and volume control under regular speaking conditions.

Practice: A simple exercise can bring all of these factors into focus, including the necessity for breath control. Although this is not a comprehensive speech improvement exercise it will provide you with a better awareness of your voice and what it is doing—and can do. A good exercise to practice begins with standing erect and relaxed and taking a normal deep breath. Recite the alphabet aloud and overemphasize the pronunciation of each letter, taking particular note of the escaping breath. Try saying a few letters in higher and lower pitch. The voice feels and sounds better as the pitch is lowered and it is easier to concentrate on using the tongue, lips, and teeth. Start the alphabet over if some air remains. (It is not necessary to wait for the air supply to become exhausted before replenishing it). Air needs to be inhaled at normal pauses in speech. Note the differences in placement of the modifiers with each letter. Try increasing the volume and note the more rapid escape of air. Continue to practice and try variations in pitch and volume. Try to lengthen the use of the same amount of breath. Concentrate on conserving it.

There are other elements in speaking which can help make the difference between a dry presentation and in interesting one.

The Use of Pause: When starting out, most presentors rarely consider “empty time” to be a tool. The tendency is to speak too rapidly, with very little pause, mainly because silent time at the podium seems longer than it really is. Learn to pause after saying things which the audience should weigh carefully. A pause after a complex thought often gives the audience time to comprehend it. It has already been pointed out that pauses can be used for breathing. They can also give you time to think, to rally for the next point, check your outline, and find your place.

A Cultured, Educated Voice: A cultured voice displays accurate pronunciation and correct grammar and language usage. Oddly, it is not the unfamiliar words and aspects of the language that cause the most trouble. Usually, when a presentor encounters them, they look up the correct pronunciation or use. The trouble comes from everyday habits and practices about which no doubt arises—such things as wrong accents on word syllables, omission of syllables, or dropped endings. In grammatical usage, such errors as misuse of words, disagreement of subject and verb, and the use of slang and colloquialisms can decrease the effectivenessof a presentation. The net effect of correcting all such errors is the production of a more cultured voice.

Vocal Animation: One method of conveying feeling and meaning is through the use of vocal animation. Perhaps the most common is the interrogative inflection—upward at the end of a sentence to indicate that it is a question. Practice reading aloud using inflection and emphasis. Learn to vary your voice, to live the words as one does in actual, everyday, uninhibited conversation. Put real-life feeling into the spoken word instead of speaking in a professional monotone.

A presentor’s awareness of health can also sharpen training performance. Moderate use of alcohol and tobacco before a presentation and little or no eating immediately before going on can make a significant improvement in a speaking voice. Heavy eating dulls the senses and affects voice resonance. Rest sufficiently before training—even a short nap if it is late in the day. This relaxes the whole body and mind and particularly the voice mechanisms. Finally, good posture insures attractive appearance and builds confidence.

Many presentors find that if they isolate only one of these tactics and use it, they can give their voice the small amount of added effectiveness it needed. Others find that several of these tactics provide their speech quality with a major positive overhaul. Whether you use one, a few, or all of these tactics, you can improve your voice, making it more pleasant and valuable. In training, what could be more important?

Andrew E. Schwartz, CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates of Boston, MA a comprehensive management training and professional development organization offering over 40 skills specific programs and practical solutions to today's business challenges.

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