Apparently our words could account for as little as 3% of what we communicate to others. All the rest comes from non-verbal signals, such as how we sound (the quality of our voice, the inflections we use, etc.), our body language and also our appearance.
Obviously what you are saying to others needs to be heard, and we have already discussed strategies for how to do that effectively. Now we are going to tap into the potential of the sound of your voice, to give you a very powerful way to get your message across in addition to what you’re saying.
We’ve all been in situations where we’ve had to listen to a person with a really monotonous voice. (The word ‘monotonous’ actually means ‘on one note’.) It doesn’t take long before you switch off and stop listening to what they’re saying, however fascinating the subject.
A good speaker uses many variations in the pitch of their voice: they use a lot of notes. Put another way, their voice has a lot of music in it. Think of the Italians with their naturally musical language, and how attractive they are to listen to, even when speaking English.
In this unit you will learn how to put that ‘magic music’ into your voice.
Try this: Say ‘I’d love a cup of coffee’, making the ‘o’ in ‘love’ as long as possible. Now say the same phrase but making the ‘o’ in ‘love’ short and the ‘l’ and ‘v’ as long as possible. It’s not difficult to see which version gives you the greater possibility for putting music and meaning into the word ‘love’.
Many people have a tendency to ‘clip’ the vowels very short when speaking, but that loses the music in the voice – and, as you discovered in Exercise 7 on speaking slower, makes it more difficult for others to understand what is being said.
So although you need clear consonants and good articulation to be understood, you also need to linger long enough on the vowels to allow the pitch variations that make you interesting to listen to, as well as to regulate your talking speed.
To sum up:
Part of having an interesting voice is the ability to convey emotion. If you’re enthusiastic about what you’re saying you’ll want to transmit that to your listeners.
Sometimes in your working life, though, it may be necessary to convey more negative emotion for the purposes of authority, discipline, or simply effect. When you have to do this:
Any emotion you feel produces physical effects in your body. If the emotion is negative, it will promote the release of stress hormones and have a tightening effect, right down to the cellular level. If this is a regular occurrence it can be very damaging to your health.
It will also raise the emotional temperature, quite possibly in a situation that needs to be calmed down.
You need to be like an actor, who can convey a repertoire of emotional tones without having to feel them.
If you find yourself easily getting swept up in emotions, keeping some of your attention in your body – or at least periodically bringing some attention into your body – will help you stay calmer. The best way to do this is by keeping some of your awareness on your breath (slow diaphragmatic breaths, as described in Part One of the course) and simple body awareness (Section 2.5).
Apparently our words could account for as little as 3% of what we communicate to others. All the rest comes from non-verbal signals, such as how we sound (the quality of our voice, the inflections we use, etc.), our body language and also our appearance.
Obviously what you are saying to others needs to be heard, and we have already discussed strategies for how to do that effectively. Now we are going to tap into the potential of the sound of your voice, to give you a very powerful way to get your message across in addition to what you’re saying.
We’ve all been in situations where we’ve had to listen to a person with a really monotonous voice. (The word ‘monotonous’ actually means ‘on one note’.) It doesn’t take long before you switch off and stop listening to what they’re saying, however fascinating the subject.
A good speaker uses many variations in the pitch of their voice: they use a lot of notes. Put another way, their voice has a lot of music in it. Think of the Italians with their naturally musical language, and how attractive they are to listen to, even when speaking English.
In this unit you will learn how to put that ‘magic music’ into your voice.
Try this: Say ‘I’d love a cup of coffee’, making the ‘o’ in ‘love’ as long as possible. Now say the same phrase but making the ‘o’ in ‘love’ short and the ‘l’ and ‘v’ as long as possible. It’s not difficult to see which version gives you the greater possibility for putting music and meaning into the word ‘love’.
Many people have a tendency to ‘clip’ the vowels very short when speaking, but that loses the music in the voice – and, as you discovered in Exercise 7 on speaking slower, makes it more difficult for others to understand what is being said.
So although you need clear consonants and good articulation to be understood, you also need to linger long enough on the vowels to allow the pitch variations that make you interesting to listen to, as well as to regulate your talking speed.
To sum up:
Part of having an interesting voice is the ability to convey emotion. If you’re enthusiastic about what you’re saying you’ll want to transmit that to your listeners.
Sometimes in your working life, though, it may be necessary to convey more negative emotion for the purposes of authority, discipline, or simply effect. When you have to do this:
Any emotion you feel produces physical effects in your body. If the emotion is negative, it will promote the release of stress hormones and have a tightening effect, right down to the cellular level. If this is a regular occurrence it can be very damaging to your health.
It will also raise the emotional temperature, quite possibly in a situation that needs to be calmed down.
You need to be like an actor, who can convey a repertoire of emotional tones without having to feel them.
If you find yourself easily getting swept up in emotions, keeping some of your attention in your body – or at least periodically bringing some attention into your body – will help you stay calmer. The best way to do this is by keeping some of your awareness on your breath (slow diaphragmatic breaths, as described in Part One of the course) and simple body awareness (Section 2.5).
