The Sound of Your Voice | "Sometimes a Voice Speaks to You in the Language of Romance" Article

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Sometimes a Voice Speaks to You in the Language of Romance
By Dr. Carol Fleming

Let’s say you are a woman who would like to develop an evocative, warm and resonant tone. You know it when you hear it. You see its effect on others. How would you describe what you hear?

You would probably notice that the voice was in some way ‘deep’. It is certainly relaxed and comfortable. The sound itself seems rich, with more harmonics, as if produced by a structure that was relaxed and open. It is a voice that has a physical presence.

Let’s examine the various elements of this voice. You’ll find there are physical features of speech and voice production that can be identified, developed and practiced. It is quite possible to enhance your vocal impact; start by understanding how it works.

PITCH

As you might expect, a high pitch would be heard as childlike and would not be the sound of the mature woman. People really don’t usually have a good sense of their relative vocal pitch. Listening to a decent tape recording (not your voicemail out-going message) is one thing you can do to see if you come off as a girl or a woman.

But, what you hear when you speak may not be what you’ll get when you have explored your pitch range with a voice coach. Why? Because we have a lot a habitual settings in our day-to-day communications, styles of speaking that we pick up from our families or peer groups. Your ‘typical’ may not represent you ‘possible’.

RESONANCE

A voice can be described as ‘rich’ or ‘resonant’ when the harmonies of the voice are evident to the ear. This kind of sound suggests a relaxed throat area. When the throat is tense and tight, words such as “strident” or ‘harsh” are used and are seldom found to be attractive. Professional singers (and speakers) learn how to modify the space in their mouth and throat to enhance the tones produced by their vocal fold.

TONAL SUPPORT

When you stop and start your voice in your throat during speaking you are interrupting the vocal flow and weakening the sounds. You are doing a lot of the work of articulation in your throat rather than in your mouth. The world has more than enough consonants; it needs lots more vocalic sounds. The sound of your voice brings people into the world of your personal presence. Consonants belong to abstract intelligence. You may need some trained ears (a coach) to help you identify and eliminate the hard stoppages in your voice.

MELODY

The ear loves to hear the voice move. Monotone kills romance since it is devoid of the juice of emotion. Think of it as your song to sing when you’re up-close-and-personal. If you only know how to dictate, to command, to lecture or to wise-crack, you aren’t going to make it. Learn to croon.

Surely whoever speaks to me in the right voice,
him or her I shall follow,
As the water follows the moon, silently
with fluid steps, anywhere around the globe.
~Walt Whitman

Contact us today to discuss how our workshops, coaching and training products can improve your Personal Professionalism and Communication Impact.

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