This is THE VOICE! Astound your audience with these voice-enhancing tips! [Wednesdays: “Speak on the Shoulders of Giants”]
Body language. Appearance. Gestures.
These are some important physical elements in public speaking.
Is there anything else we need to add to the list?
Yes!
When it comes to the power and effectiveness of a message, one of the essential physical elements in a speech or presentation is…
VOICE!
In the book, “The Art of Public Speaking,” author Dale Carnegie said,
“A rich, correctly-used voice is the greatest physical factor of persuasiveness, often over-topping the effects of reason.”
Carnegie also believes that public speaking is nine-tenths voice work. This means the majority of a speaker’s success depends on his or her voice power, while the other one-tenth is reserved for other factors such as gestures, facial expressions, body movements, etc.
According to Carnegie, there are 3 fundamental requisites for a good voice. These are:
- Ease
Notice how the sound of your voice changes when you’re angry versus when you’re happy.
That happens because the air waves that produce voice come out in a different tone when striking against constricted muscles (when you’re angry) and when striking against relaxed muscles (when you’re happy).
Observe how you don’t even have to think about whether to contract or relax your facial muscles in these scenarios… you just do it.
This means…
Whenever you speak in front of an audience, you shouldn’t force your voice tones. Instead, ease must be your mantra to free your voice from strain during a speech or presentation.
Your lips must also be flexible to help you enunciate words and produce the proper voice tones.
One of the lip and voice exercises you can do before a talk?
The Mo-E-O-E-Oo-Ah vocalization!
To do this activity, just say each syllable out loud and make sure your mouth forms the appropriate shape based on what you’re saying.
Mastering this exercise will help you make your lips flexible and your voice well-modulated for a powerful speech or presentation.
- Openness
Constricted throat muscles…
Partially closed tone passage…
… and a half-shut mouth.
How can you expect your voice to come out clearly, or to come out at all, in these scenarios?
According to Carnegie, if you hold your jaws and lips rigidly, it will be difficult for your voice to come through.
Even when your voice comes out, it will lack the force and power to convince your audience to welcome and listen to your message.
To solve this problem, all you have to do is open your mouth freely as you speak, relax all your speech organs, and let your voice flow out easily.
This will help you enunciate and articulate your words clearly to help your audience understand what you’re saying.
- Forwardness
Carnegie said that a voice that is pitched back in your throat, or deliberately making your voice sound raspy or strained by not opening your mouth properly and saying the words clearly, can sound unattractive.
As a speaker, you have to make sure your voice is always pitched forward—meaning, you open your mouth accordingly and you let your words come out naturally.
But!
You must NOT force your voice forward.
Keep in mind that the first good voice requisite is Ease. This means you have to relax and let your voice flow easily.
A correct forward-placing of your voice tone will help you overcome the unattractive throaty tones that are unpleasant to hear from an audience’s perspective.
Once you master this requisite, you’ll be rewarded by seeing your listeners pay more attention to your message.
Developing the Power of Your Voice
Aside from the requisites discussed above, Carnegie said you must be aware of different laws of voice production.
These guidelines will help you incorporate sufficient power into your voice and effectively deliver your message to your audience.
Make sure to keep these laws of voice production in mind in planning and preparing your next speech or presentation!
- Apply the principles of ease, openness, and forwardness. These are important factors in enabling your voice to be heard at a distance.
- Avoid gazing at the floor as you talk. Looking down gives you an amateurish appearance as a speaker and directs your voice towards the ground instead of floating out over your audience.
- Remember that your voice is a series of air vibrations. To strengthen your voice, make sure you breathe through your diaphragm as you speak.
- Take note that breath is a basis of voice. If you don’t breathe properly or you don’t have enough air stored in your lungs, your voice will come out weak.
- Improve your overall health. An abundant physical vitality contributes to a strong and vibrant voice. If you’re not feeling well on one part of your body, your overall speech or presentation will be affected.
- Avoid speaking too long without renewing your breath. Relax. Breathe naturally as you would in a normal conversation. This will help put your mind and body at ease during your talk.
Carnegie said that as a speaker, you don’t necessarily have to speak too loudly all the time for you to be heard. You can make yourself heard by speaking correctly, too!
… and by “speaking correctly,” we mean using the appropriate approach so you don’t force yourself to shout, which can eventually damage your throat or voice box.
However, you must make sure that your voice is loud enough for every person in the audience to hear clearly.
Find the balance between speaking correctly and loudly by following and applying the tips mentioned above!
If Carnegie dedicated an entire chapter of his book to this topic, then that means every speaker should take these guidelines seriously.
Give these voice-enhancing methods a shot! As you do that, you’ll see how powerful your voice can be!
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Wednesdays: Speak on the Shoulders of Giants”
In a meeting with one person
…a boardroom with five people
…or a huge venue with hundreds of people
—whatever the situation or setting, it’s very important to learn and eventually master the art of public speaking.
No matter what, you always need to effectively get your message across.
What good is a presentation with awesome content if you don’t deliver it properly?
Every Wednesday, we publish different tips, insights, and secrets on how you can improve your presentation skills to captivate your audience and lead interesting discussions.
The need for great presentation skills applies EVERYWHERE.
(Small meetings with your team, big meetings with your boss, an important marketing pitch, speaking engagements for events with a big audience, etc.)
Learning these skills is not just for the corporate world. Being in other industries such as the Arts, Information Technology, Medicine, and Education while knowing how to present well will definitely give you an edge.
Have that advantage.
Hope you’ve found this week’s public speaking tip interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Wednesday’s Speak on the Shoulders of Giants!
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
Powered by Valens Research
www.valens-research.com
