The characteristics that determine your vocal personality are Volume, Pitch, Rate,
Quality and a Neutral Accent.
- Speak Loud Enough. Volume, the loudness or softness of your voice,
is a result of the energy, or air, behind your voice. Your diaphragm controls it.
Vary the volume of your voice; it helps to keep your listeners attention. Changing
volume can also help you to call attention to important ideas. Speak more loudly
to emphasize certain words or phrases.
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Pitch is the highness or lowness of the sound or tone of your voice.
Your voice has a natural pitch, determined by the size of your vocal cords. If you
are excited, your voice will have a higher pitch. If you are somber and serious,
you will use a lower pitch. Appropriate pitch in not the same for everyone, nor
is it the same at all times.
Too low: A voice that is pitched too low has a harsh hollow sound.
Too high: A voice that is pitched too high is piercing and metallic,
and it can make you sound immature. Often slowing down your speech will lower your
pitch.
Monotone: Some people use the same pitch or a limited pitch pattern
when they speak. These monotone speakers sound disinterested and unenthusiastic.
Pitch patterns are closely related to music. Speaking with a singing melody in your
voice pattern will make your voice more interesting. - Rate is the speed at which you talk. Your speech rate depends on
the speed with which you move your articulators (lips, tongue, teeth) and the pauses
you make between groups of sounds. The ideal rate is slow enough to be understood
by your listeners and fast enough to hold their attention. Nervousness often makes
people increase their speed.
- Quality. It is what makes your voice distinct from other voices.
To check the quality of your voice, and how you sound to others, listen to yourself
on a tape. There five common causes of poor voice quality. These are Nasality, Denasality,
Harshness, Hoarseness, and Breathlessness.
Nasality: Only three sounds in the English language need to be said
through the nose; m, n, and ng. When people pronounce other sounds- especially vowels-
in this way, most listeners find their voices unpleasant.
Denasality: Denasality is stuffy, cold-in-the-head speech. There
is a lack of nasal vibration on the sounds m, n, and ng. In extreme cases, “Nothing
matters now” sounds like, ‘Dothing batters dow.” Vocal exercises can help you.
Harshness: A harsh or strident voice is caused by tension in the
throat and neck muscles. A voice may be harsh because a person tries to speak louder
than normal or because of an emotional condition that makes the throat tighten up.
Hoarseness: A voice that sounds both husky and coarse is a good
description of hoarseness. Hoarseness is also caused by smoke and dust in the air.
Breathing exercises can help if you are occasionally hoarse.
Breathlessness: If you have trouble making your voice carry across
distances, or if you sound as if you have just finished running a race its breathlessness.
It occurs when air is allowed to escape with the voice because the vocal cords do
not close completely. Breathing exercises may help you.
- Neutral accent: The ability to speak correctly in global English
is neutral accent. Have you ever noticed that the English newsreaders, worldwide,
have a distinct neutral accent, clear voice, and diction?
Today, having a neutral accent is an advantage you hold over so many others struggling
to get rid of their accents and mother tongue influence.
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