Monday, April 13, 2009
Chapter 12 Concept
One concept I found useful was how to manage your voice during your speech. There were four points under this section: speaking loudly enough, vary your rate, pitch, and volume, avoid vocalized pauses, and articulate your words clearly and pronounce them correctly. It's a given that once you start your speech you must speak so that your audience can hear you. You don't want to have your audience straining to hear you or be overwhelmed with such loudness. One way you can practice having volume is having a friend sit in the farthest corner and project your voice until they can hear you. Its good to have differences within your level of voice because it stands out. Having a fast rate and higher pitch comes across as excited and lots of energy while softer and slower is a solemn tone. Never speak in monotone because it'll bore the audience plus shows you have no interest in the speech you're delivering. Don't use or avoid vocalized pauses (umm, ah, you know?) because it shows you are trying to think about what you'll say next. Last but not least, when pronouncing words use them correctly then having it in slang terms such as "gonna" when it's going. Keep the speech in proper English and always practice!
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I also found this concept useful. I have noticed that in some of our classmate's speeches, they have spoken too quietly, too fast, or too slow. When the speaker talks too slow, it makes the speech boring, and when they speak too fast it is sometimes hard to understand what they are trying to say because they do not articulate their words clearly. Since it is a speech, it is important to focus on using proper English and not slang. I would have to say that it gets annoying when a speaker says, “gonna” instead of “going.” Since it is a speech a person’s main focus should be their tone of voice and their articulation of their words! Practice makes perfect.
ReplyDeleteHello Kai!
ReplyDeleteI never really noticed the different ways to manage our voice. The four points you brought up were very interesting and it is definitely something I will keep in mind during my speech, and practicing. The tip to have a friend sit in the farthest corner is useful, and it would be a smart thing to do to realize how we may speak during a speech. I have also realized that when people do use vocal fillers it seems as if they are trying to think of saying to say next. They do not seem prepared because it seems like they are thinking to hard.
I agree that managing your voice is very significant for the success of a speech. Whenever I begin a speech, I usually sound very clear and go at a fast pace. However, the volume of my voice sounds so loud sometimes that it almost sounds ridiculous and intimidating. I don't want to scare the audience, so I eventually lower the volume as the speech proceeds. I eventually get nervous as well, so I will speed up the pace of my speech. In my last speech, I received many comments stating that I needed to slow down a bit. Speaking too quickly will ensure that the information will not come across as understandable.
ReplyDeleteI agree that mono toned voice makes the speaker seem boring after a while. I do recall people who speak really loud when they present and it can get annoying. I think it is also the topic that is also being presented. If a presentation is on a boring topic the presentation can get boring, unless there are like some really interesting facts. Once I had to watch my friend practice her speech about math problems, her voice was good but the things she presented were really boring. I knew that pausing makes the speaker sound like they are thinking about what to say next but at least it is not as bad as vocal fillers.
ReplyDeleteI must say that I actually have been mono tone in my speech, not because I was bored of it, but because that is exactly how I talk. To continue that thought. I completely agree when voice management is one of the most important things to work on while you present your speech. If you have the best information about the best topic, it would mean nothing to the audience if the way you present it vocally, and the way you make it feel towards the audience it would not really matter. We all have our downfalls as far as voice management goes, but I'm sure with time we are able to realize what our actual voice can do.
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