Jetnetting with Heshie Segal Consciously utilizing and effectively integrating the voice elements of Volume, Pace, Pitch and Tonality gives you an advantage in making that positive first impression. Speaking with a voice that is too loud or too soft, too fast or too slow, too high or too low, and with a tonality that is incongruent with your emotions of the moment, will not serve you. Clearly, this is situational and depends to a large extent on the orientation of the listener. You control whether you project yourself as interesting, boring, energetic, professional, powerful, meek, classy, and the list goes. Can you imagine just how effective you can be when you have the ability to habitually control these elements?
Understandably, each individual element is a part of the whole. While there are many elements to take into consideration, for this segment, the ones I will focus on are: Volume, Pace, Pitch and Tonality. The next article will deal with the Power of Pauses.
Volume (loudness or softness) depends on the environment in which you find yourself: the setting, the number of people, the size of a room, and background noise for starters.
One-on-one and/or in a small room, use a voice loud enough for someone to hear with ease. Whether you are proving a point, or become passionate about something, it is appropriate to become a bit louder and speak at a faster pace. If want to appear secretive or more intimate, appropriately lower your voice. You are far more effective when you vary the volume to emphasize and reflect the exact impression you wish to create.
In a larger room, volume, without shouting, is generally a necessity. When on a stage, speak to the last row and project your voice over the entire group. If you allow your voice to fade at the end of a sentence, it suggests that you don’t think that information is important and tends to cause the audience to lose attention.
In any situation, if your volume is too low, it tends to irritate the listener since (s)he has to strain to hear. Appropriate volume, varied for emphasis, can liven up your speech; too loud, especially in one-on-one situations, may be perceived as anger, aggressiveness and boorish boldness.
Because the rate (also known as speed or pace) at which you speak will also affect the receptivity of your listener, be sure to keep it varied. The normal pace for a speech is around 140-160 words per minute. Some people speak at 80-100 words per minute and tend to put most listeners to sleep. Few people speak at rates of up to 200 words per minute. Interestingly, with practice, the human ear and brain can process over 400 spoken words per minute.
Clearly, the pace should be appropriate to the message and to the expectations of the audience. A serious message or conversation will require a slower pace while comic and high energy content commands a somewhat faster pace.
Speak more slowly to emphasize key words and concepts; more quickly, to stimulate energy and promote a sense of urgency. Of course, there will be advantages and disadvantages to a pace at either extreme. A slow rate of delivery can be relaxing and comforting; on the other hand, if it is too slow, it can come across as monotonous and potentially boring. The listener's mind will start to wander, attention span will begin to fade and the brain will stop paying attention, looking for other ways to keep stimulated. When you speak too quickly, you will actually tire the listener. Because the mind begins to wander when it cannot comprehend what you are communicating, it will give up. You also take risk appearing jittery and aggressive.
Practice is required of those who speak at extremes. If you are a slow-paced speaker, you have to learn to pick up speed. If you can become more comfortable with your subject, you will have the to accelerate. Spend time practicing in conversation with someone who knows you, knows your goal and is willing give If your tendency is to speak at a faster pace, you may need to practice speaking at a rate that is almost excruciatingly slow. Choose someone to listen to you and provide honest feedback. Persevere and the end result will be well worth it.
Pitch is the high (height) and low (depth) of the voice, the range of sounds. If compared to music, it would be the range of notes on a musical scale.. Your comfort level with pitch is called your “natural register”. A narrow range (3-4 notes), like too slow a pace, is boring and monotonous. Anyone listening to you will gradually stop paying attention. In fact, the ultimate experience of boredom is a combination of low pitch and slow rate!!
To convey mood, enthusiasm, energy and concern, allow your pitch to rise and fall. In music, a range of eight notes creates vocal variety.
When people are nervous, their voices tend to get higher. Use controlled, deep breathing to lower the pitch, although you don’t want it to be too low. By keeping your voice near the bottom of your range, you will appear more confident and be able to hide any anxiety you might feel. Hint: To find the lowest point in your range, purposely make you voice very deep, as deep as you can and then move it back up a notch so that you project comfortably.
Interestingly, by simply modulating your pitch you can affect the meaning of a word. For example: Repeat this simple four word sentence, shifting your modulation, “You will do this.” First, put emphasis on the word ‘will’, as though in a command, using a deep, low pitch. “You WILL do this.” Now repeat the same sentence as though asking a question. “You WILL do this (?).” Note that your pitch becomes higher and more tentative. What do you hear when you shift the emphasis to the word ‘this?’ A totally different meaning, right?
The tone of your unaltered voice is a mirror image of your physical and emotional state, a reflection of your attitude - about yourself, about others and about life. It is the most important vocal element in conveying your emotions. It reflects your happiness, your misery, failure, hope, belief, confidence, fear, love, tenderness, etc. Like pitch, it affects the meaning of a word or even the entire message. Tone accounts for 38% of the message transmitted. (The remaining percentages are 7% words and a 55% physiology: - combination of posture, eye contact, facial expressions, gestures and breathing patterns.) During a phone conversation, when there is no visual contact, tonality takes on even more importance. Here, words convey 15% of the communication and tonality a full 85%.
The tone of a voice rarely masks the emotional truth that hides behind it. In order to have your tone of voice be congruent with the emotion you want to convey, think and visualize something that you equate with that feeling. If you want to reflect friendliness, you might think about the feeling you get when someone welcomes you into the circle. If you seek fear, think of when you did something you knew you were not supposed to do and were afraid someone would find out.
When you speak, position your body in the way that will convey congruency with the tone of voice you want to project. Use the entire vocal scale to create tones that are lively and colorful.
Properly integrating the voice elements of Volume, Pace, Pitch and Tonality will put you in a favorable position as you meet new people. However, just as you are breathing a sigh of relief for knowing and hopefully mastering this information, we have not yet dealt with it all. Yes, there is more!
For more information, please visit Heshie's TNNW Bio.
Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Subscribe Free For Your TNNW Newsletter and THE BLUE MONDAY REPORT! - Click HERE.
The National Networker Companies
Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:
No comments:
Post a Comment