Vocal Variety Monotone is Boring Four parts of

Vocal Variety Monotone is Boring!

Four parts of Vocal Variety O PITCH O High and low notes in your voice O Women typically have higher notes O TONE O Emotional content carried by our voices O If you have no energy in your voice, it is described as “flat” O If you have a lot of energy in your voice, it is “exuberant” or “enthusiastic”

Vocal Variety Cont’d O VOLUME O How loud or soft you speak O RATE O How fast or slow you speak

Vocal Variety Goals O To find the most appropriate expression to meet the audience’s needs O And to match those needs with the content of the speech O And to have a range of vocal varieties from which to select the most appropriate expression

Tips for Vocal Variety O Practice—have fun with your voice O Try to make your words sound exciting O Try talking slower than usual O Vary the rate of delivery O Vary the volume O Express emotion O Mark your speech O Highlight words/phrases you want to emphasize O Mark places you need to pause for effect

Get Rid of Verbal Clutter O As important as vocal variety is, it’s equally important to get rid of verbal clutter. O Verbal clutter is the use of phrases, words or sounds that don’t belong in the speech: O “uh, ” “um, ” “like, ” “you know, ” “okay, ” “so, ” etc. O Practice your speech with a friend and every time you use vocal clutter, have your friend raise a finger.

Pitch Practice Say each sentence below in high, middle, and low pitch ranges. Note what happens to the intensity and the emotional content of each sentence. 1. Her Grandmother died yesterday. 2. I want a new car. 3. This dinner is delicious. 4. People should love their neighbors as themselves.

Tone Practice O How many different emotions can you convey only saying, “ham sandwich”?