The Well-Spoken Woman (10 page)

 

The audience uses the pause to take in what is being said. The silence gives the listeners a moment to do more than just hear the words. During a two-to three-second pause, they have a chance to synthesize and absorb the meaning. Pausing also allows the audience to keep pace with you. It can be tempting to hurry through a presentation, particularly if you have given it before or are nervous. Bear in mind that most of the information is brand-new to the audience. Pauses allow the audience time to hear and remember.

Step 4: Pronounced Pronunciation

It has been said, when in doubt, mumble. But don't risk sounding like your mouth is filled with marbles. Mumblers—people who speak softly and with poor diction—are more likely to be regarded as less decisive, less intelligent, and poorly informed. Speakers who use crisp consonants and round, open vowel sounds are listened to more seriously. Muttering is the vocal equivalent of not looking someone in the eye.

Another good reason to use a moderate rate of speech is that a slower pace allows for clear enunciation of each word and syllable. If your speech is rushed, it is easy to drop the hard consonants like
t
and
d
at the ends of words, creating a slurred sound. Slow it down, articulate the syllables, and then you will be clearly heard and understood.

Step 5: Project to Be Heard

The voice has a wide volume range from barely audible to ear piercing. Prolonged whispering and screaming can damage the vocal cords, but less dramatic changes in volume are another way to add interest. Resist the temptation to always speak louder when you want the audience to pay close attention. It can be more effective to drop the volume a notch or two. You create the sense that people need to lean in and listen hard to what's being said. Here again, variability is the secret. Purposefully vary volume level throughout a presentation. Changing the volume keeps the audience more attuned.

If you have trouble projecting at a normal conversational level, improper breathing may be the cause. You will not be able to fully project unless you breathe using the diaphragm. See the section on relaxation techniques in
chapter 2
for more details on how to take a deep breath that will sustain your voice. If you are soft-spoken, consider using a microphone before groups larger than twenty-five people or when speaking outside.

PRACTICING THE VIBRANT VOICE

Here's a great exercise that will help you activate the five Ps of a vibrant voice. It gives you a chance to explore the range of your voice by purposefully varying pace, pitch, and projection. Be sure to interject good, healthy pauses, all the while using crisp, clear pronunciation. Begin by reading the following lines from a poem by Emily Bronte called “High Waving Heather ‘neath Stormy Blasts Bending.” This poem was chosen because the dated language and unfamiliar phrasing is difficult to read
quickly. Deliver the first stanza aloud once to acquaint yourself with the words and cadence.

High waving heather ‘neath stormy blasts bending,
Midnight and moonlight and bright shining stars,
Darkness and glory rejoicingly blending,
Earth rising to heaven and heaven descending,
Man's spirit away from its drear dungeon sending,
Bursting the fetters and breaking the bars.
¹²

Notice how the unusual words and distinctive phrasing force you to slow down and think about each word as you pronounce it aloud. The next step is to use a highlighter to select one or two words from each line to emphasize. For example, you could select the words as I have illustrated below. Now, read the poem aloud again, this time stressing the highlighted words.

High waving
heather
‘neath stormy
blasts
bending,
Midnight
and
moonlight and bright
shining
stars,
Darkness and glory
rejoicingly
blending,
Earth rising
to heaven
and heaven
descending
,
Man's spirit away from its
drear dungeon
sending,
Bursting the fetters
and
breaking the
bars.

I bet what you just read sounds infinitely more interesting. I would also wager that it was much more fun to vocalize. You are now close to sounding like a voice-over professional. Mark up the full poem below and recite it for a friend. There is no right or wrong way to do this. The point is to make the poem come alive through your vocalization.

High waving heather ‘neath stormy blasts bending,
Midnight and moonlight and bright shining stars,
Darkness and glory rejoicingly blending,
Earth rising to heaven and heaven descending,
Man's spirit away from its drear dungeon sending,
Bursting the fetters and breaking the bars.

All down the mountain sides wild forests lending
One mighty voice to the life-giving wind,
Rivers their banks in their jubilee rending,
Fast through the valleys a reckless course wending,
Wider and deeper their waters extending,
Leaving a desolate desert behind.

Shining and lowering and swelling and dying,
Changing forever from midnight to noon;
Roaring like thunder, like soft music sighing,
Shadows on shadows advancing and flying,
Lightning bright flashes the deep gloom defying,
Coming as swiftly and fading as soon.

No longer are you just reading words on a page. The inflection and tempo changes help you sound passionate and engaged. Try it with a favorite poem or another reading. Next time you prepare for a presentation, do the same thing with your speech text. Mark it up just as you did the poem and read it aloud in its entirety so you can plan pauses, pace changes, and inflections.

The following are additional exercises to maximize vocal range and quality. Experiment with the techniques to explore your full potential. You can do the exercises in the car, while you're loading the dishwasher, or any-time you have a few minutes to spare.

 

• Bedtime stories:
  Vocalize all the characters and animals in a favorite like
  Winnie-the-Pooh.
  
• Tongue-twisters:
  Pick one and say it quickly, out loud, several times. “She sells sea shells by the sea shore.” But don't go so fast that you are not able to articulate every word.
  
• Sing a song:
  Sing a favorite song or imitate an admired performer. Try letting loose with Aretha Franklin's “Respect.” Do it just a little bit and find out what it means to free the creative left brain to express ideas with freshness and emotion.
  
• Join the
  Mad Men:
  Join the team at the fictional advertising agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Be Peggy Olson or Don Draper and voice the attitude depicted in the words and pictures in a favorite magazine. Ad copy is concise; each word has meaning. Vocalize the emotion.
  
• Be an impersonator:
  Mimic the people you encounter throughout the day. The ultimate impressionist, Anna Deavere Smith, created a new theatrical genre combining interviews with her ability to “walk in [the] words” of her subjects. A sampling of memorable characters includes a Korean shopkeeper, urban homeboys, a Jewish mother, and a fiery preacher.
  

THUNDEROUS SPECIAL EFFECTS

Barbara Jordan didn't wave her arms around like a used car salesperson. She didn't roam the stage like a motivational speaker. Neither did she preach the fire and brimstone of an evangelical. She didn't need wild theatrics to hold her audience. Her technically superior voice projected what she wanted to express. Toward the end of her life, Jordan was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and eventually was unable to walk. While her body may have let her down, the physical ailments couldn't rob her voice of its force.

Once you have mastered the five Ps of a vibrant voice, you will be ready to attempt some special vocal effects. “Who Then Will Speak for the Common Good?” was the speech Jordan gave at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. Listen online, and you will hear a range of vocal techniques. As you take in Jordan's majestic sound, note how she used the techniques outlined below.

Step 1: Extreme Confidence

Any self-doubt Jordan may have experienced was never conveyed in public. Onstage, Jordan's confidence reverberated in her tone, pacing, inflection, and grand pauses. It is also evident in how she talked about her specialness. At the Watergate hearings, she referred specifically to how race and gender had been originally excluded from the Constitution. In the convention address, she noted that 144 years after the Democrats first met, they finally invited a woman to give the keynote.
But there is something different about tonight. There is something special about tonight. What is different? What is special.?

I, Barbara Jordan, am a keynote speaker.

A lot of years passed since 1832, and during that time it would have been most unusual for any national political party to ask a Barbara Jordan to deliver a keynote address. But tonight here I am. And I feel that notwithstanding the past that my presence here is one additional bit of evidence that the American Dream need not forever be deferred.
¹³

Step 2: Purposeful Repetition

The total running time of the speech is approximately twenty minutes without applause. In that brief span, Jordan repeatedly hits on the theme and refers to the “common good” seventeen times. She drives home her message with the use of four related phrases:
common good, common spirit, common des-tiny
, and
national community.
Key words are also repeated. Jordan uses the word
share
five times. The
concept of governing
is repeated four times.

Step 3: Exaggerated Pronunciation

We are a people in search of a (pause)
na-tion-al
(pause)
co-mmun-i-ty
.

We are a
hete-ro-gen-e-ous
party….

It is
hy-po-cri-ti-cal
for the public official….

Our concept of
go-vern-ing.
….

Step 4: Dramatic Volume Drops

Jordan's voice uses volume in unexpected ways. Some speakers fall into the trap of repeatedly lowering or raising volume at the ends of sentences. Jordan, on the other hand, would mix things up by raising the volume in the middle of the sentence, as is shown in the first two sentences below. (As the font size increases, so does the volume.)

We are attempting to fulfill our national purpose;
to create and sustain a society
in which all of us [pause, drop pitch] are equal.

Let's all understand that these guiding principles cannot be
discarded for short-term political gains.
They represent what this country is all about. They are indigenous to the American idea. And these are principles which are not [pause] negotiable.

In addition to varying the volume within a sentence, Jordan was very effective at using volume to build to a crescendo. In the sentence below, the volume slowly and deliberately rises as she reaches her big point.

We have a positive vision of the future founded on the belief that the gap between the promise and
reality of America can one day be finally closed. We believe that.

Step 5: Clipped Sentences Used as Punctuation

Now what are these beliefs?

Let everyone come.

We believe that.

They must have that.

It can be done.

We must be.

We have to do that.

Strike a balance.

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF THE VOICE

Now that you've done all the work to add inflection and interest to your voice, don't sap it of its new vigor and vitality. In junior high school, I played the trumpet in the marching band. It was my responsibility to keep my instrument in good working order, so I faithfully oiled the valves and cleaned the mouthpiece. Your voice is an instrument that needs regular maintenance to keep it in good working order. Follow the care and feeding guidelines to ensure your voice stays in top form.

Good for the Voice

• Warm-up exercises:
  Slowly roll your shoulders back. Feel the chest open and expand. Slowly open and close your mouth. Feel your facial and neck muscles relax.
  
• Talk to yourself:
  Practice aloud using the five Ps of a vibrant voice.
  
• Yoga breath:
  Breathe in deeply through the nose, hold for a count or two, and slowly exhale through your mouth. Repeat as often as needed.
  
• Water:
  Hydrate as much as possible because water keeps the vocal cords lubricated. Avoid ice water because the cold constricts the vocal cords. Warm tea or room-temperature water is better.
  
• Throat lozenges:
  Add a little extra moisture to prevent cotton mouth.
  
• Humidifiers:
  Dry air aggravates the vocal cords.
  

Bad for the Voice

• Milk products and chocolate coat the inside of your mouth.
  
• Carbonated drinks may make you burp.
  
• Alcohol will slur your speech.
  
• Caffeine acts as a diuretic and flushes water from your system.
  
• Smoking and secondhand smoke can damage the vocal cords.
  
• Frequent throat clearing can be distracting; use honey to soothe or lemon to clear away phlegm.
  
• Yelling causes strain.
  

 

The following warning signs may indicate trouble with the voice. If you experience any of these symptoms for more than a few days, be sure to consult with a medical professional:

 

• Your voice feels sore or tired.
  
• You are hoarse.
  
• You have to strain to speak.
  
• You lose your voice intermittently.
  

 

Many professional singers and broadcasters work with a vocal coach. Voice lessons are not about belting it out like Christina Aguilera. Rather, they help you learn how to control an extreme nasal quality, a high pitch, breathiness, or other vocal issues. With a qualified instructor, you will learn how the voice works so you can avoid damaging it and maximize its full potential.

STANDING OVATION POINT: WELL-SPOKEN
WOMEN RESONATE LOUD AND CLEAR

In 1984, Barbara Jordan received one of her many honors when she was named the “World's Greatest Living Orator.” Another fitting tribute to the size and scale of her contribution to American life would be her likeness carved on the Mount Rushmore of Well-Spoken Women. Imagine hearing her crisp, deep voice echo against the granite wall. It would carry for miles across the South Dakota plains. Jordan was an extraordinary American whose vocal abilities made her even more special.