Specifically, vocal variety is made up of pitch, tone, volume, and pace.

When you present a speech,

effective use of vocal variety is essential to connect you with audience members and make every word
impactful.

PITCH
The pitch of your voice is how high or low it sounds. While there is no absolute correct pitch for public
speaking, it can be helpful to extend your pitch. This is particularly important for individuals with a
narrow range who may sound monotone. Monotone means the pitch of a voice is always the same.
Accomplished speakers often have a wide range in pitch.

Try this exercise to extend your pitch.

TONE
Your tone is the emotion behind the sound of your voice. It is the quality that tells an audience how you
feel about the words you are saying. Your tone will tell the audience when you are happy, sad, excited, or
any number of emotions you can have about the material you are conveying.

Volume: When you speak, your volume affects many things. First and foremost, your volume impacts
your ability to be heard. When your voice is too quiet for the room or setting, your audience will struggle
to hear you. If you tend to speak in a loud, booming voice, audience members may be too distracted to
listen to the content of your speech.

Emphasis: Your volume can be a tool used to emphasize words or sections of your speech. Shouting in
the middle of a speech with an otherwise consistent volume can have an impact—a whisper may be even
more powerful.

Achieving the best volume level for each speech takes practice and feedback. Outstanding public speakers
practice volume levels to make sure they can be heard and to make effective use of the loudness or
softness of their voice.

PACE
A speaker’s pace is the speed at which they speak. A speaker whose pace is too fast is difficult to
understand. Speakers who tend to speak at a slow or plodding pace often lose audience members’ interest
in their speech.

Like the other forms of vocal variety, a speaker’s pace can create or enhance emotion in audience
members and add to the overall quality of a presentation.

Vocal variety is important because it allows for emphasis and gives context clues to the
audience. It also engages the audience with the presentation.
Tip 1 – Turn Up the Volume
Perhaps the most obvious thing that comes to mind when you think of vocal variety is raising
your voice to make an impact.

If you’re talking about something very exciting in your speech, you should raise your voice to
match that excitement. If you’re telling a story that involves a person yelling, you should actually
yell to allow the audience to become more immersed in the story.

Raising the decibel level not only adds texture to the speech, but it also has the ability to
recapture the audience’s attention. Humans have incredibly short attention spans, so it’s
unlikely the audience will be completely focused throughout your entire speech. But if you
unexpectedly raise your voice at a strategic time in your speech, it will recapture the attention
of your audience.

Tip 2 – Turn Down the Volume

A powerful – but less used – vocal variety skill is to soften your voice.

The idea of this can be scary because it requires a level of vulnerability; however, depending on
the context of your speech, it can have a bigger impact on your audience than raising your voice
because it is less common.

As an example, if your speech is about a sad subject matter, try lowering your voice and
introduce lengthened pauses at key moments. Chances are, your audience will connect deeply
with this tactic and you won’t lose their attention.

Your voice is the best tool in your delivery toolbox. You must learn to use it effectively to
enhance your presentation.

Tips and Techniques

1. Plan Around the 4 P’s: Pace, Pitch, Power, and Pauses
Be conscious of all four major vocal variables, and work all of them into your speech.

1. Pace — One of the easiest ways to incorporate variable pace is to slow down
through key statements.
2. Pitch — A convenient way to hit different pitch points is to play with different
emotional content. A sad voice takes on a different pitch than a content voice,
which is distinct from an excited voice, and so on. Stories are good speech
 building blocks for many reasons, including how they bring a speaker’s voice
alive through different emotions.
3. Power (Volume) — Don’t overdo it with changes in volume. Again, align your
variations in volume with emotional content. Anger or joy tends to bring out
a loud voice. Fear or sadness calls for a quiet voice.
4. Pauses — There are a multitude of ways to incorporate pauses in a meaningful
way (watch for a future Six Minutes article dedicated to pauses). For this
speech, keep it straightforward. Make sure you’ve got short pauses following
every sentence, and longer pauses at the ends of paragraphs or transitions
within your speech.

A simple pause is one of the most versatile tools in your public speaking toolbox. Yet very
few people perform it well.

A pause, if used correctly, can add a great deal to your presentation or speech. Here are 10
ways you can use a pause effectively.

1. Add emphasis to key points - a pause before, during or after you say something you
wish to emphasise can be a powerful verbal tool in a presentation. When preparing
your speech, make a note of the important phrases and plan pauses around them. Try
and spread these throughout your presentation and ensure you practice so you're not
trying them on the fly. Don't be afraid to pause for up to 3 seconds and remember time
seems to pass quicker when you are on stage.
2. Indicate a change in tone or topic - pausing between two different parts of your talk
can tell the audience something new is starting. You can also do this after an
introduction or before a conclusion to help the audience understand the progression
through your speech.

Ex: After you ask your audience a rhetorical question, pause for a little while. This
stimulates your audience to engage, to think internally about their answer to your question.
The same is true for other ways that you invite silent participation from your audience e.g.
“Think for a moment about how you would feel if…”

On the other hand, failure to pause after a rhetorical question frustrates your audience.
(They’ve been asked a question, and now you are moving on without allowing them time to
think about it!)
f your speech allows, find some words where you can play with the pronunciation to add
some vocal spice to your delivery. For example:

 Instead of saying “The car was a long way from the beach,” you could say “The car
was a looooooong way from the beach”.
 Instead of saying “The hamburger was delicious,” try “The hamburger was deeee-
licious.”

Your voice has a major effect on your audience, A lively, exciting voice attracts and keeps listeners' attention. A
speaking voice should be pleasant, natural, forceful, expressive and easily heard. Use volume, pitch, rate and quality
as well as appropriate pauses to reflect and add meaning and interest to your message. Your voice should reflect the
thoughts you are presenting.

1. Characteristics of a Good Voice

A good speaking voice should be balanced between extremes of volume, pitch, rate and quality.
Volume. Being able to control the loudness or softness of your voice helps to keep the audience's
attention. Speaking too loudly for a long time will bother your audience. Speaking too softly for a
long time will annoy listeners too, as they struggle to grasp your words. Volume level depends on
the size and shape of the room. However, you should also vary your volume level for emphasis.
For example, if you're conveying anger, you will want to increase your volume. If you are sharing
something secretive with the audience,

lower the volume.

Pitch. The pitch of a sound is how high or low it is on the musical scale. Vary your pitch as you
speak -

droning on in a monotone voice will quickly put listeners to sleep, and speaking in a squeaking
voice will make them want to cover their ears. You should adapt the pitch of your voice to the
material you are presenting. For example, a high pitch conveys excitement and enthusiasm, while
a low pitch indicates sadness or thoughtfulness.

PACE - Speak too fast and your audience will not be able to keep up with you. Speak too slowly
and your listeners will lose interest. You want to speak fast enough so that people have to pay
attention, but slow enough that they can digest what you are saying. The most effective speaking
rate is approximately 125 -160 words a minute. You should vary the rate, moving quickly through
some of the material but slowing to emphasize important information or to communicate a
complex idea.

Silence Can Be Golden

At times you won't want to use your voice. Welltimed silences or pauses add impact to your
words and are a powerful speaking technique. A pause can be used to:
o  Emphasize your main points. A moment of silence before a statement tells listeners
that you are about to say something important. A brief pause after you make a statement
tells listeners that what you just said is important.
o  Breathe. Appropriate pauses are your opportunity to inhale.
o  Punctuate. Pauses often serve as punctuation, telling listeners that you have ended a
sentence or thought.
o  Attract attention. When you feel that listeners are distracted, pause. Your silence will
attract their attention back to you.

Be Expressive

Your voice should be expressive, showing a wide range of emotion. An expressive voice
adds more meaning to the words you use, enhances your message and adds interest for
your audience. Read these passages aloud using the tone of voice appropriate to each:

I appreciate all you have done for me, and I hope to return the favor some day. (Simple,
honest statement, or sarcasm.)

Kindness! Do you call that kindness? I wouldn't treat a stray dog the way you've treated
me!

(resentment, anger, unfriendliness.)

If each of us do one kind thing for someone else every day, we could help make the world
a better place to live. (Deep feeling of earnestness and conviction.)

Notice how your tone and effect vary with the different thoughts you express. See how
easy it is to change the meaning by changing your emphasis.

As another experiment, call a friend on the telephone and talk for several minutes on
some topic of mutual interest. Vary your tone of voice, rate, pitch and volume. Use
pauses to emphasize a point or arouse interest in what you will say next. At the same
time, keep your vocal experimentation within the context of normal conversation.