VOCAL VARIETY

COURSE OUTLINE
TOPIC 3: VOCAL VARIETY
Practicing Vocal Variety and Developing Natural Motion
Lecture and discussion
Breathing technique, non-verbal gestures
Vocal qualities to convey meaning
Four key qualities to vocal variety: volume, pace, pitch and tone
Activity
Developing speech profile in pair (refer scale in Toastmasters, 2011;
students will pair up and read given texts after practicing with the
correct vocal variety)
WHAT ELSE YOU NEED
FOR AS PUBLIC
SPEAKER?
YOU DRESSED
WELL...

You looked neat...

You must pay

special attention
to your speaking
Adapted from:
voice!
https://toastmasterscdn.azureedge.net/medias/files/department-documents/education-docum
ents/199-your-speaking-voice.pdf
ONE OF YOUR GOALS AS A
SPEAKER SHOULD BE TO
DEVELOP A VOICE THAT IS:
● Pleasant, conveying a sense of warmth
● Natural, reflecting your true personality Pleasant
& sincerity
● Dynamic, giving the impression of force Easily
Natural
and strength without being especially heard
Voic
loud
e
● Expressive, portraying various shades of
meaning - not monotonous or Expressiv
Dynamic
emotionless e

● Easily heard, thanks to proper volume

and clear articulation
WHAT KIND OF VOICE DO
YOU HAVE?
● Do you whisper or boom?
● Are you monotonous or melodious?
● Is your voice a rain cloud or a rainbow?
● Do you have mumblitis?
● How well do you articulate and enunciate?
● Do you trudge like a turtle, or race like a rabbit?
● Do you agitate or orchestrate?
SO… HOW TO IMPROVE
YOUR SPEAKING VOICE?
RELAX YOUR VOICE!

1. While standing or sitting comfortably, place your hand on your

throat muscles and speak in a normal tone.
2. Yawn, and finish it with an easy “ho~hum~” Prolong the “hum”.
Drop your jaw without stressing it, and wiggle it side to side as
you hum.
3. Repeat the yawning and humming, it will help loosening your
throat muscles.
4. Repeat and say words like - hang, harm, lane, main, lone, loom.
OKAY, NOW HOW DO YOU
BREATHE?
Is your breathing shallow, misdirected or lacking in control?
When you’re nervous, you tend to breathe like this:
BREATHING EXERCISE TO
IMPROVE VOLUME
1. Exhale all air from your lungs, and then you’ll automatically
inhale. Do it deeply. Repeat for several times, but not more than
four times each.
2. Exhale comfortably, then inhale and hold it for 15 seconds, then
exhale quietly. Repeat this several days, and gradually increase it
to 20 seconds, 30 seconds, and 45 seconds.
3. Standing tall, inhale through an open mouth five quick, short
gasps, then exhale five quick gasps. Then, do it using your nose.
4. Laugh heartily with a big HA HA HA as you exhale air.
5. Read aloud a paragraph that contains a mixture of short and
long sentences. Each sentences should be on a single breath, if
possible.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT
A SPEAKER WITH TOO
HIGH A PITCH?
Pitch: How High or Low is Your Voice?
EXTENDING AND
CONTROLLING YOUR
PITCH
1. If your natural pitch is too high or too low, you can work on it.
2. Sing the sound “ah” at your own comfortable pitch.
3. Then, sing the next note downward on the musical scale (it
helps if you have piano or guitar, but YouTube helps too!)
4. Continue to go lower until you can’t (because you are
straining).
5. Do the same for upward musical scale.
6. You’ll notice your own voice range now.
7. Then, stretch, extend and control your pitch.
EXTENDING AND
CONTROLLING YOUR
VOLUME
1. Sing the sound “ah”, increasing your volume to the maximum
that you’re comfortable at.
2. Vary the pitch (high and low) without straining your throat.
3. Recite letters of the alphabets, numbers, days, etc.
Remember to relax.
HOW DO I IMPROVE MY
ARTICULATION?
Remind yourself to speak each word well!

1. The secret of correct articulation is the positioning of the

lips, tongue and teeth.
2. Lip exercise
a. Pucker your lips, and widen them. Repeat 10 times.

b. Repeat this syllables:

Be-me-be-me-be-me-be-me

wee-woo-wee-woo-wee-woo
SPICE UP YOUR SPEAKING!
SPICE UP YOUR SPEAKING!
SPICE UP YOUR SPEAKING!
INCORPORATE PAUSES TO
SEPARATE IDEAS
Task 2
Evaluating your friend’s speech profile:
● In pair, provide your friend with a video/audio of you giving a
presentation or a speech (Task 2 Activity).
● Then, evaluate your friend’s speech profile using the form attached
in e-learning.
● Submit the link of your friend’s presentation, and the form to e-
learning.