Vocal Variety

Pitch

To understand pitch, think of music. It has high and low notes as do people's voices. Everyone's voice has a natural pitch. Women's tend to be higher than men's, and everybody has a pitch range: the number of notes habitually used. When that range is very small, the effect is monotonous.

Tone

Tone refers to the emotional content carried by our voices. It is not the words themselves, but 'how' we say them. To speak expressively, is to fill or energize our words appropriately.

For example: a person who puts very little energy into their speech, no matter what they are saying, is often described as being 'flat'. By contrast someone who fills their speech to overflowing with energy is described as being 'exuberant' or 'enthusiastic'.

If you think of a word as a basket carrying its meaning or intent along, you'll get the idea. Some people put very little in their word baskets. Others stuff them so full they almost burst.

Volume

How loudly or quietly you speak is called volume. Some people are habitually loud and others quiet, regardless of their speech content. The tips and exercises below will help you consciously play with your volume control.

Rate

The term 'rate' refers to speaking pace.

How fast or slow do you speak? Can you vary the rate? Do you know the effect of slowing or speeding up deliberately?

Speaking rate matters because how fast or how slow you speak alters the listener's perception of your topic.

Click here for speaking rate exercises and banish mono-speed forever.