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If you say something and nobody hears it, have you really made a sound? (Source)
Classic Kramer: in one Seinfeld episode, Jerry and Elaine meet Leslie, Kramer's girlfriend. Leslie's a "low talker," and when Kramer leaves his friends alone with her, Jerry and Elaine find themselves in a bit of a social pickle.
We love re-living Seinfeld episodes, so allow us to recap:
Without Kramer to translate her inaudible speech, Jerry and Elaine pretend to understand and agree with whatever Leslie says. A few days later, Jerry learns that he inadvertently agreed to wear a silly puffy shirt during his appearance on The Tonight Show.
Jerry doesn't want to wear the shirt, but feels pressured when Kramer tells him Leslie has been getting orders for the puffy shirt in anticipation of his late night appearance. When he tries it on, Elaine says Jerry looks like the Count of Monte Cristo and that he might swing in on a chandelier.
Ultimately, Jerry's embarrassed on national television. All because of a low talker. And Kramer—well, he's still Kramer.
In another episode of Seinfeld, Elaine encounters Dan, a "high talker" whose high-pitched voice sounds just like her friend (and Dan's girlfriend), Noreen. When Dan answers the phone, Elaine thinks it's Noreen on the line. Elaine asks Noreen (who is really Dan) if she hit on Jerry, causing Dan and Noreen to break up.
Besides providing fodder for hilarious sitcom writers, being a high talker, a low talker, or an inaudible speaker might impact your message (you know, just maybe). If you'd like to address issues with your own voice based on feedback you've received, you'll find some useful exercises in this lesson.
WHAT KIND OF TALKER ARE YOU?
You know the sound of your own voice—after all, you're the one producing it. At the same time, the way we sound to ourselves isn't exactly what others hear.
You've probably been asked to quiet down when you didn't even realize you were shouting, or asked to speak up when you thought you'd been perfectly clear. When you're nervous, you might notice your rate of speech increasing and that you become louder or softer depending on your mood.
All of these ingrained and habitual speech patterns and effects carry over when you're delivering a more formal speech or presentation. Therefore, you'll want to get some honest feedback about the sound of your voice.
The first thing you can do, if you haven't already, is listen to a recording of your voice. Listen objectively, as though you were listening to a stranger. How would you describe your voice? High? Low? Loud? Soft? Full? Thin? Scratchy? Smooth? Fast? Slow?
Enlist the help of a friend. Ask them to assess the sound of your voice. Remember, your voice is a habit that's practiced and rehearsed over years, but you can unlearn and change habits, even speaking habits.
Once you think you have a clearer picture of the aspects of your voice you need to work on, use the following strategies to address specific speech issues.
Slow Down, You're Moving Too Fast
Slow Down, You're Moving Too Fast
Have you gotten feedback that you speak to rapidly? Clear and understandable speakers utter between 155 and 175 words per minute. How do you stack up?
Choose an article from a nearby newspaper or magazine, or from your favorite online source. Set a timer for one minute, and read the text out loud, trying to read at your regular speaking rate, if possible. At the end of the minute, count up how many words you read. Was it between 155 and 175?
Try the exercise again, this time recording yourself. As you listen, does it sound like your normal rate of speech? Can you understand yourself?
If you speak fewer than 155 words per minute, you might consider shortening the length of your vocalized pauses or practice our speech enough times that you won't need to stop and think as often.
If you speak at a rate of more than 175 words per minute, though, you might be speaking too fast. Your message might not have time to sink in and resonate with your audience, and it's possible they'll miss key points because you didn't pause for emphasis.
Use this strategy to train yourself to speak more slowly.
Step One
Step One
Using the same article you read to check your rate of reading aloud, or a different one, place a mark after word 160.
Step Two
Step Two
Set a timer for one minute, and read the passage aloud several times until you finish just as the alarm rings.
Step Three
Step Three
When you can reliable read the passage in about one minute, record yourself. Listen to the recording several times in order to familiarize yourself with how you sound at this rate. Repeat these steps as many times as you need to get a sense of what you really sound like speaking at a rate of about 160 words per minute.
Step Four
Step Four
Practice, practice, practice. Pay attention to your rate of speech as you chat with the cashier at the grocery store, make an appointment with the receptionist at the doctor's office, or converse with your boss about next quarter's sales goals. Aim for the rate of speech you use in your recording.
You Don't Have to Shout
You Don't Have to Shout
It can sort of sting to receive feedback that you talk too loud. After all, isn't it only natural to run through the office shouting when you finally get a raise?
Often, we don't really realize that we're talking too loudly, that the folks at the next booth can hear our entire conversation, or the guy on the bus can't hear out phone call.
At a formal public speaking engagement, of course, you want to be heard. Depending on the venue, setting, and amenities, you may need to project your voice across a crowded room. On the other hand, you might be attached to a microphone, in which case speaking with the same voice you'd use to address a crowded room could cause a short circuit in the sound equipment.
Don't shout into a microphone. You'll want to use your normal speaking volume. Be sure to practice with the mic you'll be using beforehand—a handheld mic produces a different sound than a wireless headset.
If you haven't gotten feedback that your speaking voice is too loud, you can make sure by downloading an app that measures noise levels, like dB Volume Meter.
Read an article out loud, or have a conversation with a friend, while the app is up and running. Here's how to interpret your results:
70 dB = Normal speaking voice
76dB = Raised voice
82 = Booming voice
88 = Shouting voice
You want to shoot in the mid-70's for a formal public speaking event using a microphone. If you need to, practice your speech with a decibel reader until you naturally speak at your desired volume.
I Can't Hear You!
I Can't Hear You!
If your normal speaking voice is on the soft side, you might have already tried the exercises in Lesson 5 to help you project from your diaphragm and increase your volume. If you're not sure, start noticing the volume of your voice in different contexts.
You might notice that your volume varies depending on where you are, who you're speaking to, what you're saying, and how you feel about what you're saying. If you're in a crowd at a stadium cheering for your team in the finals, your voice might be as loud as the next guy's. If you're making a suggestion for how to increase your department's efficiency that might not be well-received, you might speak more softly in an unconscious attempt to take less ownership of your suggestion in case it's unpopular.
Think back to that episode of Seinfeld we mentioned in the introduction of this lesson. Leslie gets Jerry to agree to wear her fashion concoction on national television not through the clarity of her message (or the attractiveness of the puffy shirt), but through confusion and Jerry's wanting to seem polite. Of course, Jerry's humiliated once he realizes what he's agreed to, and he disparages Leslie in a television interview and ruins her big break into the fashion world.
Had Leslie been more assertive in her request, Jerry might have actually heard it. Perhaps he would've said no (the shirt was, in fact, ridiculous), but Leslie could've avoided being embarrassed on national television. It turns out that feeling confident and prepared contributes to your ability to assertively deliver your message.
The more you practice and prepare, the more likely you are to speak in louder, more confident tones.
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