This course is primarily about improving your singing, but it would be wasting an opportunity if we didn’t take a brief look at how you can also up your game when it comes to speaking. This will not only help if as a singer you also talk to your audience, but if you rely on your voice at work, or if you simply want to sound your best in everyday life.

You’ve already discovered how good qualities your voice has when you sing can nurture your speech. Here we will look at how to use delivery speed, vowels and consonants to best effect.

Delivery speed

Speaking more slowly:

• makes it easier for you to be understood – especially by listeners some distance away from you,
• gives those listening more time to process the information you are providing,
• gives you the opportunity to add more interest to what you’re saying,
• and gives you more ‘presence’ or gravitas. (Watch powerful people on TV: they generally speak more slowly.)

Would speaking slower help you, either generally or in certain situations? The trick is this:

To speak slower, concentrate on making all the vowels last longer.‍

Musical vowels

A good speaker uses many variations in the pitch of their voice: in other words, their voice has a lot of music in it.

Try this: Say ‘I’d love a cup of coffee’, making the ‘o’ in ‘love’ as long as possible. Now say the same phrase but making the ‘o’ in ‘love’ short and the ‘l’ and‘v’ as long as possible. It’s not difficult to see which version gives you the greater possibility for putting music and meaning into the word ‘love’.

So as well as regulating delivery speed,

Vowels provide the music – and therefore interest – in your voice. 

Reading aloud is an excellent way to practise both delivery speed and musical vowels.

Good articulation

Say only the vowels in the sentence ‘Would you like to come to dinner with me?’, and then only the consonants. It’s pretty obvious which version gives you a better clue about what the question is. 

Unfortunately, modern speech has a rather casual approach to consonants – which as you’ve just discovered carry most of the information on what is being said. This may not be a problem when chatting to your friends, but in more formal situations you may need sharper consonants, because

Consonants provide clarity.

It’s important to keep your lips and jaw relaxed while speaking, but the muscles need to be working to form the consonants clearly. Like any muscles they’ll need exercising – with plenty of reps – to get them into shape. Tongue twisters are excellent for this. There’s plenty to choose from in the Follow-up Resources in Section 1.6.

Try recording yourself periodically to check on progress.

Direct your voice where you want it to go

Whatever the space you’re in, choose the place, or people, you want your voice to reach and imagine ‘sending’ it there. You will automatically put your focus there too, and engage those listening to you – everyone likes to feel noticed. 

When addressing a large gathering, that will probably mean putting more energy behind your voice (though not necessarily greater volume: see below). When talking at close range to one or a few it could mean reducing the energy your voice is carrying: too much power and those listening will feel talked at, rather than talked to.

Volume

When you need to be heard, turning up the volume should be your last resort. Make sure you’ve tried all the other strategies first, because: 

Volume alone is never the answer to being heard.

Straining or verging on shouting is never good. If you do have to consciously raise your voice, make sure you keep your Better Voice head focus. That will give you added volume without sounding pressured.

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