Four Tips To Do Voice Modulation While Speaking | Public Speaking Tips

Summary

Elisa James, founder of Voice of Confidence, teaches effective public speaking through voice modulation. She introduces the 'high, low, fast, slow' technique used by radio hosts to captivate audiences. 'High' pitch adds excitement, while 'low' conveys authority. Speaking 'fast' creates urgency, and 'slow' ensures clarity on complex points. Practice these four keys to enhance communication and hold listeners' attention.

Takeaways

• 🎤 Voice modulation is crucial for effective public speaking as it helps in engaging the audience and conveying messages clearly.
• 📈 Raising the pitch can make a statement sound more exciting and engaging, which is useful for expressing excitement or passion.
• 📉 Lowering the pitch can convey authority and seriousness, making the speaker sound confident and commanding attention.
• 💬 Speaking at a faster pace can create a sense of urgency and excitement, but it should be used selectively to maintain clarity.
• 🕰 Slowing down the speech can emphasize important points and make complex information more digestible for the audience.
• 🔄 The 'high, low, fast, slow' rule is a simple yet effective technique used by radio DJs and public speakers to captivate audiences.
• 👂 The audience's perception of the speaker's authority and excitement is significantly influenced by the pitch and speed of their voice.
• 🗣️ Practicing voice modulation techniques can greatly enhance one's public speaking skills, making the speaker more persuasive and influential.
• 👀 It's important to provide pauses after speeding up or slowing down to give the audience time to process and understand the information.
• 🌟 Elisa James, the founder of Voice of Confidence, emphasizes that effective voice modulation is essential for all speakers, regardless of language proficiency.

Q & A

What is voice modulation and why is it important in public speaking?

Voice modulation refers to the control and adjustment of the sound of your voice while speaking. It is important because it allows for more effective communication of your message, making you sound less boring and monotonous.

Who is Elisa James and what does she do?

Elisa James is the founder of the Voice of Confidence public speaker training. She helps people worldwide to speak with clarity, confidence, and competence.

What is the significance of the 'high, low, fast, slow' rule in voice modulation?

The 'high, low, fast, slow' rule is a technique used by radio DJs to keep their audiences captivated. It involves varying pitch and speed to convey different emotions and emphasize key points in a speech.

How does changing the pitch to a higher level affect the audience's perception?

A higher pitch makes the speaker sound more exciting and engaging, which can effectively convey excitement and passion.

What is the effect of using a lower pitch when speaking?

Using a lower pitch can convey authority and a serious tone, making the speaker sound confident and commanding respect from the audience.

Why should a speaker not speak their entire presentation at a fast pace?

Speaking too fast throughout a presentation can make it difficult for the audience to keep up and understand the information. It's more effective to speed up only certain sentences to ramp up energy and then pause to allow the audience to assimilate the information.

How does speaking slowly impact the delivery of important information?

Speaking slowly for important or complex information helps the audience to grasp the concept more easily, making the message land more powerfully.

What is the recommended approach when incorporating fast speech into a presentation?

The recommended approach is to choose specific sentences that could be energized and speed up only those, followed by a pause to allow the audience to process the information.

How can practicing the 'high, low, fast, slow' rule improve one's public speaking?

Practicing the 'high, low, fast, slow' rule can enhance the speaker's ability to modulate their voice effectively, making their presentations more engaging and easier to understand.

What is the advice for those who want to improve their voice modulation skills?

The advice is to practice speaking with different pitches and speeds, focusing on the 'high, low, fast, slow' rule to improve voice modulation and make public speaking more effective.

Outlines

00:00

🗣️ Mastering Voice Modulation for Engaging Public Speaking

This paragraph introduces the concept of voice modulation, which is the act of controlling and adjusting the sound of one's voice during speech. Voice modulation is crucial for effective public speaking as it helps to convey messages more impactfully and avoid sounding monotonous. The video, presented by Elisa James, founder of the Voice of Confidence public speaker training, focuses on four simple tricks used by famous speakers and radio hosts to modulate their voices. These tricks are encapsulated in the 'high, low, fast, slow' rule. The paragraph demonstrates the power of pitch by contrasting a sentence spoken in a low pitch with the same sentence in a high pitch, highlighting how the latter can evoke excitement and engagement. The video aims to help speakers of all language backgrounds enhance their public speaking skills through effective voice modulation.

05:07

🎙️ The 'High, Low, Fast, Slow' Rule for Powerful Public Speaking

The second paragraph delves into the specifics of the 'high, low, fast, slow' rule for voice modulation. It discusses the use of a low pitch to convey authority and seriousness, as exemplified by news readers, and how lowering the pitch can command respect and attention from the audience. The paragraph also addresses the importance of speaking at a faster pace to create excitement but cautions against delivering an entire presentation at a fast pace, as it can lead to audience confusion. Instead, it suggests speeding up only certain sentences to ramp up energy and then pausing to allow the audience to process the information. The paragraph concludes with an example of how slowing down the delivery of complex information can aid audience comprehension, reinforcing the significance of the 'high, low, fast, slow' rule in public speaking.

Keywords

💡Voice modulation

Voice modulation refers to the control and adjustment of the sound of one's voice during speech. It is crucial for effective communication as it helps to convey emotions, emphasize points, and maintain audience engagement. In the video, Elisa James emphasizes the importance of voice modulation for public speaking, suggesting that without it, a speaker may sound monotonous and boring. The script provides examples of how changing pitch can alter the perception of a message, such as the contrast between a low and high pitch when expressing excitement.

💡Public speaking

Public speaking is the act of addressing an audience, typically to inform, influence, or entertain. It is a skill that requires clarity, confidence, and competence. The video's theme revolves around enhancing public speaking abilities through voice modulation techniques. Elisa James, the founder of 'Voice of Confidence,' offers guidance on how to captivate audiences by using voice modulation, which is a key aspect of effective public speaking.

💡Pitch

Pitch in the context of voice modulation refers to the frequency of the sound waves produced by the vocal cords, which determines how high or low a voice sounds. The video script illustrates the impact of pitch on audience engagement by contrasting high and low pitches. For instance, a higher pitch is used to convey excitement, while a lower pitch is associated with authority and seriousness.

💡Excitement

Excitement in public speaking is conveyed through the energy and enthusiasm of the speaker. The video script uses the example of raising the pitch to express excitement, which is a natural human response to emotionally charged situations. This technique is used to grab the audience's attention and make the speech more engaging.

💡Authority

Authority in speaking is the perception of expertise and credibility that a speaker projects. In the script, a lower pitch is associated with conveying authority, which is a technique used by news readers and presenters to instill confidence in their messages. The video provides an example of how lowering the pitch can make a statement sound more serious and commanding.

💡Fast pace

Speaking at a fast pace can create a sense of urgency and excitement in a speech. The video script advises using a fast pace selectively to emphasize certain points and to keep the audience engaged. However, it also cautions against speaking too quickly, as it can make the speech difficult to follow and understand.

💡Slow pace

A slow pace in speaking is used to emphasize important information and to ensure that complex or tricky concepts are understood by the audience. The video script demonstrates how slowing down can make a message more impactful and easier to comprehend, especially when delivering intricate details.

💡Captivation

Captivation refers to the ability to hold the attention and interest of an audience. The video's four-step rule of 'high, low, fast, slow' is designed to captivate listeners by varying the speaker's voice to create dynamic and engaging presentations.

💡Clarity

Clarity in public speaking is the quality of being clear, intelligible, and easy to understand. The video script stresses the importance of clarity, especially when using a fast pace, to ensure that the audience can follow and assimilate the information being presented.

💡Pause

Pausing is the act of momentarily stopping speech to allow the audience to process information or to create emphasis. The video script advises using pauses strategically, particularly after speeding up a sentence, to give the audience time to absorb the information and to prevent them from feeling overwhelmed.

Highlights

Voice modulation is crucial for effective public speaking.

Lack of voice modulation can make a speaker sound boring and monotonous.

Elisa James introduces a four-step rule used by radio DJs to captivate audiences.

Using a higher pitch can convey excitement and engagement.

A lower pitch is associated with authority and seriousness.

Speaking faster can create excitement but should be used selectively.

Slowing down the pace can emphasize important information and aid comprehension.

The 'high, low, fast, slow' rule is a simple yet effective method for voice modulation.

Practicing voice modulation techniques can significantly improve public speaking skills.

Excitement in the voice is naturally expressed through a higher pitch.

A low pitch can make directives more authoritative and respected.

Speaking too fast can lead to audience confusion and misunderstanding.

Slowing down for complex information ensures better audience understanding.

The video provides practical examples of how voice modulation affects audience perception.

Elisa James emphasizes the importance of pausing after changing the pace of speech.

Voice of Confidence training helps people speak with clarity, confidence, and competence.

The video is aimed at both native English speakers and those for whom English is a second language.

The effectiveness of public speaking is not solely dependent on language proficiency but also on voice modulation.

Transcripts

Have you ever wondered why some  people are really amazing at public  

speaking?While other people simply put you  to sleep the second they open their mouth?

Look the reason may be this... voice  modulation! Voice modulation basically means  

controlling and adjusting the sound of your voice  as you're speaking. Using better voice modulation  

means you're able to communicate  your message much more effectively.  

Without voice modulation you would  sound boring and monotonous. In this  

video today i'll be sharing with you four easy  tricks that famous speakers and radio hosts  

use to modulate their voices during  their public speaking presentations 

[Music]

Hi I'm Elisa James founder of the voice  of confidence public speaker training and  

I help people from all over the world speak with  clarity confidence and competence. Now regardless  

of whether you speak english as a second language  or you're a native english speaker, if you're not  

using effective voice modulation techniques you  won't be an effective public speaker at all.  

So today we're going to dive into a really  simple four-step rule that all radio DJ's  

use to keep their audiences captivated  it's called, high, low, fast, slow!

Let's start with number one, high. When you  change the pitch to a higher pitch when speaking  

it sounds much more exciting and engaging  than a lower pitch. To show you what I  

mean listen to this sentence in a  low pitch and then a high pitch.  

"I am super excited to be here today" [Crickets] 

Let's try a higher pitch "I'm super  excited to be here today !"[Applause]

Now you feel and hear the excitement  in my voice with the higher pitch. You  

can immediately see how powerful the higher  pitch becomes with some sentences that require  

action, excitement and passion. The sound of  passion and excitement can be easily heard  

when someone is raising their pitch because  that's what we actually do when we are excited  

we raise our pitch. So try reading  or speaking a sentence out loud  

in a lower pitch and then a higher pitch so you  can actually hear the difference for yourself.

Number two, low. Many radio and tv presenters  especially news readers use a very low  

pitch to convey authority and a very serious  tone of voice, we as listeners actually expect  

people in the media to sound like that because it  conveys confidence simply by lowering the pitch.  

Here's a sentence spoken in two  ways so you can hear the difference  

for yourself. Here it is in a high pitched tone.  "Now I really want you to pay attention to this,  

this is super important" [silence] 

And here it is again in a low pitched tone.  "Now I really want you to pay attention to this  

because it's super important!" [applause]

You can see that the first one sounded  a bit too high and flippant and it won't  

really grab people's attention so much but  the lower version really sounds like I mean  

business! This simple trick is so easy to do and  people really respond to these lower directives  

with respect because you sound like an authority  simply by lowering the pitch. Number three,  

fast. When you want to create excitement and  action in your audience the easiest way is to  

speak a sentence or two faster. It sounds exciting  and engaging and when done correctly it will be  

super clear as well . Now where people go wrong  with this is by thinking that speaking their whole  

presentation at a fast pace will actually  make it more interesting this is not true.  

If you speak out something very fast it will  be impossible for your audience to keep up,  

so instead what I want you to do is this. Choose  certain sentences in your speech that could be  

ramped up with energy and enthusiasm and speed  up that sentence only, then stop. Pause, then the  

audience can assimilate the information they just  heard if you don't give them that pause they may  

not understand what you said at all and they'll  spend their time thinking trying to catch up.

Number four, slow. During a speaking  presentation using a slower pace for a  

really important piece of information will make  the message land more powerfully in the ears  

of the listener by slowing down certain  points of tricky or complicated content  

it'll make it much easier for your audience  to really grasp the concept that you're  

talking about. Here's a sentence spoken far too  fast for the message to be clearly understood.  

"Business analysts also known as BA's  help to define business problems via  

in-depth investigation and gathering of  technical and non-technical information"

What?!?! Let's try it again slowly.  

"Business analysts also known as BA's help to  define business problems by in-depth investigation  

and gathering of technical  and non-technical information"

So you can see how important it is if you're  going to speed up, leave a pause some things  

need to be slowed down if it's really important.  So you can see how very important the high low  

fast slow rule is now that you know it you can  go home and do some practice for yourself. That's  

it today remember the four keys to simple but  effective voice modulation is high low fast slow.

If you found this video helpful make sure you hit  the bell so you get notified when i release the  

next video and don't forget to subscribe to my  channel i'll see you next time on the voice of  

confidence tv I'm Elisa James [Music]