- 16 Nov, 2024
- 0 Comments
- 2 Mins Read
Tone of voice – the difference between sounding like a strangled cat or a purring dulcet tone.
If you want your message to carry as opposed to your voice, it’s best to lower the pitch to your chest, not directly from your vocal cords. Try not to harden your tone, this can happen naturally as it’s just a tensing of the muscles at the back of your throat and slow down your speech. Whatever message you are wanting to deliver the chance of it being received in a much more positive way is higher if your pitch is lower.
Apparently, my natural tone can come across as patronising or condescending, which comes in handy sometimes, but other times I can be taken the wrong way not because of the words I’ve said but how I sound. I practise daily to soften my tone up so I don’t sound grumpy or rude. I had a flatmate quite some years ago who once said “get that harshness out of your tone, Miriam”. It’s still a work in progress.
Here are some how to’s…
Lower your pitch – Hum. Direct your hum into your chest, if you don’t know what I mean just hum naturally and you’ll notice a vibration in your lips. Then focus on directing the hum to your throat, then down to your chest. Try to maintain the hum until you have to take a breath. Time yourself as to how long you can maintain that hum and then practise so you can hum for longer periods of time.
Soften your tone – Yawn. Pretending to yawn or yawning for real relaxes the muscles that are tense and make you sound like you’re unhappy or angry about something. Yawn as big as your jaw will allow, yawn with your lips closed, yawn for real or just fake it. Whatever the yawn slow it on down and really feel the stretch into the back of your throat.
Soften your tone – Swallow. Swallowing uses the muscles in your throat that also tense up when you are nervous, that’s when your voice comes out wobbly. When you are afraid, depending on the intensity of your fear you may not even be able to speak but if you are facing something frightening try to remember to take a deep breath, all the way down to your tummy button, preferably through your nose but if you take a breath through your mouth, that’s better than not taking a breath at all. Breathing frees up the stress on your brain as well as your vocal cords. We are inclined to hold our breath when we’re nervous or frightened so training your brain to breathe in those particular times when you are calm, you’re more likely to remember when you are stressed.
Have a great week, Miriam.