Rate of speech: To rush or not to rush, that is the question...

April 19, 2016 Author: Alexander Kharin

Category: Oratory, Articles by Alexander Kharin, Articles by our authors, Articles about speech, communication and influencing people, Effective communication

Correct speech rate = mutual understanding.

From a conversation between a business coach and a visitor.

– Coach, I want you to teach me how to speak in public, it seems to me that I am a born politician.

–...! What are you saying?

– I say that I want to become a politician, teach me the art of oratory.

-...? I don't understand you, can you slow down your speech?

- Here you go too! I say that I want to become a politician, but others do not understand me.

– I hear the words “politician” and “speaker”, but I can’t understand the rest. Say it slower.

– I can’t speak slowly when I talk to people. It’s so important for me to express myself that I’m worried!!!

The visitor begins to get angry and bangs his fist on the table.

- Oh, you will make a real politician - Nikita Khrushchev, right! (coach with irony).

-What am I saying... (smiles contentedly).

Such communication is reminiscent of a conversation between a deaf person and a dumb person.

An even bigger problem is when some people speak animatedly, while others speak extremely slowly. Watch this video:

Did you know that the principle of any communication is the ability to be understood. And this fact is undeniable. Therefore, one of the criteria of any good speech or oratory is the pace of speech. You can determine whether you are a good speaker by how quickly you speak.

Imagine that every person’s brain is a kind of computer. Every person has short-term memory; in a computer it is RAM. Depending on a person’s intelligence, the “RAM” varies, some have only 32-64 MB, while others have as much as 2 GB.

What does this mean? That at the same time the brain of one person can process several words, and another - several paragraphs of speech. Therefore, with a fast pace of speech, some people’s brains will “smoke” and they will simply stop thinking. But others with a “large RAM” will get angry if they speak slowly, or they will get bored and go about their own business.

What pace of speech to choose so that people listen

Imagine, my friends, that there are a lot of people in front of you for whom you need to speak: say a good toast, motivate them to go to football, speak publicly. What pace of speech should I choose so that everyone can understand?

The answer is obvious. You need to choose a speaking speed that is comfortable for everyone to listen to.

This is speech at a speed of 2-3 words per second. This is an average pace. Then people with a “quick mind” will not be bored, and those who are slow will be able to listen carefully.

How to develop an average speaking speed?

To do this, it is most convenient to use a rhythmic gesture. Raise your hand, join your fingers and wave in time with each word. If you speak too quickly, your hand will not have time to keep up with the words. On the other hand, a slight wave of the hand creates the rhythm of speech, and such speech will automatically enliven, will not seem slow and boring, and will be interesting to listeners.

Basic steps for voice training

In fact, to positively influence the characteristics and properties of your voice, you need to master just a few important things. They have a universal effect on the basic characteristics of the voice and, if you master them completely, you will improve absolutely everything.

What affects voice characteristics:

1. Breathing and support.
2. Diction and articulation.
3. Working with resonators.

In addition, you must definitely work on getting rid of tension - any unpleasant sensations in the chest, jaw, throat, neck, cheekbones and other parts of the body. If discomfort occurs when you begin to speak, this is a sure sign of tension. We will talk in more detail about the fight against clamps in the “Diction and Articulation” section, where we will give the simplest exercises for removing clamps.

Let us note that all the exercises offered in this course are a symbiosis of recommendations from professionals who work with the voice in one way or another: doctors, lecturers, announcers, artists, vocalists, etc. We have simplified all the tips to a level where anyone can use them, including those who do not have speaking abilities and have never been involved in voice development.

Breathing and support

In any public speaking course, in any vocal school, training begins with breathing. Sometimes you can come across the phrase “correct breathing,” but we will not use it. In fact, there is no right or wrong breathing - there are certain tasks that are facing you at the moment.

The breathing that is necessary simply to supply the body with oxygen differs from the breathing that is necessary for the purpose of correctly producing beautiful sounds. Just in order for your voice to be beautiful, you need to master the correct sound production . And this can only be achieved when you have trained breathing and support for sound.

What does trained breathing and voice support provide:

How to achieve all this? Let's look at a step-by-step algorithm for establishing breathing and finding support for your voice so that it sounds beautiful and bright.

Steps to establish breathing and support your voice:

1. Take a deep, quick breath through the nose into the lower part of the lungs - so that the stomach and sides in the lower part swell. Important: shoulders should not rise!
2. Hold your breath in such a way that the stomach and sides remain in a fixed bloated state, i.e. air retention using the abdominal muscles.
3. Gradual exhalation with minimal air consumption, without sudden loss of air.

These are the fundamental differences between breathing, which is simply necessary for the functioning of the body, and breathing, which is necessary for confident sound production. If we normally breathe into the upper part of our lungs, then to give a lecture or any other public speaking we need to fill most of the lungs with air.

There is one more nuance: it is advisable to inhale so much air that it is enough for the spoken phrase, no more and no less. If you inhale less, the end of the phrase will sound slurred and strained, because. you don't have enough air to sound normal. If you inhale more and, at the end of the phrase, begin to draw in air again, the spoken phrases will also begin to sound slurred, and it will be difficult for you to control the flow of air so that it comes out gradually, without sudden jerks. The skill of controlling the volume of air inhaled comes with training and practice.

Breathing and support exercises:

1. Relax your upper body - stand up straight, lower your shoulders, take a deep breath and exhale, slowly turn your head left and right, shake or sway your lowered arms, then slightly round your back and lean a little forward, shake or sway your lowered arms a little more, return to the starting position.
2. Take a deep, quick breath through the nose into the lower part of the lungs - so that the stomach and sides in the lower part swell. You can help yourself by leaning forward a little, rounding your back. This will give air a clearer path into your lungs. Hold your breath as long as you can. If you can hold it for at least 30 seconds, this is a good result. Repeat 3 times.
3. Take a deep, quick breath through the nose into the lower part of the lungs - so that the stomach and sides in the lower part swell. You can help yourself by leaning forward a little, rounding your back. Hold your breath for a moment and begin to slowly exhale the air with a “sssssssss” sound, while continuing to keep your sides and stomach distended. If you can hold out for at least 30 seconds, this is a good result. Repeat 3 times.

While doing the exercises, look in the mirror and control the position of the abdomen and sides (they should be swollen) and the position of the shoulders (they should be lowered and should not rise).

If you perform the exercises correctly, you should not have any discomfort in your neck, shoulders, jaw, or vocal cords. Only slight abdominal fatigue is possible if you are not a very trained person and are not particularly fond of sports.

If, when performing exercises 2 and 3, you feel discomfort in the neck, shoulders, jaw, vocal cords, immediately stop performing them and return to exercise 1 to relax the upper body.

We draw your attention to an important nuance: the exercises offered in the course do not help everyone, but only those who do them! We strongly recommend that you master the above exercises so that in subsequent lessons you can move on to tasks of a higher level of complexity, which are also necessary for the development of a beautiful voice and speech.

Let's continue the topic. You can learn a lot about relaxation, liberation, inhalation and exhalation for a better sounding voice from the experience of current and already successful artists. As an example, we can suggest watching the lessons given by Russian singer Polina Gagarina as part of the “Generation M” charity project. Lesson No. 1 touches on the topic of relaxation, emancipation and freedom of voice:

And in lesson No. 2, Polina Gagarina explains in detail and demonstrates the above-described breathing technique:

To achieve the desired effect - breathing training and finding support for the voice - you need to perform these exercises daily for 2 weeks. Then you can return to these exercises 1-2 times a week so as not to lose the acquired form. You can read more about breathing and finding support for the voice in the work of the Italian surgeon, otolaryngologist and phoniatrist Franco Fussi, La respirazione e l'appoggio nel canto (“Breathing and support in singing”) [F. Fussi, 2017].

Let us clarify that the principles of sound production for singing and spoken speech are similar. The only difference is in the depth of the required elaboration: if in everyday life we ​​can decide for ourselves whether we need to sound beautiful and convincing, then for singers this is part of their profession by default. Therefore, if you master the breathing technique practiced by opera and pop performers , speaking in front of a large audience will be easy for you.

Diction and articulation

The next important step in voice production is diction and articulation. It’s not for nothing that these concepts stand side by side. They are so closely interconnected that one without the other is simply impossible. Without clear articulation, good diction is impossible. At the same time, overly active articulation can make sounds rougher.

Articulation is the totality of the work of the speech organs in the formation of speech sounds. Clear articulation of sounds depends on the degree of training of the active organs of speech, primarily the tongue and lips.

Diction is the clear pronunciation of vowels and consonants in accordance with the phonetic norms of the language you are speaking or singing at the moment. Diction directly determines how clear and energetic our speech is.

Working on diction and articulation, in addition to the self-evident results in the form of clear, understandable sounds, has another significant bonus. This is the removal of clamps from the throat , which are common in our era of everyone sitting in front of computers and gadgets.

What good diction and articulation gives:

Separate mention should be made about the clamps. Without removing the clamps, good articulation is impossible , but at the same time, working on articulation allows you to gradually begin to get rid of the clamps. Note that the articulatory apparatus is quite complex and, in addition to the tongue and lips, a large number of muscles are involved in articulation.

The structure of the articulatory apparatus:

Diagram of the location of the muscles involved in articulation:

A clamp in any of these muscles can negate all your efforts to develop clear expressive speech, so if you cannot localize the problem on your own, consult a speech therapist or perform universal exercises to remove clamps, improve diction and articulation.

Exercises for removing clamps:

1. Relax your face, neck, and all articulatory muscles. To do this, shake your head slightly left and right, back and forth. Important: avoid sudden movements and do not try to achieve maximum range of motion. If you feel discomfort or hear any clicking or other sounds, skip this exercise. If discomfort in the neck and articulatory muscles is your permanent condition, find the opportunity to consult a neurologist or surgeon.
2. Practice keeping your neck and head straight. Test how well you can do this by placing a book on your head. If a closed book does not hold well, practice with an open book for now, placing it with its open pages on top of your head. Once you have managed to hold the book on your head at rest, try holding it while you speak. Any text that does not require you to bend over to read it from a sheet of paper or computer will do.

You can see more exercises on relaxation and removing tension in the lessons of Polina Gagarina. They are equally suitable for artists, singers, lecturers and all people who have to talk a lot:

Exercises to improve diction and articulation (perform in front of a mirror):

1. Tongue mobility training – stretch it forward as much as possible, try to “reach” the tip of your nose and chin with your tongue.
2. Mouth position training - open your mouth so that 2 fingers, folded one above the other, fit into it. The tongue should remain flat and rest against the lower teeth. Make the sounds “a-a” so that your mouth does not close, your tongue does not arch or “go” back. It is also useful to practice the sounds "nga-ngo-ngy-nge-ngu-nga" and make sure that the mouth remains wide open.
3. Training the interaction of the jaw and tongue - open your mouth, lowering and moving your jaw slightly back. To control the position, place your finger on your lips as if you want to say “shhh, hush.” The lower lip should not touch the finger when the mouth is open. Say the vowel "a". The tongue should remain flat and rest against the lower teeth. Make sure that the tongue does not bend or “go” back.
4. Training in sound formation in the upper palate - turn on the recorder, make a grin and grin and try to pronounce some words (a poem, a presentation text, an answer to an exam paper) in this position. If you did everything correctly, the sound will be clearer, brighter and more spacious than usual.
5. Training in the formation of sound in the upper palate plus training in the pronunciation of consonants - turn on the recorder, make a grin, relax your jaw and hold a pencil in your teeth. Try saying some text in this position. Take out the pencil and repeat the same text, just holding the grin. If you did everything correctly, when comparing audio recordings you will hear that the last version of the text sounded better than the first.

By the way, as British doctor Leonard Jane assures, squeezing a pencil between your teeth can help relax your jaw muscles and reduce the intensity of headaches [Dailymail, 2016]. So if you have headaches, voice training will have the added bonus of making you feel better.

And, of course, tongue twisters help develop diction and articulation. Don’t try to pronounce them quickly right away, don’t immediately tackle long and complex ones. It’s better to start by taking 2-3 simple tongue twisters in Russian and English and practice them at a slow pace, then at an average pace, and only then at a fast pace.

We will return to the topic of diction development and more detailed recommendations for its development in a separate lesson. Now let’s explore another powerful way to influence the characteristics of your voice and control its sound at your discretion.

When can you use a fast pace of speech?

A slightly accelerated rate of speech is used by the speaker or speaker in campaign speeches, at motivating moments of speeches, in order to enliven the audience. Although there are other options.

Remember the commentator's speech at a football match. At the moment the head of the situation, he begins to speak faster and faster. And then it seems that our players are about to score a goal. It turns out that by increasing the speed of speech we escalate the atmosphere.

It is good to speed up your speech when you are trying to “break through the defenses” of listeners or show the dynamics of what is happening. Critical episodes in stories about boxing, football, rallying, close combat, and the transfer of love passion are suitable for such accelerations.

But you should know that after describing a dynamic episode, you should reduce the rate of speech to average.

Opening of resonators

First, let's recall what resonators are and expand the knowledge about resonators obtained in lesson No. 1. Resonators are natural amplifiers of our voice inside our body. They allow us to make our voice higher or lower, louder or quieter, and to enrich the color of our timbre. By learning to control the flow of air and direct it into a particular resonator, you can open up your voice in a new way and instantly change many of the characteristics of your voice that you learned about in the first part of the lesson.

So, what kind of resonators are there? In different sources you can find different options for classifying resonators. Somewhere the main resonators include the pharynx, trachea, oral and nasal cavities. Some believe that there is a chest resonator and a group of head resonators, which include cavities above the vocal cords: the upper larynx, pharynx, oral and nasal cavities, paranasal sinuses, parietal bones.

The concept of “chest resonator” from an anatomical point of view is somewhat arbitrary, but it is very convenient for describing the localization of sensations during voice training, so it is advisable to use just such a conventional term. Due to the fact that our course is focused on the development of practical skills, we will use the most intelligible and convenient system, which divides all natural voice amplifiers into four main components that can be worked with in detail.

Resonators that can be controlled to produce sound:

1. Chest resonator.
2. Mouth resonator.
3. Nasal resonator.
4. Head resonator.

One way or another, resonant cavities are closed spaces containing air that is capable of resonating, i.e. vibrate when hit by a sound wave. In other words, it is the air contained in the cavities that resonates, not the cavities themselves. Due to the fact that we can change the shape and volume of the cavity, we can change the shape and volume of the resonator and, accordingly, the strength of resonance and the sound that is obtained.

What does it mean to change the shape and volume of cavities? We can, for example, expand the lower part of the lungs and increase the volume of the chest resonator. We can open our mouth wider (we train with the 2-fingered mouth exercise!) and increase the volume of the oral resonator. In addition, by making a grin and changing the shape of the mouth resonator, we can send a more powerful air flow up into the head and thus change the sound of the head resonator.

All resonators are interconnected, capable of interacting and mutually influencing each other. Few people use the full capabilities of all resonators in everyday life. Usually one or at most two resonators work the most.

Which resonator works best for you:

1. If a person’s voice is low and muffled, this means that his chest resonator is primarily used.
2. If a person's voice is too high, squeaky and/or half-childish, this means dominance of the head resonator.
3. If a person has a well-audible voice and intelligible speech, he has an active oral resonator, plus a head or chest and, possibly, a nasal resonator.
4. If the voice is nasal, the person is usually described as “speaking through his nose.” This is the predominance of the nasal resonator.

By the way, a nasal voice and an excess of “nose” in the voice is a problem and inconvenience only for an unenlightened person. Knowledgeable people know that a developed nasal resonator is the path to connecting all resonators and, accordingly, a bright, beautiful voice. You will learn more about the nasal resonator if you read the article by Italian surgeon, otolaryngologist and phoniatrist Franco Fussi La voce nel naso (“Voice in the nose”) [F. Fussi, 2017]. In the meantime, we’ll figure out why we need to connect the resonators.

What does connecting resonators give:

In other words, connecting resonators makes it possible to make maximum use of the functionality of each resonator and achieve the so-called synergetic effect, when interacting resonators enhance each other’s action. But first you need to work on the development of each resonator. Therefore, let’s figure out what each resonator is needed for and how to develop it.

Resonator functions:

1. Chest resonator - its operation provides a powerful sound to the voice, can help make the voice velvety and intimate, it gives access to low notes and (attention!) makes high notes more expressive and allows you to get rid of the squeakiness in the voice, as if only the head resonator is working.
2. Head resonator - its work gives the voice flight, sonority, lightness, it provides access to high notes.
3. Oral resonator – provides a more open, loud sound of the voice, helps relieve throat constrictions, and helps speak more freely.
4. Nasal resonator - connects all the resonators, gives clarity and clarity to the sound of each resonator and the voice as a whole.

In addition, a nasal resonator is absolutely necessary for those who would like to master pop-jazz vocals or learn to sing rock. Looking ahead, let's say that it is with the help of the nasal resonator that work is being done on mastering the mixed vocal technique, which provides a bright and high-quality combined sound of the chest and head resonators. How to work on the development of resonators? Especially for you - the most basic diagnostics, allowing you to feel the operation of each of the resonators.

How to feel and develop the work of resonators:

1. To feel the work of the chest resonator, you can put your hand on your chest, place your voice on a support and say something between “ge” and “he” (similar to the letter “g” in the Ukrainian language). This is exactly how you can develop a chest resonator: repeat this sound lower and lower. You can control the process using Pano Tuner.
2. To feel the work of the head resonator, you need to make the sounds “i-i-i”, “u-u-u”, “i-i-u-u-u”, “woo-u-u” (in turn or at your choice ). In this case, feel the vibration above and between the eyebrows, in the forehead and possibly the back of the head. To complete the sensations, you can move your eyebrows. You can develop a head resonator on any of these sounds if you perform it coherently, smoothly, without pauses (legato) from top to bottom, i.e. from high notes to low notes.
3. To feel the work of the oral resonator, you just need to open your mouth wider and say “ah-ah” so that you feel the sound in the area of ​​​​the teeth and hard palate. Don't forget to breathe and support your voice!
4. To feel the operation of the nasal resonator, we need to pronounce the sound “n-n” or “mm” as if we want to hum or whine. Your mouth should be slightly open (you can add a slight smile), and you should feel vibration in the area of ​​your sinuses and upper lip. You might feel like sneezing.

Do not try to pronounce letters loudly, sharply, or strain your vocal cords. Don’t forget to inhale, make sure your sides are swollen and your shoulders don’t rise.

After you feel the operation of each resonator, work on their development and confident sound using the proposed exercises, you can move on to connecting the resonators . We have already worked out all the letters necessary for this separately, but now we will need to practice pronouncing them together.

For example, you can teach the head and nasal resonators to sound beautiful together using the sound “gi-i-i.” We pronounce it slowly, without pauses, from top to bottom (from high to low notes). Don’t forget to inhale, make sure your sides are swollen and your shoulders don’t rise.

The head and mouth resonators can be connected using the sound “ee-ya-a”, something like a drawn-out “I”, only with a more pronounced “i”. We also pronounce it slowly, without pauses, from top to bottom (from high to low notes). And don’t forget to inhale, make sure that your sides are swollen and your shoulders don’t rise.

And in order for the head, nasal and oral resonators to sound, you need to combine both exercises and say “gi-i-ya-a-a”. We also pronounce it slowly, without pauses, from top to bottom (from high to low notes). And also don’t forget about inhaling, make sure that your sides are swollen and your shoulders don’t rise.

And finally, to connect the chest and mouth resonators, you need... just laugh, but do it brightly and convincingly: “ha ha ha.” Everything is logical here: the letter “x” is needed for the chest resonator, the letter “a” for the oral one, therefore, their connection contributes to the connection of the resonators.

This way you will consistently work out all the necessary connections (head-nose, head-nose-mouth, mouth-chest) and improve the sound of your voice throughout the entire range. And remember that each subsequent step in working on the basic properties and characteristics of the voice is not a reason to forget what you learned the day before at the previous stage. Correct breathing and support for the voice should always be present, as well as clear diction and adequate articulation.

By the way, if you watched lesson No. 3 from Polina Gagarina to the end, you already know that natural sounds - crying and groaning - contribute to the opening of resonators. And if you want to work on resonators with music, check out the next tutorial. There will also be more complex breathing exercises:

As additional literature, we can recommend the book “Speak beautifully and confidently. Voice and speech production" [E. Shestakova, 2013]. There, many nuances are discussed in more detail and, perhaps, you can learn something useful for yourself.

Let's summarize the lesson. Today you learned in detail about the basic properties and characteristics of the voice: strength, height, timbre, flight, mobility, tone, tempo and euphony. And also that these characteristics can be improved if you practice breathing, find support for your voice, practice diction, articulation and learn to fully use all resonators.

We wish you success in working on the course and suggest you take a test to assess your understanding of the lesson material.

Slow speech. What is her strength?

Speaking slowly also has its benefits.

If you want to give meaning to your words, if you want to inspire or convince a person of something, then be sure to speak slowly. This is the law!

The fact is that slow speech sounds more impressive. For example, Comrade Stalin spoke slowly and importantly, taking long pauses between words.

Therefore, make it a rule at every moment of speech, when you say something especially important, to slow down your speech, speak clearly and forcefully, as if “straining” the words through your teeth.

This is the only way they will believe you more and stronger!

Conclusion: speech is a river, it either slows down or speeds up, but is always moderate, so that river boats can navigate it.

Learn to speak accessible, but always dynamic, weighty and convincing.
You can learn to speak beautifully, convincingly and at the right pace by attending our course “Oratory”

Characteristics of speech in professional communication

Speech is the main, although not the only source of influence and transmission of information in professional communication. Mastery of your own voice, its volume and intonation, the ability to control the rhythm of speech, the art of arranging speech pauses significantly influence the interlocutor’s assimilation of the information presented to him and predetermine the success of influencing him. Active listening techniques help maintain communication, and the art of using questions helps control the attention and thinking of the interlocutor.

The same information can be presented to a person (told) in different ways, and it will have a different effect on him. An important factor influencing speech perception is the way a person speaks. Speech can be expressive, sensual and emotional, or it can be sluggish and indifferent. Accordingly, it will have a different effect on the listener. Let's look at some characteristics of speech.

Voice

Voice is the medium through which a message is conveyed to other people. Often, a listener determines the importance of incoming information by how it is pronounced, and not by what exactly the interlocutor or speaker says. Voice can be used correctly and can be a powerful and effective tool for influencing and conveying information. Or you can use it as an instrument of torture, making it monotonous and unpleasant to hear.

In managerial interaction, great attention should be paid to the emotional state of both one’s own and that of one’s partners. We can metaphorically say that a person's voice is the place where his conscious (the content of speech) and the unconscious (characteristics of the voice) meet. It has been observed that in a state of anxiety or nervous tension, a person’s voice characteristics change. This fact has found worthy application in non-contact (that is, completely invisible to the interlocutor) samples of “lie detector”. The human subconscious sometimes successfully replaces a lie detector and can quite reliably determine the insincerity of the interlocutor. At the same time, non-verbal sounds accompanying human speech are also quite informative:

• unexpected spasms of the voice reveal internal tension;
• Frequent coughing can be interpreted as self-doubt or anxiety. (Although it could just be bronchitis!);
• laughter that does not correspond to the moment or is expressed inappropriately is clearly interpreted as tension, loss of control over the situation.

In order to more effectively master your own speech and correctly use your voice in the process of professional communication, it is useful to consider the following characteristics.

Speech rate

This concept includes the speed of speech, the duration of the sound of individual words and the duration of pauses. Professional communicators have good command of their speech and know how to adjust its pace in accordance with the information being presented. Confident, meaningful speech, as a rule, has a medium, even pace with a clear separation of words. Complex ideas should be presented at a slower, more even pace. It is necessary to give the listener time to comprehend what you are saying (unless, of course, you are pursuing other goals).

Speech that is too fast reveals the speaker’s internal tension and nervousness. Emotional stress often leads to the desire to complete what is happening as quickly as possible. The higher the voltage, the faster speech usually becomes.

When speaking publicly, you should be aware that even if there is little time to present all the information and the lecturer tries to give it at twice the speed, then all he will achieve is to halve the degree of understanding. However, speaking too slowly and sluggishly can cause you to lose the audience's attention and interest.

In addition, one of the features of a slow tempo is the tendency for edifying intonations to appear. And you need to be able to use this correctly, distinguishing between informative and educational speech.

Volume

Every person has the ability to change the volume of their voice according to conditions. We are able to unconsciously assess the distance to the interlocutor, the noise level in the audience, and adjust the volume of our voice accordingly. For example, in a noisy audience a person tries to speak louder.

It should be borne in mind that a loud voice in combination with an increase in its pitch and vibration is perceived as insecure. Increasing the volume combined with lowering the pitch gives the voice strength, but can also create a feeling of aggressiveness.

Voice pitch

The pitch of the voice is an important element in conveying the mental state of the speaker and can evoke the same state in the listener. A low voice (especially the bass) conveys confidence. Accordingly, raising the pitch of the voice (especially in combination with increasing the rate of speech) may be perceived as a loss of control over the situation. If this does happen, slow down your speech rate and lower the pitch of your voice a little and you will feel more confident.

Intonation

Intonation is perhaps the most important element of speech. The same words, pronounced with different intonations, can convey different meanings, even opposite ones. There are no question or exclamation marks in speech; their role is played by the intonation with which certain words are pronounced. During communication, a person uses from 10 to 20 different notes. Intonation creates an overall melodic pattern of speech and helps to maintain attention. The more sharply the intonation drops, the more categorical it becomes. When emphasizing a formal situation, speech becomes more monotonous. Slowly rising and shallow intonations express uncertainty, bewilderment, and doubt. Deep emotions - sadness, pity, tender feelings - are conveyed by a smooth change of intonation in speech.

It is useful to practice mastering various intonations. For example, practice pronouncing the same phrases with different intonations, giving them different emotional meanings. Try using intonation to convey a state of interest, indifference, curiosity, anxiety, anger, peace, etc.

Pause in speech

Pause (silence) is an important tool of speech when used skillfully. It allows you not to confuse the meanings of different words and sentences, performing a separating function. Silence at the right time can be perceived as a sign of confidence in the manager and have a strong managerial impact.

Sometimes a person tries to hide his uncertainty by forcing pauses. As a result, his speech becomes hasty, chaotic and less understandable. Many famous speakers have successfully used the art of silence. The pause before the punchline is the highlight of a good story. Although unnecessarily drawn out, it can be perceived as indecisiveness. Timely use of a pause prepares the audience, emphasizes the point, and allows them to appreciate the importance of what is being said. Using pauses is useful in the following cases:

• Before you start talking. A pause allows listeners to prepare for perception, sets them up for attentive listening, and gives the speaker the opportunity to collect his thoughts.
• To control attention and enhance meaning. When a question, phrase, or thought is of particular importance but may be heard or misunderstood, using pauses at the right time emphasizes the meaning. Using a pause in this case is comparable to a guide stopping in front of a special painting.
• Instead of punctuation marks. In this case, pauses are used to structure speech and increase the degree of its understanding.

Semantic stresses

In the process of managerial communication, a professional communicator marks the importance of individual keywords, enhancing their impact with the help of semantic emphasis. Similar semantic accents can be made using:

• slower pronunciation of keywords;
• changes in volume at the moment of their utterance;
• increasing or decreasing intonation during the pronunciation of a word;
• selection by pause.

However, you should understand that what matters more is not so much how you highlight the word, but what kind of word it will be.

Active Listening Techniques

Business conversation is a two-way street. Therefore, its success depends on both the ability to speak and the ability to listen. When we listen to someone attentively and with interest, we spontaneously turn to face the speaker, lean slightly towards him, establish visual contact with him, etc. The ability to listen “with the whole body” helps to better understand the interlocutor and shows him interest in conversation with him.

In the managerial interaction of a manager, active listening techniques can be used in two ways:

• for its intended purpose - in order to maintain psychological contact with the interlocutor and demonstrate interest in continuing the conversation;
• in the opposite sense - in order to break psychological contact and demonstrate disinterest in further conversation.

Let's consider active listening techniques in the context of their intended purpose:

• Look at your interlocutor. Eye contact is an important element of communication and is very informative. At the same time, you should understand that if you look into the eyes of your interlocutor, you thereby show that what he says is important and interesting to you. If you look at your interlocutor “from head to toe,” you are telling him that what is important to you first of all is the interlocutor himself, and what he says is secondary. Accordingly, if while the interlocutor is saying something, If you look at objects in the office, then you are non-verbally communicating that neither the interlocutor nor what he says is important to you, at least at this moment.
• React. The main element of active perception is the ability to let a person know that you are listening to him attentively. This can be done by accompanying the interlocutor’s speech by nodding the head, saying accompanying words like “yes”, “I understand you...”, etc. It is important to respond to the interlocutor’s words, but you should not overdo it. Grotesque responses and attention can cause tension and destroy rapport.
• Notice the feelings. Phrases “I understand your condition...”; “I understand that it’s not easy for you to talk about this,” etc. show the interlocutor that his condition is understood and he is empathized with. In this case, the emphasis is not on the content of the message, as in paraphrasing, but on reflecting the feelings expressed by the speaker, his attitudes and emotional state.
• Ask questions for understanding. If you don't understand something, ask. Turning to the speaker for clarification, the desire to obtain additional information, to clarify the interlocutor’s position is one of the indicators of active listening. If you understand what the person wants to say, but he finds it difficult to express the thought, help him with a question. Please remember that each question contains a limited number of possible answers. Your question determines the answers you will receive.
• Rephrase. Paraphrasing means an attempt to clarify the meaning of the interlocutor’s statement by repeating to the speaker his own message, but in his own words. In addition to checking for correct understanding, paraphrasing allows the speaker to see that he is being heard and understood.

Tongue twisters are the bread and water of every speaker

Tongue twisters are rightfully considered the most ancient and effective way to influence your pace and rhythm of speech. This exercise was used by ancient sophists and demagogues, who, in pursuit of the ability to persuade, monitored their voice, improved its strength and timbre. Tongue twisters are used in any theater university, in the faculties of journalism and public speaking. Regular repetitions allow you to train an intelligible, fast pace of speech.

Any tongue twisters that are spoken with hesitations will do. Do not use rhymes that do not “break” the language. To determine whether a tongue twister is difficult enough, read it several times slowly, then as quickly as possible. If you never hesitate, move on to the next one, because you will not get any benefit from repeating a simple tongue twister; the intensity of your speech will remain at the same level. Do not use rhymes with less than 5 lines. The optimal number for a beginner is 7-10 lines of 5-10 words.

Write out 5-10 poems. Practice mindfully for at least 20 minutes a day, setting aside other activities, and saying the words out loud. Use a fast pace of speech, gradually increasing the speed of pronunciation. If you have a free minute (for example, in a traffic jam), it won’t hurt to repeat the exercise.

Behavioral techniques

Below are basic guidelines for speaker behavior in front of an audience. All these recommendations are divided into 3 groups: postures, gestures, facial expressions. To some experts, these features of the speaker’s behavior seem not very significant and exclusively subjective, while others, on the contrary, believe that almost the most important role should be given to this.

In this section we largely adhere to the first point of view. The authors believe that the main principle of behavior on stage is socially acceptable behavior in which the speaker feels free, natural and confident. If you try to consciously control your posture, gestures and facial expressions during the speech, you risk looking awkward, too tense and missing out on other more important details of the speech regarding its content.

1

Pose

The speaker's posture directly depends on the personal qualities of the speaker and the circumstances of the speech. If you try to find the most general recommendations regarding posture, you can quote the words of Heinz Lemmermann that a good speaker is neither a fidget nor a pillar. It is best when the speaker's posture expresses calm and confidence, and his gestures are free and well-coordinated, rather than careless and provocatively chaotic.

So, general recommendations for behavior during a speech: be natural and behave appropriately to the situation. For example, a hand in your pocket will not be a strong obstacle during a business conversation within a team, but at a product presentation for investors it may look a little vulgar. Try to intuitively imagine the posture of a person whose performance you yourself would like to watch and listen to; your internal guidelines will certainly help you choose an appropriate model of behavior in public.

In the specialized literature on oratory, you can find the following recommendations regarding the speaker’s posture while delivering a speech:

• do not keep your hands in your pockets (most speakers successfully break this rule);
• do not cross your arms over your sternum;
• do not keep your hands behind your back;
• do not slouch, and vice versa, do not stick out too much.

It's also best to try to get rid of some bad habits if they stand out in your performance. Some people often shrug their shoulders, shake their legs, nod their heads, take off and put on their glasses, stroke an imaginary beard, tug at their ears or twirl various objects in their hands, etc. This is not as much of an obstacle as it might seem at first glance, but if you feel that it is interfering with your performance and distracting you and the audience from the content of your speech, try to avoid these obsessive actions or switch to other gestures.

2

Gesticulation

Lively gestures help us express our thoughts more clearly, emphasize important points, and support an emotional impulse. Some gestures can also be used for visualization: showing a number on your fingers, demonstrating the approximate size of an object, pointing to a board or illustration. Many of you can easily express invitation, refusal, encouragement, question, doubt and other communicative intentions using gestures.

However, at the same time, we are unlikely to see the same gestures performed by different people, since gesturing systems are diverse not only in different countries, but also among representatives of the same nation. There are no standard gestural figures, but body language always accompanies our thought process.

One scientist, Albert Meyerabian, found that information transmission occurs only 7% through verbal means, 38% through auditory means, and 55% through the remaining non-verbal means. This is not difficult to believe, remembering, for example, silent films and films with Charlie Chaplin.

This great actor (who, by the way, is also considered a great orator), without uttering a single word in his films, was able to convey to the audience an incredible number of shades of meaning, emotions and very clearly talk about any situation just using gestures, facial expressions, language bodies.

3

Facial expressions

The speaker's facial expressions also convey some information to the audience. It is important that your facial expressions are natural and appropriate to the situation, then they will work to your advantage. Otherwise, it is better not to try to deliberately portray a facial gesture, and get carried away with improvisation if you do not have professional acting skills.

It's rare to find people who lack facial expressions, so you most likely already use them in your speeches. For example, if you speak with sarcasm, then you probably squint your eyes a little and make a barely noticeable grin, and when you tell some non-obvious fact, you open your eyes a little wider.

To visualize what your audience will see during your speech, go to the mirror and try to use facial expressions to depict emotions corresponding to the following situations:

Among other things, pay attention to your eyes. The look shows your interest in communicating with the people who came to the performance. If you look over the heads of your listeners or, conversely, at the floor, then it is not difficult to conclude that you are interested not so much in conveying information to people as in simply delivering your prepared speech correctly.

It is important to try to establish visual contact with the people in the room, periodically looking from one person to another. Most likely, you will find those who agree with you, watching you supportively or nodding. If, out of excitement, you begin to move your gaze too quickly and often, such behavior may reveal your worries and insecurities.

During a speech, it is very important to take into account not only the content of the speech, but also the behavior of the speaker in the process of delivering it, since it is behavior that allows you to establish contact with the audience and correctly present the prepared material to them.

For listeners and viewers, it is not only the information that they receive that is important, but also a living person, a speaker who, unlike the author of the book, offers the audience live communication and allows them to introduce some interactivity into the ongoing process.

The initiators of this process are skillful speakers, thanks to their correct behavior, expressive gestures and facial expressions, we listen to their speeches with great enthusiasm. We encourage you to experience the performances of experienced, renowned speakers who have all the necessary qualities to gain the attention and respect of an audience. These qualities are naturally combined in their behavior in front of the public.

If you feel that your public speaking lacks behavioral factors, correct posture, bright gestures and expressive facial expressions, you will certainly need acting skills, which you can read about in the acting training that is being developed.