Vocal Qualities : Rate

Crowns & Roses

~Yuri~

Vocal Qualities : Rate

We spoke about the pitch of your voice in the last issue. Sushmita Sen has a low pitched, husky voice. Amitabh Bachchan has a great voice that is low pitched. With a lower pitch, you sound more in control of yourself. People are more comfortable listening to you and are by and large more accepting of what you say. Let’s get on with the next important vocal quality that you need to have so that you can become a better communicator and multiply your chances of winning that crown.

A majority of young people tend to speak really fast. Talking deliberately with proper enunciation is an art by itself. Talking at a pace of 125 to 150 words per minute is the right thing to do and is easy on the listener. However, any average human is capable of understanding you even if you talk at a much faster rate, even a rate of 600 words per minute, but the problem is, that the faster you speak, the shorter is the gap between your words. If the gap is too short, the tongue has a problem switching from one sound to the other. It has a particularly tough time switching between certain syllables. That is one reason why tongue twisters are hard to recite. Try saying the words ‘Mixed Biscuits’ a number of times at a rapid rate and you will know what I mean. However, a practiced tongue can handle even these tough transitions in sound quite easily. That’s how fast speaking rappers or radio jocks talk fast but are still easily understood by their audience. However, as a participant in a pageant, you are not aiming to speak like a rapper. It is important, therefore, to ensure clarity of words when you speak. Don’t let one word overlap with the other. Finish saying each word and then start the next. Say the punch words deliberately. If each word is said clearly and pronounced the way it is supposed to be, the clarity is good. Also, a slower rate of speech helps your communication to sink into the listener’s head and ensures better understanding. But careful there, a rate which is much slower than the average, is also bad. Slow talkers have what is called a lazy tongue which also detracts from your communication.

The only way to overcome a speech rate problem is practice. Start speaking slower, in fact slower than the acceptable rate to begin with. Pause after every word and say the next word only after completely stopping all sound from your mouth. Sorry about that, but you will sound a little mentally challenged initially. This exercise, though, is to get you used to giving that clean break after every word. You will have to be conscious of your rate every single moment of your talking time. Don’t worry; you won’t have to concentrate for too long. Within about 10 days of concentrating on your rate, you would have built yourself sufficient tongue skill to manage a clean change between your syllables as also gifted yourself a valuable habit….. that of breaking your sound after every word. The result is clarity in communication, and any public figure, including a Miss India or a Mr India, can’t go very far without it.

In the previous article, I spoke about the pitch of the voice. A good pitch and a smart rate of speaking are two important voice qualities. There are a few more that we shall speak of in the coming issues and then switch our discussion to body language. Your performance on the ramp and on the stage in a beauty pageant is heavily dependent on all these factors. However, I cannot possibly foresee individual speech or body language problems that you might have. Feel free to send me an email and discuss you individual problems with me. Some problems are sorted out easily and others might take a few months to overcome, so don’t waste further time, get to your computer and mail me now.

If you want to ask me anything else about the subject, contact me on yuriyuriyuri@gmail.com

In the next issue, I’ll talk about another very important quality that can change the way you sound. It’s called modulation. Till then, keep working on your pitch and rate and watch that pageant winner emerge in you. Take care.