2023.08.28 – 0970 - Uptalk Uptalk [1] Symptom: Most sentences end on a lower inflection than how they start, to give a signal that the end of the thought has been reached. Apart from sentences which end with a rising inflection. (“ Do you agree? ”). Uptalkers use a rising inflection no matter the sense of the sentence. It can give the impression that you are doubtful of what you are saying, or that you lack confidence or intelligence. Prescription: Again, if you are talking to an audience that s...
Aug 27, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 970
2023.08.27 – 0969 - Unnaturally pitched voice Unnaturally pitched voice Symptom: This is similar to the ‘mono-tone’ (but where that is usually a lower pitch, this problem is usually one of being too high), and ‘forced pitch’ (but this is not done deliberately). It's when nerves or excitement (sometimes combined with an undue haste), cause you to speak with too high a tone, away from your natural ‘home tone’. This makes you sound forced and shrill and some may perceive it to be child-like. It may...
Aug 26, 2023•5 min•Season 3Ep. 969
2023.08.26 – 0968 – The ‘Tired’ Voice Tired voice Symptom: You sound dull, flat and a little ‘slurry’ as your tongue has trouble forming words. Prescription: · A voice will become tired with the amount, volume or the tone of the sound it is being asked to perform (see: ‘vocal loading’ and episode 756). Regulate your speaking so you don’t speak for too long, too loudly. Consider that 10 x 1-minute breaks allow your voice-tissues to recover more effectively than 1 x 10-minute break. (Episode 774 h...
Aug 25, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 968
2023.08.25 – 0967 - The ‘Throwaway’ Delivery ‘Throwaway’ delivery Symptom: When your voice trails off on the last word or two of a sentence. This makes them sound unimportant and sometime unintelligible and can be another pattern of talking that you don’t realise you have adopted. Prescription: In news and commercial scripts, the last words may be vital to the item. A pay-off, a punchline or a kicker, as discussed in episode 309, complete with a joke! · Review the sense of the sentence and ensur...
Aug 24, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 967
2023.08.24 – 0966 - Throat Clearing Throat clearing Symptom: Throat clearing can become a habit. The slightest tickle and you may cough, but this irritates the vocal folds even more and makes them more raw and sensitive which then exacerbates the problem. Prescription: · Swap a cough for a hard swallow, preferably with a sip of water and you have a double-whammy: you have eased the irritation without causing more trauma, and hydrates yourself at the same time. Episode 761 covers this. · If the p...
Aug 23, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 966
2023.08.23 – 0965 – The ‘Thin’ Voice Thin voice Symptom: A voice which is weak, with a lack of air, energy and resonance. It may lack authority. Prescription: · It may be trained to become stronger and fuller. Review the advice about relaxation to reduce tension, better breathing skills and breath control, and increasing resonance in your voice. · A thin voice may also be down to starting at too high a register which is leading to poor resonance and running out of breath … both of which lead to ...
Aug 22, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 965
2023.08.22 – 0964 - Stumbling Stumbling Symptom: Verbal mistakes in adlibbed conversations or more likely, when reading as script: restarting words, mispronunciations, mis-intonations, repeated corrections and generally losing your way in a sentence. I outline some more of these in the episodes after 650. Prescription: Give your mouth and mind a chance to get things right! · Relax and warm up to remove any held tension in your vocal apparatus. Have a good rest before a recording (episode 108 and...
Aug 21, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 964
2023.08.21 – 0963 - Stammering – Stammering – also called ‘ stuttering ’ Symptom: Stammering is when someone: · repeats sounds or syllables – for example, saying " mu-mu-mu-mummy " · makes sounds longer – for example, " mmmmmmummy " · a word gets stuck or does not come out at all Prescription: · Little is known of the reasons behind stammering. Those with it have probably experienced it since childhood and are probably already in the health-care system and being assisted by professionals. Theref...
Aug 20, 2023•6 min•Season 3Ep. 963
2023.08.20 – 0962 - 'Sloppy' Speech Sloppy speech Symptom: Good diction doesn’t (usually) matter (!). As I have said several times in different ways (such as in epsiode 263), what’s important is whether your target listener is getting a muddled message. If they are, then you are not communicating with them and you need to consider whether how your delivery or diction is at fault. Prescription: · Relax and open your mouth effectively to help you form the words. Vocal warm-ups will also help, as w...
Aug 19, 2023•1 min•Season 3Ep. 962
2023.08.19 – 0961 – The ‘Sing Song’ Delivery Sing Song Delivery Symptom: This presentation or reading style is characterised by an artificial, repetitive pattern of a gradual rise in pitch for the first part of a sentence …. and then a gradual fall until the end is reached. Or any other regularly-repeated and predictable rhythm in melody which takes the listener away from understanding what is being said, to how it is being said instead, and may bore or annoy them. Rhythms struggle against the s...
Aug 18, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 961
2023.08.18 – 0960 – The ‘Sibilant’ Voice Sibilant voice Symptom: When a voice is perceived to have excessive ‘s’ sounds it may be because the microphone is picking up and exaggerating that particular frequency. (Consider that sibilance, like many ‘voice sounds’ is subjective. In other words, slightly more ‘s’ sounds may be in the ear of the listener rather than the err, mouth of the reader! And sibilance may be considered a sound of ‘interest’ (rather than the archaic and offensive term ‘impedim...
Aug 17, 2023•7 min•Season 3Ep. 960
2023.08.17 – 0959 - The 'Script-reading' Voice Script-reading voice Symptom: When you sound as though you are reading words rather than communicating or telling a story . When you sound wooden, bored, flat – or at the opposite end of the spectrum, overacting and maybe even shouting. When you sound different when you adlib an on-air conversation with a colleague or interview a guest and when you read the cue into the next story, or the weather forecast: the warm personality either falling flat or...
Aug 16, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 959
2023.08.16 – 0958 – The ‘Quiet’ Voice Quiet voice Symptom: I once worked with two people in the same office who spoke very quietly. Neither of them seemed concerned or embarrassed when their colleagues continually said “ sorry? ” or “ pardon? ”, or when it was easier, simply nodded along unable to hear them. Talking quietly is usually the result of little vocal energy or breath support. In a studio you can electronically boost the levels of the sound being recorded, but as we saw before, this ca...
Aug 15, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 958
2023.08.15 – 0957 - Popping on the Mic Popping on the mic Symptom: Some letters are pronounced by the lips temporarily stopping and then releasing a flow of air from your mouth. That means that when you say words with ‘p’ and ‘b’ in them, particularly at the start of a word and particularly if that word is at the start of a sentence (when you have more air and energy), air may hit the mic, causing the sound to momentarily distort on-air or on the recording. Prescription: · Be aware of words whic...
Aug 14, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 967
2023.08.14 – 0956 – The ‘Plonking’ Speech Pattern Plonking speech pattern Symptom: This is when a reader doesn’t know which word to highlight in their intonation, so they do it either randomly or, like a metronome, on every fourth word (or the last word in every SENTENCE). It’s also what politicians do when they want to give the impression of strength and certainty. Rhythms are lazy and show the reader is in a rut. Catch episode 273 and 274 for more on this. Prescription: Listen to people talkin...
Aug 13, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 956
2023.08.13 – 0955 – Noisy Breathing Noisy breathing Symptom: Your in-breath is clearly heard on the recording, sometimes as a suck (occasionally this comes with a lip-smack as well), or a wheeze. This is covered, along with others from episode 0092 – “The Seven Kinds Of Extra Weird Mouth Noises”. Prescription: · Re-angle yourself or the microphone so breaths are less likely to be picked up. Or as a ‘last resort’ reduce the level of every breath in the final recording. (Removing the breaths compl...
Aug 12, 2023•5 min•Season 3Ep. 955
2023.08.12 – 0954 – The ‘Nervous’ Voice Nervous voice Symptom: These may include a higher-pitched, fluttering voice, quickly-snatched breaths, little variation in intonation and regular mistakes. Prescription: · We looked in some depth previously how nerves are a natural part of a performance, but reinterpreting them can be a good first step to overcoming them. See them not as ‘nerves’ but as an indication of ‘excitement’, a buzz. A feeling that you control , not one that controls you, and a rea...
Aug 11, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 954
2023.08.11 – 0953 – The 'Nasal' Voice Nasal voice Symptom: This is when ‘too much’ sounded-air goes through the nasal cavity where the resonance of sound is changed (a ‘bunged up’ voice is one that doesn’t have enough air through the nasal cavity! Episode 64 discusses the difference in a bit more detail.) Although powerful and penetrating, such a voice has a thin and twangy ‘honk’ to it, with very little depth. It sounds false and put on for broadcasting and is sometimes described as “too much o...
Aug 10, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 953
2023.08.10 – 0952 – The ‘Monotonous’ Voice Monotonous voice Symptom: Spoken tonal delivery which has little variation, with a perception of a single (or ‘mono’) tone. Such a delivery gives the impression that the speaker is bored or tired, that the topic is boring, or if reading from a script, that they have not understood the content enough to feel confident giving correctly-placed intonation. Some people deliberately adopt a flatter-sounding voice in the (mistaken) belief that it makes them so...
Aug 09, 2023•6 min•Season 3Ep. 952
2023.08.09 – 0951 – The ‘Hoarse, Husky or Croaky’ Voice Hoarse, husky or croaky voice Symptom: A raw, scratchy voice (not necessarily low in pitch) which may signify overuse (such as shouting or talking loudly), abuse (such as drinking and smoking) or both (a late-night party for example). Prescription: · If there’s an obvious one-off cause (such as singing at a concert, or shouting at a sports event), rest the voice and avoid such situations in the future (episode 756, might be worth a listen o...
Aug 08, 2023•5 min•Season 3Ep. 951
2023.08.08 – 0950 – The ‘Gravelly’ Voice Gravelly voice Symptom: A low, deep voice with little energy, projection or intonation. Prescription: This may be reduced by losing weight which could enhance better posture and increased energy. This will enable easier breath support (listen to episode 833) and projection, with more energy for increased intonation. (A series of episodes from episode 323 was about the volume of your voice.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 07, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 950
2023.08.07 – 0949 – The ‘Gabbling’ Voice Gabbling voice [1] Symptom : Different situations require different speeds: a brash ‘ pile ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap ’ commercial is likely to be faster than one for luxury lingerie, a late-night presenter on a classical music station likely to have a slower pace than a jock on a city-based Countdown show. Having said that, someone who speaks too fast may not be pronouncing their words correctly. Or if they are, they may stumble more than they should. T...
Aug 06, 2023•6 min•Season 3Ep. 949
2023.08.06 – 0948 – The ‘Forced Pitch’ Voice Forced pitch voice (also see: unnatural pitch) Symptom: Some people force their voice to produce sound at a different pitch than is normal or comfortable for them. Men and women may artificially lower their pitch in the belief that it gives them more gravitas or presence. (Raising the pitch is less usual.) This results in an inauthentic delivery which the listener can usually detect. At the very least a listener may be concentrating more to the voice ...
Aug 05, 2023•4 min•Season 3Ep. 948
2023.08.05 – 0947 – Filler Words Filler words (over-use of) Symptom : Verbal ticks in conversation, links and adlibs include words like “ umm ”, “ so ” and “ yeah? ” (and, indeed, “ like ”), or phrases such as “ you know what I mean? ”, “ kinda thing ”. [1] Prescription: · Record and listen back to identify the use and regularity of these words. Some may be OK, but too much may be grating on the listener. · Prepare your notes better so you know what you want to say and how you will end your thou...
Aug 04, 2023•5 min•Season 3Ep. 947
2023.08.04 – 0946 – The ‘Ending Pattern’ Voice ‘Ending Pattern’ voice Symptom : A variety of the ‘sing song’ pattern discussed below, this presenter may (annoyingly and predictably) end a phrase or sentence with the same or similar intonation. One beloved of news reporters is to speak naturally for most of the sentence and then pause, before giving the same emphasis to each of the three words… At. The. End. As you can tell it’s very… Annoying. To. Hear. Prescription: · This style maybe an unknow...
Aug 03, 2023•6 min•Season 3Ep. 946
2023.08.03 – 0945 – the ‘ Choppy’ Delivery ‘ Choppy’ delivery Symptom: This is the style of [breath] having to take a breath [breath] after every few words [breath] in a sentence. The scrip is disjointed. Chopped up. Rather than a smooth flow. Short word-groups are said. Rather than a full, phrase. Or a sentence. And so, the script may be hard to understand. (I referenced a famous British newsreader who does this, in episode 412.) Prescription: · Ensure you have enough breath. Have you just been...
Aug 02, 2023•7 min•Season 3Ep. 945
2023.08.02 – 0944 – Bunged up voice Bunged up voice (also see ‘nasal voice’) Symptom: This permanent ‘cold-like’ sound is caused by ‘not enough’ sounded air to get to the nasal cavity, where the resonance of sound is changed. The voice sounds ‘thick’ or ‘clotted’ and there’s little resonance where there should be in some sounds (say ‘ mmm ’ and ‘ ng ’ – as in “ sing ” – and pinch your nose, and the sound should stop!) Prescription: · However, the first thing to consider is that the speaker may h...
Aug 01, 2023•5 min•Season 3Ep. 944
2023.08.01 – 0943 – Breathy Voice Breathy voice Symptom: A voice with lots of air, which disperses the sound waves, makes the voice weak, and soon runs out (such as that of Marilyn Munroe [1] ). The cause may be serious, a physical problem in closing your vocal folds during phonation causing extra, unnecessary air to ‘leak’ as you speak. A breathy voice can be affected, put-on for dramatic effect when the speaker thinks it creates a sultry sound, but like any non-natural speaking styles it can b...
Jul 31, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 943
2023.07.31 – 0942 – Dry Mouth Problems Dry mouth Symptom: Unable to move your tongue around your mouth properly to form words leading to poor articulation and mistakes. Prescription: · Learn to breathe in more through your nose, which moistens and filters the air. Although this is usually less possible when actually talking as we tend to take snatches of air through our mouth between thoughts, the mouth may be dry in the first place as ‘mouth breathing’ has become a habit. (More on what we knows...
Jul 30, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 942
2023.07.30 – 0941 – The Boring Voice Boring voice (aka ‘dull’, ‘flat’, ‘monotonous’, ‘uninterested’) Symptom: If you are having trouble being engaging it may be because your voice lacks variety, and so listeners have trouble working out what is vital and what is trivial. Prescription: · Maybe your voice is lifeless because that’s almost what your body is! Consider your posture: are you sitting in a relaxed yet upright position to allow life-giving CO2 easy-access to your lungs to power your soun...
Jul 29, 2023•5 min•Season 3Ep. 941
