Did you know Margaret Thatcher took voice lessons to deepen her pitch before one of her elections? Yes, our voices are critical. In this TalkAboutTalk episode you will learn about the various vocal elements (rate, volume, pitch, etc) and hints about how to use them. You will learn about vocal fry, and importantly, why you should avoid it. Opera singer Bradley Christensen shares insights about how to optimize the sound of your voice –from posture, to breathing, to using your “inner smile.”   

SHOWNOTES

Contents

* 3 Key Learnings

* References & Links

* Andrea’s Commentary & Research

* Interview Transcript

* Conclusion

3 Key Learnings

* There are various VOCAL ELEMENTS including rate, volume, articulation, pronunciation, fluency, and pitch. Understanding and incorporating variety in (most of) these elements creates a more engaging voice.

* VOCAL FRY is a crackling friction sound that seems to be trendy, but that should be avoided! It damages your vocal chords.

* There are many ways to optimize the sound of your voice – from POSTURE to BREATHING to using what Bradley Christensen calls, your “INNER SMILE.”

References & Links

Bradley Christensen

* http://www.bradleychristensenbaritone.com/

* https://www.facebook.com/bradley.christensen.18

The Changing Voices of Margaret Thatcher and Hillary Clinton

* https://www.inc.com/fia-fasbinder/science-shows-people-respond-to-stronger-deeper-voices-how-to-train-your-voice-like-margaret-thatcher-obama.html

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28_0gXLKLbk

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRQwLrpX61M

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCyvyyo6dtQ

Paralanguage

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralanguage

Deeper Pitch

* https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/communication-success/201401/how-improve-the-sound-your-voice

Vocal Elements

* https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/10-3-vocal-delivery/

* http://choirly.com/whats-my-voice-type/

Fast-Talkers

* https://virtualspeech.com/blog/average-speaking-rate-words-per-minute

Aging Voice

* https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/aging-voice

Vocal Fry

* https://hhhhappy.com/heard-of-vocal-fry-the-phenomenon-is-taking-pop-culture-by-storm-and-its-not-going-anywhere/

Dr. Andrea’s Commentary & Research

Most of us come out of the womb using our voices – crying our little hearts out. So using your voice is instinctive. It’s not necessarily taught. Although of course it can be. Just like language and body language, it seems that using our voices is both instinctive as well as learned. Of course,