Your Public Best - Lillian Brown [44]
For the political candidate, a regional accent may be charming and fitting on the local scene. But when he proposes to run for national office, he may discover that his speech is suddenly judged by national and even international standards. Newspaper articles describing him may refer to a “charming,” “interesting,” or “down-home” accent or speaking voice. But the candidate may not want to sound like that.
I was the voice coach last year to a businessman who told me during our first session together that he had recently been described in a magazine article as a “business dynamo, with a nonstop, machine-gun voice to match.” He said he’d rather sound like a cello than a gun, and we immediately began to work on that “machine-gun” voice of his. He willingly devoted the time and energy necessary to accomplish his goal.
It takes courage and commitment to make vital changes in your speaking voice. People who make the decision to do so should be admired. They are altering inherited, ingrained, and lifetime habits. They may encounter skepticism or even derision at home or among their peers: “What’s the matter; are you ashamed of your family?”; or, “I love you the way you are—I thought I married a cute little flirtatious belle”; or, “Sounds like you are becoming affected.” Do not worry about such comments; when you accomplish your goal, the doubters will become admirers. They will secretly wish they had the courage to do the same thing.
Most of all, you will have the satisfaction of accomplishing something that will be an asset you will carry with you through your entire life.
I know of one writer at an international radio network who had the opportunity to broadcast her own written material and move to a higher pay bracket. She worked very hard to overcome a harsh nasal placement and develop a pleasant speaking voice, even though her husband was skeptical about her efforts. But she persisted and eventually passed her auditions successfully. One day during a minor argument with her husband, she reverted momentarily to her previous voice. He exclaimed, “Don’t talk to me through your nose like that.” They both dissolved in laughter.
One broadcaster I coached could not bring himself to put space between his teeth and articulate clearly because as a child he thought he had ugly teeth. (An old-fashioned dentist had done visually unaesthetic work on his teeth that showed when he opened his mouth wide.) This broadcaster was willing to open his mouth properly for speaking only after another dentist redid his teeth.
A business executive whose job required him to go on an extended speaking tour candidly informed his staff that he was taking speech lessons. They gave him encouragement and understanding, and as a result of his efforts, the tour was very successful.
It pays to enlist the support of your family, friends, and colleagues when you decide to upgrade your speaking skills. Remember, what you are doing is bringing your verbal ability up to the level of your other accomplishments.
Even so, it is difficult to give up the past. Changing your voice takes time and patience—you cannot unlearn those ingrained habits in a few days. It takes several months of daily practice and determination to see results. Your motivation is critical. All of your life, you may have secretly realized that you needed better speech skills and did not know how to go about improving them. This book is a good beginning.
You can do a lot for yourself on your own. Once you start listening to voices you admire and imitating their placement and speech patterns, you are on your way. Choose a good radio voice and repeat the sentences, phrases, and pronunciation. Record that voice on your tape recorder, then record your own voice and play both voices in sequence. Notice the resonance, the pace, the expression, and the emphasis on certain words. Notice the articulation