Want to improve on your speaking voice? Here are five factors to consider when giving a public speech.

Voices are as distinct as the fingerprint on your thumb. It may surprise you that no two people have identical voices, but it’s true. Your voice is a reflection of your individualism and your way of expressing yourself in this world.

We can learn to be able to effectively control our voices when giving speeches. Here are some of the more important aspects of a speaker’s voice which we should learn to control.

The Five Factors involved in voice quality

(Ranked from the easiest to control to the hardest)

  1. Volume

    Although technology bestows on us technological marvels such as the microphone, we frequently have to present with no technological aids. This means that as speakers, the volume of our speech should be of primary importance to us.

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    It is important to vary your voice taking into consideration your surroundings as well as the size of your audience. Generally, speakers tend to speak too softly, and this is because one’s own voice always sounds louder to you than to a listener. Remember to pay attention to your audience’s reactions to have a gauge whether are you speaking loudly enough.

  2. Rate

    Rate refers to the number of words spoken per minute. There is no such thing as a one size fits all “ideal” rate of speaking. It all depends on factors such as the nature of the speech, the mood which the speaker is trying to create as well as the natural attributes of a speaker.

    Typically, people tend to deliver public speeches at a rate that is too fast. I personally find that presenting at a slower rate allows me more time to think about my points, as well as reduces the frequency of my pause fillers such as “er” or “em”. Rate is a factor, similar to volume that can and should be improved upon fairly easily.

  3. Pauses

    Adding pauses to your speech is another simple and easy way to make a speech more effective. It is used, by poised and confident speakers to build tension or to allow audiences to ponder over an interesting point made within the speech.

    There is also a matter of the length and timing of the pause, but improving upon this can only come from valuable experience.

    From this factor onwards, it gets more challenging to improve upon these factors. I personally struggle with these factors.

  4. Pitch

    Pitch is defined as the highness or lowness of a speaker’s voice. Inflections, which are changes in the pitch or tone of a speaker’s voice, help to make your speech dynamic and make you appear to be confident and full of energy.

  5. Vocal Variety

    Vocal Variety is defined as changes in the speaker’s pitch, rate and volume that gives the voice variety and expressiveness. Your voice should not be merely used to speak words, but should be used to add impact and reinforce your message. Varying your rate, pitch and volume when expressing yourself works like magic when it comes to an interesting and worthwhile speech.

    Finally, in order to improve on the above points, you will have to rehearse. And as your rehearse, you will only get better and gain confidence. Join a local toastmasters club to provide you with the opportunities to practice your speeches and you will be on your way to becoming an excellent public speaker.