English 24 Speech Theater Arts New
English 24 Speech Theater Arts New
English 24 Speech Theater Arts New
24
SPEECH
AND
THEAT
ER
ARTS
ENG 24 – SPEECH AND THEATER ARTS
Speech is human vocal communication using language. Each language uses phonetic
combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all
English words sound different from all French words, even if they are the same word, e.g.,
"role" or "hotel"), and using those words in their semantic character as words in the lexicon
of a language according to the syntactic constraints that govern lexical words' function in a
sentence. In speaking, speakers perform many different intentional speech acts, e.g.,
informing, declaring, asking, persuading, directing, and can use enunciation, intonation,
degrees of loudness, tempo, and other non-representational or paralinguistic aspects of
vocalization to convey meaning. In their speech speakers also unintentionally communicate
many aspects of their social position such as sex, age, place of origin (through accent),
physical states (alertness and sleepiness, vigor or weakness, health or illness), psychic
states (emotions or moods), physico-psychic states (sobriety or drunkenness, normal
consciousness and trance states), education or experience, and the like.
Have you imagined how the world would go without speech? Are you aware that you are
spending most of your waking hours talking? Sometimes, you do not even realize its value.
For us, speech is well worth careful study because we depend on it so heavily for our
communications with others. The development of human civilization owes it to a great
extent to man’s ability to share experiences, to exchange ideas, and to transmit knowledge
form one generation to another.
The internal cognitive process that allows participants to send, receive, and understand
messages is the encoding and decoding process. Encoding is the process of turning
thoughts into communication. As we will learn later, the level of conscious thought that
goes into encoding messages varies. Decoding is the process of turning communication into
thoughts. For example, you may realize you’re hungry and encode the following message to
send to your roommate: “I’m hungry. Do you want to get pizza tonight?” As your roommate
receives the message, he decodes your communication and turns it back into thoughts in
order to make meaning out of it. Of course, we don’t just communicate verbally—we have
various options or channels for communication. Encoded messages are sent through a
channel, or a sensory route on which a message travels, to the receiver for decoding. While
communication can be sent and received using any sensory route (sight, smell, touch,
taste, or sound), most communication occurs through visual (sight) and/or auditory
(sound) channels. If your roommate has headphones on and is engrossed in a video game,
you may need to get his attention by waving your hands before you can ask him about
dinner.
For the production of speech sounds, we need an air-stream mechanism. The sounds of
most languages in the world are produced with a pulmonic egressive air-stream
mechanism. The air that we breathe out comes out of the lungs. Before it gets out into the
outer atmosphere, various organs in our body convert it into speech sounds. These are
called the organs of speech.
The larnyx is situated at the top of the wind pipe and the air from the lungs. The air from
the lungs has to pass through the wind pipe and the larynx. In the larynx there is a lip-like
stricture called the vocal cords.
o Sounds produced with wide-open glottis are called voiceless sounds.
Eg: peel, ten, thin etc.
o Sounds produced when the vocal cords vibrate are called voiced sounds.
Eg: bead, judge, zoo etc.
The roof of the mouth comprises the teeth-ridge, the hard palate, the soft palate and the
uvula.
Oral and Nasal Passage of air
The Tongue: we divide the tongue into the tip, the blade, the front, the back and the
root of the tongue.
Position of the lips: rounded and unrounded
Rounded: cot, put fool etc.
Unrounded: seat, sit, set etc.
2.2 The Breathing Stage
LUNGS
Diaphragm
• A large sheet of muscle separating the chest cavity from the abdomen
• Forms the floor of the chest and the roof of the abdomen
• Gives pressure to the breath stream
BREATHING EXERCISE:
Phonation takes place when voice is produced in speaking as the expiratory air stream from
the lungs goes up through the trachea or windpipe to the larynx.
Larynx
Vocal Cords
Trachea
The voice produced in phonation is weak. It becomes strong and rich only when amplified
and modified by human resonators. Resonation is the process of voice amplification and
modification.
Pharynx
RESONATORS: Upper part of the larynx Oral pharynx cavity Nasal cavity
RESONATION EXERCISE: Pronounce the letters according to its size. (biggest letters mean
loudest sounds)a a e e o uo b i i m nu m m b p pb p t l n oa k h h b v.
RESONATION EXERCISE: Read the black syllables softest and the red syllables loudest.Pa
pa pa pa pa pa pa pa paMa ma ma ma ma ma ma ma maLa la la la la la la la laTa ta ta ta
ta ta ta ta taBa ba ba ba ba ba ba ba baFa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa faVa va va va va va va va va
Articulation occurs when the tone produced in the larynx is changed into specific sounds.
This is the result of the movement of the articulators towards the points of articulation.
Lips
• Highly flexible
• Can be moved into numerous positions essential to articulation
Teeth
• Serve as important surfaces in articulation• Embedded in the alveolar ridge or gum ridges
of the oral cavity.
Dome
• Also known as the hard palate
• Bony roof of the mouth
• Serves as an important surface against which the tongue makes contact
Uvula
• Small nub on the lower border of the soft palate
• Movable tip at the midline of the free border of the soft palate
Velum
• Also known as the soft palate
• Separates the nasal pharynx from the oral cavity
• A flexible curtain attached along the rear border of the hard palate
Tongue
• Flexible organ consisting of muscles, glands, and connective tissues
• Parts of the tongue: – Apex or tip – Blade
• Front
• Center
• Back
• Root
Normal voice Breathy voice Full voice Chesty Voice Thin Voice
The Normal Voice in conversation is used when the speaker speaks naturally showing little
or no emotion. This is the normal quality of your voice.
The Breathy Voice is a whispered type of tone, an “aspirate quality” of the voice.
The full voice is a deep quality of voice that is used when an occasion is formal and
dignified. This is also known as the “orotund” (round mouth) quality. It is produced by
opening the mouth somewhat wider and by increasing the oral and nasal resonance so the
voice acquires a more ringing tone.
The Chesty voice is a deep hollow voice as if coming from a deep and empty cave. This
gives a horror effect.
The thin voice quality is thin and high-pitched. This “falsetto” quality occurs only in
extreme fatigue, weakening, old age, ill-health, or extreme excitement.
One of the key tools vocalists use to be expressive is the ability to control the loudness, or
intensity, of their singing. There are three distinct ways in which this is done: changes
made above the larynx (adjustments in the vocal tract)
We will cover each of these mechanisms in turn, but first, a quick review of some of the
sound-related terms involved.
Acoustic power: a measure of the amount of energy produced and radiated into the
surrounding air, per second, measured in watts. Note that unless the vocal sound makes it
out of the vocal tract and into the environment, it doesn't count. Thus, singers and
speakers who are more efficient in getting as much of their sound out of their mouths as
possible will produce more acoustic power than other vocalists, all other factors being
equal.
Volume: an arbitrary descriptive term for the 'amount of sound', as perceived by an average
listener.
Intensity: a measure of the radiated power (covered above) per unit area. Intensity
decreases as the distance from the sound source increases since the area through which
the sound is being sent grows ever larger.
The resonances of the vocal tract, also known as formants, selectively boost the energy of
harmonics of the glottal source spectrum. Harmonics which happen to be at frequencies
close to these formant frequencies will be made louder; other harmonics, which lie between
the formant frequencies, are made softer. The vocal tract can never increase the overall
energy being radiated. The biggest boost occurs if a harmonic happens to precisely match a
formant frequency; this is known as formant tuning.
Concept description
Projecting one’s voice at the appropriate volume enhances one’s effectiveness as a speaker.
In his article, Volume and the Public Speaker – Be Heard and Be Effective, Andrew Dlugan
asks: “If you give a great speech, but nobody can hear you, does it really count?”
Being heard
Dlugan also suggests strategies for varying the volume throughout because speaking for
any length of time at the same volume (whether loud or soft) puts people to sleep. Just as
gestures and body movement create visual interest, varying your volume creates vocal
interest.
Voice projection
In her article, Speak Up! A Guide to Voice Projection, Kate Peters says a powerful sound is
much more than just making it louder:
You project your voice by allowing it to shine with your personality, and having
confidence that you have something unique to say.
You project your voice with passion for your message by setting a clear intention.
And you project your voice by developing a resonant sound that is supported.
She notes that the first two components are achieved by being yourself and by being clear
about your intention. The third, through awareness and practice. Strong vocal physique is
the ability to produce a vibrantly resonant sound and to have a good command of breathing
technique.
Developing resonance through awareness and practice
Peters notes that resonance is the reverberation or repetition of sound in the environment
in which it was created.
“When someone speaks, resonance is created in the body as well as in the surrounding
area. The resonance in the body can be felt by the speaker. The two extremes of resonance
are “head voice,” which is where high sounds resonate, and “chest voice,” which is where
low sounds resonate.
However, most sounds the human voice makes can also resonate in the mask, or the front
of the face. A voice with plenty of mask resonance is strong, and clear, no matter how loud
or soft. A voice with good mask resonance is pleasant to listen to and flexible, allowing for
rich vocal variety.
Mask resonance is a combination of nasal and mouth resonance. The sound you are
looking for will produce a pronounced vibration in the front of your face.”
Speech rate refers to a person's habitual speaking speed. It's calculated through counting
the normal number of words they say per minute, and just like people, words per minute
(wpm) can vary hugely.
Additionally, because all words are not equal, wpm is only an indicative measure. After all,
a word can be as simple as a single syllable or letter, for example “it” or “I”, or a collection of
many syllables such as “hippopotamus” or “tintinnabulation” - the ringing of bells.
One syllable is considerably quicker to say than many.
Here are two ways of working out your habitual speech rate.
The first is to read aloud The Rainbow Passage. This piece of text is frequently used by
speech language therapists as a diagnostic tool to test a person's ability to produce
connected speech.
Record yourself as you read it aloud at your regular speaking rate for one minute.
How far you get through the passage will give you an indication* of your rate of speech.
Vocalizing Vowels
“Consonants make the sense, but vowels make the sound,” says MENC member Ken
Phillips.
Try a few classical vocal techniques to give your singing a more open sound even when
performing contemporary music.
The trick is to find the right blend between a resonant and a natural sound.
Vowel blending is important for groups of singers.
The same overtones that apply to instruments apply to voices, but instruments blend better
because their frequencies are fixed. Voice frequencies aren’t.
Voices have regions that “allow vowels to migrate. So a chorus can sound out of tune even
when it’s not.”
This can be done via warm-ups (singing sequences of vowel sounds like oo- ha oo- ay- ee in
unison, for example).
“One of the easiest ways to get students to match vowels is simply to have them listen and
try to match! If they learn about pure vowels, they can produce pure vowels in all their
singing, thus creating much more uniformity on the whole,” says MENC member Tom
Carter.
“To help them realize why it’s important to match vowels, randomly assign folks different
vowels for a particular word. “Law” might be a good one. Have some sing “ah,” some “aw,”
some “a,” some “eh,” some “oh,” some “oo” (as in “foot”), and some “oo” as in “boot.” Then
hold and listen, maybe having each subgroup come back to “aw” until all are matching. You
could then go back and forth from previous vowels to matching, or designate which group
should not match. After all that, process their experience and observations.”
“Diphthong awareness” says Carter, “especially the ability to maintain the pure vowel until
the millisecond before the next consonant — will also be key for them as they develop. (So,
“night dream” becomes “naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahiht dream,”
not “nahiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiht dream.”)
Diphthongs
Diphthongs are the sounds represented by the symbols in red. There are 8 of them on the
phonetic chart and these are the main ones that you need to know about. So what is a
Diphthong? Diphthongs are a type of vowel sound that is made up of a combination of two
single vowels or monophthongs within the same syllable.
Each column is arranged according to the second sound in the Diphthong. In the first
column each sound ends with a /ə/ sound
/ɪə/
/ʊə/
/eə/
In the second column each sound ends with an /ɪ/ or /i:/ sound.
/eɪ/
/ɔɪ/
/aɪ/
And in the third column each sound ends with an /ʊ/ or /u:/ sound.
/əʊ/
/aʊ/
Remember!
Remember that the key to pronunciation is physical, and the Diphthongs are a combination
of 2 vowel sounds. So your mouth will change position as you say the sound.
Let’s look at all the Diphthongs.
Example:
The two lips (the articulators) meet to form the bilabial sounds of /b/ and /p/.
The tip of the tongue – the articulator – meets with the alveolar ridge – the place of
articulation (which is right behind the front teeth) – in order to form the alveolar sounds
of /d/ and /t/.
Places of Articulation
Bilabial (or ‘two lips’): Produced with the two lips: /b, p, m, w/ (as in ‘buy, pie, my,
and wool’).
Labiodental (or ‘lip and teeth’): Produced with the upper teeth and inner lower lip: /f, v/
(as in ‘feel and veal’).
Interdental (or ‘between teeth’): Produced with the tongue tip on or near the inner
surface of the upper teeth: /θ/, /ð/ (as in ‘thick and then’).
Alveolar (or ‘behind teeth’): Produced with the tongue tip on or near the tooth ridge: /t, d,
s, z, n, l/ (as in ‘to, do, zoo, new, and light’).
Palatal (or ‘top middle of mouth’): Produced by the body of the tongue touching the roof
of the mouth (in the palatal area): /ʃ, ʒ, ʧ, ʤ, r, j-y/ (as in ‘shin, genre, chef, judge, red,
and yes’).
*Note that the /ʃ, ʒ, ʧ, ʤ/ sounds are all pronounced with the front of tongue places on the
top of mouth while the /j-y/ one is pronounced with more of the rear of the tongue placed a
bit further back on the palate than /ʃ, ʒ, ʧ, ʤ/. Finally, the /r/ sound is made with the
sides of the tongue placed on the sides of the roof of the mouth pressed against the teeth.
Velar (or ‘top of throat’): Produced with the tongue body on or near the soft palate: /g, k,
ŋ/ (as in ‘go, kite, and bang’).
Glottal (or ‘from the throat’): Produced by air passing from the windpipe through the
vocal cords: /h/ (as in ‘hi’).
PART V – THE RHYTHM OF SPEECH
STRESS
The content of this page is not intended to be a set of rules but rather an attempt to show
that native speakers of English use regular patterns of stress when speaking.
Although stress and intonation are an important part of English pronunciation, learners
must remember that it would be impossible for anyone to speak naturally with a set of
rules in mind.
By far the best way to improve one's pronunciation is through constant contact with native
speakers of English, either through conversation, by watching films and news channels, or
listening to the radio.
However, the patterns of stress outlined below may be useful to learners, for example when
preparing a discussion or a presentation, and help them to feel more comfortable.
WORD STRESS
1) When a noun or adjective stems from a one-syllable word, (for example art, mind), the
stress usually stays on the syllable of the original word.
art artist
break breakable
friend friendly
paint painter
come become
mind remind
2) To differentiate between a noun and a verb with the same spelling, stress position
changes.
noun verb
a decrease to decrease
an insult to insult
an object to object
a protest to protest
a record to record
a rebel to rebel
a suspect to suspect
a transfer to transfer
3) In compound nouns (two words merged into one) the stress is on the first part:
• bookshop
• football
• notebook
• toothbrush
• auctioneer
• engineer
• pioneer
• volunteer
Even if the listener does not hear some quickly pronounced function words, the meaning of
the whole sentence should be clear. This is how native speakers of English communicate.
Emphasis is put on the most important words.
For example: "Would you like a cup of tea?"
It is a general rule of English that when there is a sequence of equal stresses, the last
stressed word should be the strongest, or the loudest - which in the above case would
be tea.
Try to imagine receiving a text message like "train delayed home late".
You understand that this means: 'The train has been delayed. I will be home late"
Only content words are used in the message but the meaning is quite clear.
In English, words are stressed according to the meaning the speaker wants to convey.
For example, depending in which word in the following sentence is stressed, the meaning
changes:
During a conversation, learners should listen for stressed content words in order to
understand the meaning of the whole sentence.
Likewise, they should practice stressing content words in their speech so that other people
will understand them.
INTONATION
What is intonation?
Intonation and stress are closely linked. In fact it's impossible to dissociate them. They go
hand in hand.
Intonation is about how we say things, rather than what we say, the way the voice rises
and falls when speaking, in other words the music of the language.
Just as words have stressed syllables, sentences have regular patterns of stressed words. In
addition, the voice tends to rise, fall or remain flat depending on the meaning or feeling we
want to convey (surprise, anger, interest, boredom, gratitude, etc.). Intonation therefore
indicates the mood of the speaker.
There are two basic patterns of intonation in English: falling intonation and rising
intonation.
In the following examples a downward arrow (➘) indicates a fall in intonation and an
upward arrow (➚) indicates a rise in intonation.
Again, these are not rules but patterns generally used by native speakers of English.
Just remember that content words are stressed, and intonation adds attitude or emotion.
It should be remembered that a written explanation can never be a substitute for a 'live'
conversation with a native speaker.
Attitudinal intonation is something that is best acquired through talking and listening to
English speakers.
Falling Intonation (➘)
(The pitch of the voice falls at the end of the sentence.)
Statements
o Nice to meet ↘you.
o I’ll be back in a ↘minute.
o She doesn’t live here ↘anymore.
o Dad wants to change his ↘car.
o Here is the weather ↘forecast.
o Cloudy weather is expected at the end of the ↘week.
o We should work together more ↘often
o I'm going for a walk in the ↘park.
Commands
o Write your name ↘here.
o Show me what you’ve ↘written.
o Leave it on the ↘desk.
o Take that picture ↘ down.
o Throw that ↘out.
o Put your books on the ↘table.
o Take your hands out of your ↘pockets.
Exclamations
o How nice of ↘ you!
o That's just what I ↘need!
o You don't ↘ say!
o What a beautiful ↘ voice!
o That's a ↘surprise!
Rising Intonation (➚)
(The pitch of the voice rises at the end of a sentence.)
Rising intonation invites the speaker to continue talking.
It is normally used with yes/no questions, and question tags that are real questions.
Yes/no Questions
(Questions that can be answered by 'yes' or 'no'.)
o Do you like your new ➚teacher?
o Have you finished ➚already?
o May I borrow your ➚dictionary?
o Do you have any ➚magazines?
o Do you sell ➚stamps?
Rise-Fall Intonation (➚➘)
(The intonation rises and then falls.)
We use rise-fall intonation for choices, lists, unfinished thoughts and conditional sentences.
Choices (alternative questions.)
o Are you having ➚soup or ➘salad?
o Is John leaving on ➚Thursday or ➘Friday?
o Does he speak ➚German or ➘French?
o Is your name ➚Ava or ➘Eva?
Conditional sentences
(The tone rises in the first clause and falls gradually in the second clause.)
o If he ➚calls, ask him to leave a ➘message.
o Unless he ➚insists, I'm not going to ➘go.
o If you have any ➚problems, just ➘contact us.
Fall-Rise Intonation (➘➚)
(The voice falls and rises usually within one word.
The main function of fall-rise intonation is to show that the speaker is not certain of the
answer they are giving to a question, or is reluctant to reply (as opposed to a falling tone
used when there is no hesitation). It is also used in polite requests or suggestions.
Hesitation/reluctance:
o So you'd be willing to confirm that? ...Well ... I ➘sup➚pose so ...
o You didn't see him on Monday? I don't quite ➘re➚member ...
Politeness-Doubt-Uncertainty: (You are not sure what the answer might be.)
o Perhaps we could ➘vis➚it the place?
o Should we ➘cop➚y the list?
o Do you think it's ➘al➚lowed?
It is also a good idea to note down or record some examples of everyday conversations
(either from real life or from film or television dialogues) and repeat them as often as
possible, copying the stress and intonation of the speakers.
Modern English songs are also a useful way of learning English stress, rhythm and
intonation.
To begin with, try singing (or saying loudly) the lyrics ofsongs that you find easy to
understand.
You will be surprised how quickly your pronunciation will improve with the help of audio
materials.
It will be a reward for all your hard work!
The Aspiration of Initial /p/, /t/, /k/ 2. The Syllabic Consonants 3. Vowel Length
Aspiration – refers to an explosive sound of breath brought about by the sudden release of
air after the contact of parts of the speech mechanism. Consonant Place /p/ Bilabial /t/
Tip-alveolar /k/ back,-velar VARIANTS THAT AFFECT SPEECH ASPIRATION OF INITIAL
The Aspiration of Initial /p/, /t/, /k/ 2. The Syllabic Consonants 3. Vowel Length /p/, /t/
and /k/ in its initial position: Example: (initial – first letter of a name or word) till till the
end of time pick pick up the pieces table table tennis power people power tree tea tree top
pool pool of water cool cool morning car car key keep keep the change PLOSIVES
Consonant Voice Counterparts Place /p/ /b/ Bilabial /t/ /d/ Tip-alveolar /k/ /g/ back,-
velar VARIANTS THAT AFFECT SPEECH ASPIRATION OF INITIAL1
The Aspiration of Initial /p/, /t/, /k/ 2. The Syllabic Consonants 3. Vowel Length /p/, /t/
and /k/ in the medial or final position: • Medial apart city uncle opal party cycle open
testing broker apple writing banker puppet meter paper center market water basket
operator PLOSIVES Consonant Voice Counterparts Place /p/ /b/ Bilabial /t/ /d/ Tip-
alveolar /k/ /g/ back,-velar VARIANTS THAT AFFECT SPEECH ASPIRATION OF INITIAL1
VARIANTS THAT AFFECT SPEECH 1. The Aspiration of Initial /p/, /t/, /k/ 2. The Syllabic
Consonants 3. Vowel Length they are not aspirated in words such as: spill, skill, still.
Neither are /b/, /d/, /g/ the voiced counterparts of /p/, /t/, /k/, aspirated. tick - dick
peak - beak post – boast palm – balm rope – robe take – drake come – gun route – rude
kitten – gotten trip – drip tuck – duck call – gall PLOSIVES Consonant Voice Counterparts
Place /p/ /b/ Bilabial /t/ /d/ Tip-alveolar /k/ /g/ back,-velar ASPIRATION OF INITIAL
/t/ or /d/ in English Tip: Do not put the tongue between the teeth as you do in the
vernacular. Let’s practice: tell the teacher do a dance step trick or treat grade his work get
together party take a test pick up the pieces tick tack toe good old days tour the country
Consonant Voice Counterparts Place /p/ /b/ Bilabial /t/ /d/ Tip-alveolar /k/ /g/ back,-
velar ASPIRATION OF INITIAL1
Mr. Tongue Twister tried to train his tongue to twist and turn, and twit a twat, to learn the
letter "T". Tongue Twister
Tongue Twister
Pete's pa Pete poked to the pea patch to pick a peck of peas for the poor pink pig in the pine
hole pig-pen.
Tongue Twister
- are those consonants which are pronounced without a vowel in an unstressed syllable.
They occur only when the stressed syllable ends in /t/, /d/, or /n/ and is followed by /l/
or /n/. cotton sudden needle student gentle didn’t little final accident hospital forgotten
hadn’t riddle captain curtain sentence colonel couldn’t certain written gotten mountain
bitten kernel medal Britain bottle capital bridal crystal
The duration of time it takes to pronounce the vowel is altered by: •Stress – accompanies
the length of a vowel sound. Example: Can’t he swim? No, He can’t. VOWEL LENGTH3 the
seat /dh siyt/ the seed /dh siyd/ the heap /dh hiyp/ the meal /dh miyl/
The duration of time it takes to pronounce the vowel is altered by: •Stress • Syllable
Structure Words divided into their component syllables: Handkerchief = hand.ker.chief
Bakery = ba.ke.ry VOWEL LENGTH3 A period is used to mark the end of a syllable.
Carlo: How was your vacation, Kathleen?
Kathleen: Wonderful! It’s nice to be in the province once in a while and even nicer to be with
relatives after sometime.
Carlo: Did you have much fun?
Kathleen: Lots of! Eating delicacies, swimming, dancing, meeting people, picture taking and
many more. Oh, the beaches are beautiful!
Carlo: So I thought.
Conversation Drill Exercise
Kathleen: You should have waited for us.
Carlo: I wanted to very much, but time just wasn’t enough for us to enjoy. We had to live
earlier. You know the pressure of office work.
Kathleen: I know, but maybe later we can find time together. Can’t we?
Carlo: Sure! How about next summer?
Kathleen: That would be just about right. I’ll look forward to that. Mom and Dad will surely
be glad to hear about it.
Carlo: So will everybody in the family.
Vowels are made by moving the tongue up and down and front to back. Imagine that the
chart below represents your mouth:
In order to understand how vowels are made, let’s practice moving our tongue up and down
and back and forth:
Front and Back Vowels: Practice saying the vowels in the words he and who. Can you feel
your tongue moving front to back?
iiiy-uuuw-iiiy-uuuw
You can also try alternating between the vowels in day and go:
eeey-ooow-eeey-ooow
Types of Vowels:
The front vowels in American English are /i/, /ɪ/, /e/, /ɛ/, and /æ/, and are made with
the front of the tongue arched. Practice going from high to low by saying the following
words. Your tongue, and possibly jaw, should drop slightly for each vowel.
meet – mitt – mate – met – mat keen – kin – cane – Ken – can
seal – sill – sale – sell – Sal teak – tick – take – tech – tack
To make vowel sounds accurately, it is necessary to have your tongue in the exact place for
each vowel. If it’s too high or too low, you may be saying another vowel (ex: live, not leave)
or saying a sound that is right between two vowel sounds, leaving your listener to guess
which word you mean. The difficulty is that it is almost impossible to feel exactly where you
tongue is in your mouth, so it takes a lot of practice to tune your tongue to what your ears
hear. A lot of focused practice will help you master each vowel sound.
Salutations
There may or may not be an emcee who announces each speaker. However, each speaker is
expected to greet his or her listeners in some form. These could be but are not limited to:
“Good Afternoon”, “Hello”, “Ladies and Gentlemen”, “Fellow 4-H Members, Parents and
Guests”. They are also expected to introduce themselves and give the name of their speech.
The salutation does not need to be the very first words spoken. If a speech starts with a
question, challenge, or stage-setting scenario, the salutation may more effectively occur
after the first few sentences.
Research
Senior members are expected to do some research for their speeches, and their speeches
should include factual information in addition to personal opinion or personal experience.
Junior members are expected to do some research, but not as much research as is expected
from seniors. For beginner members, research is optional.
Content is Essential
The 4-H program maintains that content is as important as delivery. 4-H members have the
right to criticize any situation or segment of society. However, they are expected to (a)
document and support criticism, (b) state the criticism in a professional manner and (c)
suggest a solution or a better alternative.
Posture
Members should stand up straight and find a comfortable stance that allows them to
remain relatively in one spot for the duration of their speech. It is acceptable for members
to make movements in either direction; however, avoid pacing or swaying from side to side,
which might be distracting from your speech.
Dress
Members should be dressed appropriately and be well groomed.
Props
Use of visual aids and props are not allowed. 4-H members should not dress in costume;
this is considered a visual aid. Points will be deducted from the speaker if costumes are
worn.
Use of Speeches
4-Hers may use their speech in the Public Speaking Contest one time. In other words, they
may not present the same speech year after year. 4-H public speakers may not use an old
speech written by a sibling, other 4-H member or someone else. Each speech should be
original work by the 4-Her delivering the speech.
Time Requirements
Minimum / Maximum Length
Beginners 8-9 1 ½ - 3 minutes
Beginners 10-11 2-4 minutes
Juniors 12-13 4-6 minutes
Seniors 14-19 5-7 minutes
1 point for every 15 seconds over or under the required length will be deducted from the
final score.
Please Note: Audience should NOT be asked if there are any questions at the conclusion of
the speech.
In this section we will discuss the key elements in preparing and delivering an effective oral
presentation:
Visual Aids
Use a landscape (horizontal) rather than a portrait (vertical) layout when preparing visual
aids. Portrait formatted slides when projected have a greater likelihood of either being
obscured at the top or the bottom of the slide than do landscape-formatted slides. In
addition, the comparatively larger width of the landscape formatted slide allows for better
use and display of information.
When creating your presentation aids, use light text on a dark background as this is easy to
read and is also easy on the eyes. Avoid using colorful backgrounds with words or
complicated patterns or pictures on them. Plain single color backgrounds are the most
effective.
Use an appropriate font size on your slides for the room in which you will present. Note that
this means you will need to do some homework in advance. Minimum type size you should
use for any text on a slide is 18 pt.
A mixture of upper and lowercase text is easier to read than text printed in all upper case.
Make good use of graphics when preparing slides. Audience retention is about 20% when a
speaker uses words alone but rises to 70% when text is supplemented with graphics. If you
do use graphics, avoid the use of tired clip art such as that provided by Microsoft. Graphics
should not distract the audience from your content. Use medium quality graphics whenever
possible. If you must use animation, use it sparingly and only if it will help the audience
understand and appreciate your work better.
Present your information in bite-size chunks. A good guideline for slide content is the
"6x6" rule. Use no more than six words per line and six lines per slide.
How many slides should you prepare? On average plan to show a new slide every 30 to
45 seconds.
KISS. Keep it simple stupid! Plan to introduce a maximum of one new idea per slide.
Provide only enough detail to convey your message.
Title your slides succinctly, specifically, and clearly with the slide's purpose. For example,
a poor title might be "Results." A more effective title serving both you and your audience's
need for information might be "Spectroscopic Evidence for a Change in Protein
Conformation Upon Reduction." The title reminds you what it is that you want to say and it
conveys to the audience the significance of the data shown on the slide.
Proof your visual aids. Typos, misspellings, etc. rob you as a speaker of your authority.
After all, why shouldn't audience question your technical expertise if all of your slides say
"Fiziks of Kwantum Dotz"?
Public Speaking
Identify your audience and speaking environment. What is their education? Interests? Are
they generalists or specialists - what does your audience likely already know about your
topic. Is this a formal presentation? Is one-way or an interactive style of presentation
expected?
KISS - Keep it simple stupid! Prioritize your presentation - what message is it that you want
to convey to your audience? Make sure this is the focus of your presentation. Avoid the use
of acronyms and technical jargon whenever possible. Acronyms can be very divisive. When
your audience isn't familiar with the terminology and too many acronyms are introduced,
they may become lost and therefore hostile.
Follow the "T3" rule: Tell the audience what you are going to tell them. Tell them. Tell
them what you told them. This means you should provide an outline of your talk to your
audience, deliver the actual content, and then summarize the key points.
Don't read your slides. If you find that you are, this means that your slides aren't correctly
designed. The text on the slide should act as a visual prompts for the speaker in terms of
the information he/she intends to convey orally.
Arrive early and make sure that you are comfortable with room layout and the A/V
equipment. If you are using technology, be sure to bring backup visual aids such as a set of
transparencies with you. If you are using a laptop for your presentation, make sure that it
is compatible with the projector. An important consideration is the display resolution of the
laptop and of the projector. If you are using a PC computer don't attempt to switch at the
last minute to a Mac or vice versa.
Be enthusiastic. Deliver your speech with animation in your voice. Face the audience.
Make eye contact with them. Speak loudly, clearly, and slowly so that everyone in the
audience can hear and understand what you are saying.
Take charge. If you feel uncomfortable fielding questions during your presentation, be sure
to make your feelings known to the audience upfront and if you are interrupted don't be
afraid to defer the question until the end of your presentation.
Don't attempt to use humor (or quotations) in your presentation if you aren't
funny. Audiences at scientific talks don't expect comedic or thespian performances, they do
expect good science presented well.
Make judicious use of the laser pointer. If you use one, turn it on and point to the
specific text or graphic element you wish to highlight, then turn it off. Try not to swing the
laser pointer all over each and every slide and be careful not to point it into the audience.
Fielding Questions First, believe it or not, you really can anticipate the questions that
most folks will ask in advance and if you take the time to do this and to prepare, then
fielding questions becomes "a piece of cake!" To do this think about who your audience is
and what their interests are likely to be related to the subject of your talk. Once you have
done this write down every question that comes to mind. These are likely to be the
questions your audience will ask. Consult your advisor, other members of your research
group, friends, etc. Once you have created this list, prepare an answer for every question
and practice delivering them until you are confident.
Listen to every question. This is perhaps the most frequent mistake that speakers make.
They don't listen to the question being asked and therefore it makes sense why they have
such a tough time answering the question. A good technique to adopt which will help you to
listen is to plan to restate the questioner's question out loud before you answer. This
technique is also useful in that it provides the speaker with time to frame an answer and it
ensures that the speaker is actually answering the question which was actually asked.
What do you do as a speaker if you didn't hear the question? Simply ask the questioner
to repeat the question. Frequently, the speaker isn't the only person who couldn't hear it.
What do you do as a speaker if you didn't understand the question being asked? State
that you aren't sure you understood the question and ask the questioner to rephrase
his/her question.
What do you do as a speaker if you don't know the answer? Simply state that you don't
know it. No one knows everything.
Treat every questioner respectfully. Compliment a good question. Think about how you
answer every question before you actually do answer it. Be careful not to embarrass your
questioner if they ask a "dumb" question. Always treat them with dignity and respect even if
they don't deserve it and speak disrespectfully to you. Don't attack hostile questioners. Do
challenge inappropriate questions but don't get personal.
Practical Suggestions
If you are using your own laser pointer during the presentation, it is a wise idea to
carry a spare battery in case your pointer fails during your presentation.
When gesturing, be careful not to wave an activated laser point at your audience.
While the core purpose is to deliver a message to an audience, we can still categorize
speeches based on 4 main concepts: entertaining, informing, demonstrating and
persuading.
The boundaries between these types aren’t always obvious though, so the descriptions are
as clear as possible in order to differentiate between them.
If you’ve been to a birthday party before, that awkward toast given by friends or family of
the lucky birthday person is considered to fall under the definition of an entertaining
speech.
The core purpose of an entertaining speech is to amuse the audience, and obviously,
entertain them. They’re usually less formal in nature to help communicate emotions rather
than to simply talk about a couple of facts.
Let’s face it, we want to be entertained after a long day. Who wouldn’t enjoy watching their
favorite actors giving an acceptance speech, right?
You’ll find that entertaining speeches are the most common type of speeches out there.
Some examples include speeches given by maids of honor or best men at weddings,
acceptance speeches at the Oscars, or even the one given by a school’s principal before or
after a talent show.
When you want to educate your audience about a certain topic, you’ll probably opt to create
an informative speech. An informative speech’s purpose is to simplify complex theories into
simpler, easier-to-digest and less ambiguous ideas; in other words, conveying information
accurately.
The informative speech can be thought of as a polar opposite to persuasive speeches since
they don’t relate to the audience’s emotions but depend more on facts, studies, and
statistics.
Although you might find a bit of overlap between informative and demonstrative speeches,
the two are fairly distinct from one another. Informative speeches don’t use the help of
visual aids and demonstrations, unlike demonstrative speeches, which will be described
next.
ِFrom its name we can imagine that a demonstrative speech is the type of speech you want
to give to demonstrate how something works or how to do a certain thing. A demonstrative
speech utilizes the use of visual aids and/or physical demonstration along with the
information provided.
Some might argue that demonstrative speeches are a subclass of informative speeches, but
they’re different enough to be considered two distinct types. It’s like differentiating between
“what is” and “how to”; informative speeches deal with the theoretical concept while
demonstrative speeches look at the topic with a more practical lens.
Tutors explaining how to solve mathematical equations, chefs describing how to prepare a
recipe, and the speeches given by developers demonstrating their products are all examples
of demonstrative speeches.
Persuasive speeches are where all the magic happens. A speech is said to be persuasive if
the speaker is trying to prove why his or her point of view is right, and by extension,
persuade the audience to embrace that point of view.
Persuasive speeches differ from other basic types of speeches in the sense that they can
either fail or succeed to achieve their purpose. You can craft the most carefully written
speech and present it in the most graceful manner, yet the audience might not be
convinced.
Persuasive speeches can either be logical by using the help of facts or evidence (like a
lawyer’s argument in court), or can make use of emotional triggers to spark specific feelings
in the audience.
Other types of speeches are mixes or variations of the basic types discussed previously but
deal with a smaller, more specific number of situations.
A motivational speech is a special kind of persuasive speech, where the speaker encourages
the audience to pursue their own well-being. By injecting confidence into the audience, the
speaker is able to guide them toward achieving the goals they set together.
A motivational speech is more dependent on stirring emotions instead of persuasion with
logic. For example, a sports team pep talk is considered to be a motivational speech where
the coach motivates his players by creating a sense of unity between one another.
One of the most well-known motivational speeches (and of all speeches at that) is I Have a
Dream by Martin Luther King Jr.
Suppose you’re at work, doing your job, minding your own business. Then your co-worker
calls you to inform you that he’s sick, there is a big meeting coming up, and you have to
take his place and give an update about that project you’ve been working on.
Well, that’s what an impromptu speech is: A speech given on the spot without any prior
planning or preparation. It being impromptu is more of a property than a type on its own
since you can spontaneously give speeches of any type (not that it’s a good thing though;
always try to be prepared for your speeches in order for them to be successful).
Mark Twain once said, “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good
impromptu speech.”
This might sound a bit counterintuitive at first since the word oratorical literally means
“relating to the act of speech-giving” but an oratorical speech is actually a very specific type
of speech.
Oratorical speeches are usually quite long and formal in nature. Their purpose could be to
celebrate a certain event like a graduation, to address serious issues and how to deal with
them, or to mourn losses and give comfort like a eulogy at a funeral.
The debate speech has the general structure of a persuasive speech in the sense that you
use the same mechanics and figures to support your claim, but it’s distinct from a
persuasive speech in that its main purpose is to justify your stance toward something
rather than convince the audience to share your views.
Debate speeches are mostly improvised since you can’t anticipate all the arguments the
other debaters (or the audience) could throw at you. Debate speeches benefit the speaker
since it develops their critical thinking, public speaking, and research among
other benefits.
You’ll find debate speeches to be common in public forums, legislative sessions, and court
trials.
According to the American Forensic Association (AFA), the definition of a forensic speech is
the study and practice of public speaking and debate. It’s said to be practiced by millions of
high school and college students.
It’s called forensic because it’s styled like the competitions held in public forums during the
time of the ancient Greeks.
Prior to a forensic speech, students are expected to research and practice a speech about a
certain topic to teach it to an audience. Schools, universities, or other organizations hold
tournaments for these students to present their speeches.
But this type shouldn’t be viewed as the black sheep of the group; in fact, if you aim to
mark a significant event, special occasion speeches are your way to go. They are best suited
(no pun intended) for a wedding, a bar mitzvah, or even an office party.
If you’ve reached this far, you should now have a general understanding of what a speech is
and hopefully know which type of speech is needed for each occasion. I hope you’ve enjoyed
and learned something new from this article. Which type will you use for your next
occasion?
Solo Performance
Referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story
for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment.
Involves musical and social interaction between a groups of performers. The term
'ensemble' derives from the French for 'together', and it defines the seemingly infinite array
of musical performances involving more than one person, ranging from a duo to a
symphony orchestra.
• Audio signals sent through the air as radio waves from a transmitter, picked up by an
antenna and sent to a receiver.
• Radio stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast common radio programs,
either in broadcast syndication, simulcast or sub-channels.
• Television broadcast is a mass medium for entertainment, education, news, and
advertising. It is a telecommunication medium used for transmitting sound with moving
images.
First basic fact that you should know is about the year of 1576. It was the first time people
perform plays within the theater. It is because there is no such theater until such year.
Usually, the theaters were performed within courtyards.
This theater has the similarity to Coliseum. The only difference is about the scale only. The
interesting part, you can find other Elizabethan theaters there which also apply such kind
of architecture style. Those theaters were called amphitheaters.
You can find out about huge crowds which usually fill the theater. The amount can be
around 3000 people. The amount can increase as the time goes by actually. Such theater
has the huge capacity as well for people to do performance
Elizabethan Theatre is also called as Globe Theater. In fact, Shakespeare has built two
Globe Theaters.
Medieval theatre refers to the theatre in the period between the fall of the Western Roman
Empire in the 5th century A.D. and the beginning of the Renaissance in approximately the
15th century A.D. Medieval theatre covers all drama produced in Europe over that
thousand-year period and refers to a variety of genres, including liturgical drama, mystery
plays, morality plays, farces and masques.
Beginning with Hrosvitha of Gandersheim in the 10th century, Medieval drama was for the
most part very religious and moral in its themes, staging and traditions. The most famous
examples of Medieval plays are the English cycle dramas, the York Mystery Plays, the
Chester Mystery Plays, the Wakefield Mystery Plays and the N-Town Plays, as well as the
morality play, Everyman.
Athenian Theater
THE PLAYHOUSE
A BRIEF BACKGROUND ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEATER
Elizabethan Theater
The theatre is a great semi-circle on the slope of the Acropolis, with rows of stone seats on
which about eighteen thousand spectators can sit. The front row consists of marble chairs,
the only seats in the theatre which have backs, and these are reserved for the priests of
Dionysus and the chief magistrates. Beyond the front row, is a circular space called the
orchestra, where the Chorus sings, and in the centre of which stands the altar of Dionysus.
Behind the orchestra, is the stage on which the actors will act, at the back of which a
building is painted to look like the front of a temple or a palace, to which the actors retire
when they are not wanted on the stage or have to change their costumes. That is the whole
theatre and all its stage scenery. Overhead is the deep blue sky, the Acropolis rises up
behind, and the olive-laden hills are seen in the distance. Much will have to be left to the
imagination, but the very simplicity of the outward surroundings will make the audience
give all their attention to the play and the acting.
Theatrical realism was a general movement in 19th-century theatre from the time period of
1870-1960 that developed a set of dramatic and theatrical conventions with the aim of
bringing a greater fidelity of real life to texts and performances. Part of a broader artistic
movement, it shared many stylistic choices with naturalism, including a focus on everyday
(middle-class) drama, ordinary speech, and ordinary settings.
Realism and naturalism diverge chiefly on the degree of choice that characters have: while
naturalism believes in the overall strength of external forces over internal decisions, realism
asserts the power of the individual to choose
Basics of Acting
The Basics of Acting can be broken down in simple steps. Achieving more than just doings
on screen can catapult your acting experiences. Most Actors whom are the better ones rely
on doing way too much.
This Colfax Theatre Replicated Fair Oaks Theatre Locations for ww2 arguments when fake media was filmed in ww2
Tarantino later referenced
Acting is Listening
Listening is a key ingredient that involves more than diction. Finding the ability to learn
and receive the others behavior is real listening. There are few Actors that ever achieve the
art of listening.
The Basics of Acting involving listening base the Actors reality in resonation rather than
diction. Gaining the understanding that it is not what is being said exactly but more how it
is being said is the encapsulating process of listening.
Gaining the experience of what the other Actors emulate is the key to listening. It is the
ability to receive others without your own preconceptions.
Watching many people being uptight until they find something they have in common with
others is key. You can see how when the common interests are identified between the two
people that they both relax their bodies to be more collective with each other. This is when
the real listening processes start.
Being in a State of Being
Being is a key to the Basics of Acting. Most Actors think of themselves as pontiff
performers. They are the subject that are the entertainment. This is one approach to acting
which often falls on its face.
The next group actors often believe that Acting is lying or crafting the ability to lie and be
believable by another person. This approach fails to resonate any meaning between
actors during scenes.
The Basics of Acting using your own state of Being is the most powerful and effective on
camera and often on stage. When you are in a relaxed state of being you are able to be
affected because you are in a state of being. If you are in a state of doing you are less open.
Unless you train yourself to be able to do and stay open to others in acting while you do
you will shortcut your acting approaches.
If you develop the basics of acting with the inclusion of your being your responses will have
a larger fullness. Opening yourself up to having an experience you will achieve a visceral
response to your surroundings and happenings.
Without being in a state of Being you will execute your scenes like an executioner rather
than emulate pieces of what you are responsive to internally. Gaining this ability most
Actors do not care to develop because there are so many schools of thought based on
‘Doing’.
Once my two book are published and edited they have great details on why and how to
achieve Being in Acting. Doing in the shortcoming of failed techniques in acting. Any acting
that is based on the factual doing unachieved the interaction of being. Being must come
first before all so the essence of life is included within the art form.
Real Entertainment involves an experience gained by the experiencer. The purpose for
having and participating in filming productions is the experienced gained. Failing to have
an experience means that there is no intercourse with the elements of life within the scene.
If there is no experienced gained by interaction there is no basics for acting. The basics rest
upon the stimulations affecting the Actor most preferably in non-forceful ways. The gain of
realization is in the interactionary effect of the changes that the experience help to realize.
If the basis of reactions are always based upon shock or radical drama the subtleness of
realism will not take hold in the art work. Thus Acting will come across extreme rather than
evolved in some sort of progression.
The Impetus of acting is the interaction reflected in the internal elements of the Actors
Inner Life. Gaining the experience means that the basics of acting is realized and a
progression evolves. The Actor will change within each scene at least subtly otherwise the
scene is not needed within the production.
Going with the Happening in Real Time
Without going in to memories on sets it is important to realize that the absolutely best
Actors have always honed the art form of going with the Happenings.
The Basics of Acting involve not resisting the given experience. The gain of experience is in
real time so whatever the Actors responses are need to be expressed. Holding back the
expression means that freedom is restricted in the Actor. Unless the scripted events are
crafted for restricted freedom the Actors responses need to be expressed fully.
There is a huge difference between Going with the Happenings and performing. In reality
the Actor may not know how they are getting from a – z within the scene but they will know
that they are fluid. Being fluid is more important than trying to interact with every detail.
Experienced Actors often achieve the ability to not over detail their acting and responses.
This is done fairly well often because there are so many people in this industry who don’t
want to be in the industry. Their lack of detailed responses in scenes actually work in their
favor on this element.
Whatever you realize in real time is the real time event. The Basics of Acting is going with
the instincts you have in present time.
If you feel strongly about an issue this could be a source of trial and error for your
Emotional Preparation. Just because you have successfully stimulated yourself in
Emotional Preparation does not mean that emotion will come into the scene. Your partner
and the environment dictate the Emotional Preparation coming into the scene or not.
The mistake that neurosis acting types make is they use their Emotional Preparation for the
gain of taking out their frustration on a target. If you are doing this you need to see a
therapist not an acting coach. Sought out Emotional Elements are designed to interweave
within the activities of the scene and not take over the scene.
Even acute circumstances cannot be acted out all alone. The emotional elements must
resonate with intercourse activities or exchanges of ideas that take time in the real time
event of the scene. Knowing how to get mad or cry does nothing to your acting unless it is
in response to stimulations that are real time factors in the scene.
The Basics of Acting can and do involve Doings but not as a crutch that it has become in
the industry. Involvement is different than Doings. Your outlook is on how to become
involved. How to become beyond your conscious efforts and open up your unconscious
reality in an involved way.
Gaining the ability to involve yourself and be less correct about your responses does help
your acting and realism. The Basics of Acting involving doings that can help to achieve
interaction is a fantastic approach.
Being aware that any involvement of doing that limits your interactions could detriment
you’re having an experience. Pick Doings that you can find activity in an interactive way
rather than regimented way. You may be putting a saddle on a horse but if you are just
doing the task within meaning than your actions become meaningless.
The Basics of Acting require you to use dialogue. Using Dialogue in life often means that
you have to stop or pause to remember what you are going to say as you are speaking. This
is part of normal life dialogues. In acting you should also be able to achieve a relaxed
approach. Permission yourself to pause to remember your lines is a craft that is part of
learning to speak on camera.
If you have the false pretense that your lines need to be memorized without intercourse of
experience you will fail to be real.
Summary
Remember that the Basics of Acting in interaction, not performing. There are so many
people that become Actors just to participate in the politics of the industry. Being above the
ruckus of Hollywood is a task of itself.
Adding the ability to just do the Basics of Acting is not selling the ideas of producers but
rather actual involvement within scenes.
PART XI – THEATER SHOW
Theater
is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or
actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a
specific place, often a stage.
Theater, in dramatic arts, an art concerned almost exclusively with live performances in
which the action is precisely planned to create a coherent and significant sense of drama.
Though the word theatre is derived from the Greek theaomai, “to see,” the performance
itself may appeal either to the ear or to the eye, as is suggested by the interchangeability of
the terms spectator (which derives from words meaning “to view”) and audience (which
derives from words meaning “to hear”).
------THE END------