CoPsy 101/CoEd 101/ BPEd 101/ COM SCI 100 - PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

Second Semester 2023 - 2024

MRS. MARIA FE B. DOONG
Subject Teacher

LESSON 6: DEVELOPING A PLEASING, IMPRESSIVE VOICE, AND USING

GESTURES EFFECTIVELY
Objectives:
1. Develop a pleasing and impressive voice.
2. Use gestures effectively.
3. Deliver a speech applying pleasing and impressive voice in
coordination with appropriate gestures.
THE VOICE
The Voice is important in effective speaking and can be a rewarding asset to any public
speaker. However, if used wrongly, the voice of the speaker can irritate/ annoy not only
himself but also his listeners.
Voice and Speech are important tools with which the speaker works. What colors and
brushes are to the artist, voice and speech are to the public speaker. Voice is sound
produced by the vibration of the vocal cords while speech is voice and breath shaped into
words by the tongue, lips, teeth, palate, and nasal passages. Therefore, speech is voice
plus the added symbolization of words as ordinarily conceived.
Voice as the oral representation of words is the chief indicator of the age, sex, and
personality of the speaker. It is also the expression of the speaker’s mental and emotional
states, together with his attitudes, during the moment of speaking. For this reason, there
is a need to understand some aspects of the voice to use it effectively for thought
expression.

The Properties of the Voice

Voice consists of vibration which have four physical properties:

1. Volume – whose primary function is to make words audible and whose secondary
function is to emphasize words in their representation of ideas. The speaker must
be heard by every member of the audience, loud enough to be heard, but not so
loud as to shout.

2. Pitch – is the relative highness or lowness of a tone. This property of a voice makes
a speech more interesting and eliminates monotony through flexible use and
control of it. Varying the pitch during speaking, a speaker will not only enhance the
melody and inflection of his speech pattern so conducive to holding audience’s
attention, but he will also eliminate voice monotony so deadly to achieving
spontaneous response from the listening group.

3. Quality – is that characteristic which distinguishes one tone from another. This
voice quality is determined by the physical structure of the throat, by the way in
 which the throat is used to produce voice, and by the speaker’s mental and
emotional reaction to his own ideas and by his desire to express them.

4. Duration – also known as rate or tempo, implies the rate of words spoken per
minute and the length of pauses between words. The rate of speech is determined
by the speed of the speaker’s thinking, including the extent to which he will
concentrate on some ideas more than in others, and the speed of audience
comprehension is determined by their cultural and intellectual background, the type
of speech material, and the manner of delivery of the speaker.

Pauses are also effective aids to promoting interest in the speech. For this reason,
the speaker must learn how to use his pauses to produce the desired effect on the
audience. A slight pause that occurs between phrases will aid in the comprehension
of the audience and will give the speaker a chance to breathe. Correctly used
pauses at certain points of his speech will produce emphasis on some ideas, will
create a sense of dramatic, and will give the impression that the speaker is a
master of the situation.

How to Develop a Pleasing, Impressive Voice

The four most desirable attributes of voice are:

1. It should be pleasant to listen to.

2. It should be loud enough to be heard.
3. It should be clear and distinct enough to be understood.
4. It should be flexible enough to carry the greatest possible amount of meaning.

Here are some ways to make your voice an important asset in your speech
delivery:

1. Relax and let go.

It is first in the order of importance because it makes for effortless, smooth speech.
Relaxation also fosters calmer spirit, improved poise, and better thinking.
Remember that speaking is NOT a “do or die” undertaking; rather, it is creative
expression. Good tones result when you are in a relaxed state. Only when there is
total freedom from tension can your tones be full and pleasing.

2. Learn to breathe properly.

Since there can be no voice without breath, it is vital that those who want good
voices breathe deeply and rhythmically. Diaphragmatic breathing is
recommended for speaking.

3. Watch your posture.

Good posture not only adds to your appearance; it is also necessary to provide
enough space for your lungs to function properly in the making of sounds which
become speech. Stand erect in an easy, natural stance, with the chest up and the
shoulders relaxed. This will contribute to relaxation and flexibility of body
movements.
4. Train your ears.

We speak as we hear. Hence, the need to train the ears in order to cultivate keen
perception, sensitive feeling, and finely developed aesthetic sense.

5. Use enough volume to be effective.

Again, speak loud enough to be heard by every member of the audience. The
correct volume of the voice is determined by the size of the crowd, the place of
meeting, the furnishings in the room, the size and construction of the walls, and
other factors affecting the transmission of the sound.

6. Develop resonance in your voice.

Resonance amplifies the fundamental tone of the voice and enriches it by adding
over tones or partial tones. Resonance improves the sound of the voice. If the
resonators are not properly shaped, the voice that comes out is of poor quality –
weak, thin, and unpleasant to hear.

7. Work for a pleasant quality.

Make your voice rich, dulcet (soothing/ melodious/ pleasant), and attractive. Avoid a
voice that is throaty, rasping, nasal, or otherwise poor. A warm, friendly nature
produces a warm, friendly voice; hence, you should cultivate your capacities for
friendliness.

The following are bad voice qualities which should be avoided:

a) Breathing – caused by failure to bring the vocal cords closely enough

together.
b) Metallic – caused usually by too much energy in making the tone and by
tightness of throat muscles.
c) Thinness – caused by lack of resonance.
d) Hoarseness – caused by a cold or by strain through misuse.
e) Falsetto – caused by getting resonance from the back part of the hard palate.
f) Weakness – caused by too little breath and vigor.
g) Nasality – caused by letting the soft palate fall down too much.

8. Don’t talk through your nose.

Nasality means shunting too much sound through the nose. Talking through the
nose gives a twangy effect to your speaking. Therefore, be careful not to nasalize
the sounds which come before true nasal sounds and those which come after them.

9. Keep your speaking voice pleasing low. A person with a low voice is a lot more
comfortable to have around.
10. Don’t speak in a deadly monotone.
Remember this saying, “Variety is the mother of enjoyment” in your attempt to
form your ideal voice. Try to make your voice a vehicle for the expression of the
thoughts and ideas you wish to convey and of your unique personality.

THE SPEAKER’S TONGUE

As a potential speaker, you should be interested in enunciation and pronunciation

for these reasons:

a) First, as a representative of a profession, you will want to appear as an

educated, scientific person.

b) Second, you will want to have your own personality evaluated as highly as
possible.

c) Third, and most important, you must use acceptable pronunciation and distinct
articulation in meeting your personal, social, and professional communication
needs. In other words, good diction is good public relations for you and your
profession.

Enunciation – is the distinctness with which words are uttered. If words are clearly
formed, they are easily recognized; if they are muffled and indistinct, they create a
confusion of sounds.

Pronunciation – which includes articulation, is the particular combination of

sounds. It is determined by standard usage of words and by the dictionaries. While
there may be variations in pronunciation as established by different dictionaries, it
is up to the speaker to choose alternative pronunciation of words according to the
demands of the speaking situation. Remember, distorted, inaccurate enunciation
and pronunciation act as barriers to communication and can lead to confusion and
errors in comprehension.

The Gestures

One of the inherent differences between speaking and writing is the personal
presence of the speaker before his audience. Obviously, the speaker can appeal to
the eye as well as to the ear and this appeal is manifested in his body movements.

Man uses his body to communicate his thoughts and feelings. Now, one of the most
effective aids to communication is the gesture.

Gestures are all physical movements that represent concretely the ideas and
emotions of the speaker. Usually, the gestures are the products of the inner
impulses and force of thoughts of a speaker.
TYPES, PARTS, AND USES OF GESTURES

TYPES OF GESTURES:

1. Head Example: the affirmative or negative movements of the head in

conveying thoughts or ideas.

2. Face. Facial Expressions are important in conveying emotions. A face may

indicate a mood or a reaction.
Examples: raised eyebrows, wrinkled forehead, set mouth, the sparkling of the
eyes, etc. The eyes are the most expressive part of the face. Messages that
eyes could give are being sad, happy, hurt, anxious, curious, playful, teasing,
etc.

3. Hands are effective tools of making ideas emphatic, meaningful, and forceful.
Hands can be as expressive as the face if you have them under control.
Examples: open hand gesture – giving gesture, restraining gesture, pointing
index finger – pointing out gesture, the closed fist or emphatic gesture, both
hands for accentuating a movement or direction, or for supplication.

THREE PARTS IN EVERY HAND GESTURE:

a) The approach – the wrist usually leads the way. It may sometimes be
swift or deliberate, its timing being dependent on the intensity of the
thought.

b) The stroke – the hand is raised and is brought down upon the accented
thought. The stroke precedes the word emphasized by the fraction of a
second. It can be vehement or gentle, depending on the nature of the
thought it is helping to portray.

c) The return – consists of bringing back the hands to lie at rest by the
sides of the body. It must be made as inconspicuous as possible.

USES OF GESTURES:

1. To point out the location of objects usually in the sight of the audience but they
may be in the imagination. Called the locative gesture, this makes use of the
index finger, the whole hand, the head, and the eyes to show the audience what
to look at.

2. To give emphasis to statements or to ask questions or to entreat for something.

The emphatic gesture does this function. The open hand is used for entreating,
or asking question, or accentuating ideas or feelings. The clenched fist, for force
or violence of emotions or ideas.

3. To picture an object. This picturing gesture makes use of both hands or the
open hand in constructing an image of the object for the audience to visualize.
 4. To stimulate the imagination. Speakers use the suggestive gesture consisting
of either the open hand or both hands to appeal to the imagination by the use of
movement.

5. To supplicate or to plead. Usually, this supplicating or pleading gesture

makes use of both hands for forceful expression of ideas.

THE PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE GESTURES

Effective, purposeful, and graceful gesturing during the moment of delivering ideas is
governed by four distinct principles namely:

1. Integration – this principle demands that every gesture should be a part of the
whole body reaction to the thought presented; hence, every gesture and
thought should be one only. Gestures spontaneously created must be an
integral part of communication.

2. Coordination this principle demands perfect movements of the hands in

consonance with the voice.

3. Timing – requires precision in the execution of the gestures in terms of time. In

a split second, the gesture must precede the ideas to be uttered so that the
gestures pave the way for the clear and concrete visualization of ideas. Wrong
timing results in misinterpretation or distortion of ideas.

4. Reserveness – requires perfect control of the gestures for effectiveness of

ideas. Gestures that are not controlled will result in calisthenics performances.
The speaker must remember that the more disciplined the gestures, the more
effective they are.

Indeed, gestures are powerful reinforcing agents in communication, for they indicate
that the significance of a thought has caused the speaker to react, and this tends to
indicate the same kind of reaction in the audience.

to be continued…