Process of speech

Process of speech

A speech entails a number of steps as below:
 A concept formulated in the brain of the speaker
 Nerves from brain transfer „linguistic codification‟ to speech organs
 Speech organs are set in motion that produces disturbances in the air
 Listeners receive these sound waves
 Listeners‟ nervous system carries message to the brain
 Brain interprets in linguistic terms all that flows as information from the speaker to the listener

General Physiology 

Speech comes from a special mechanism that has following three parts:
(i) Energiser
It is the exhaled breath of the speaker
(ii) Vibrator
It is the vocal cord of the speaker
(iii)Resonator
It is the passages represented by the throat, mouth and / or nose.
The exhaled air stream when it passes through the windpipe to the mouth or nose produces the sound:
 When it passes through the mouth or the oral passage, oral sounds are produced
 When it passes through the nose or the nasal passage, nasal sounds are produced

UNDERSTANDING SPEECH MECHANISM

UNDERSTANDING SPEECH MECHANISM

In view of the critical importance of voice in speech delivery, it is useful to have a good idea of the physiological aspects of speech. It has also been given a great deal of importance in the study of almost all human languages.

 Phonetics

It is a branch of language that deals with the study of speech, sound, their reproduction and combination. It deals with how production, transmission and reception of sounds in a particular human language take place. A spoken language consists of a succession of varying sounds for which several parts of body are used.
Spoken medium is also known as „aural communication. (Written communication is also known as visual communication). Learning a human language involves the process of learning the reproduction of sounds and patterns used by other human beings as each language has its own system. Usually there is a relationship between the sounds and letters representing these sounds. Unfortunately, in English language this relationship is not as consistent as it is in most Indian languages.

SKILLS FOR ENHANCING VOICE POWER

SKILLS FOR ENHANCING VOICE POWER

Every budding student wants to improve his ability to enhance his voice power. These days business schools are organizing stage shows, dramas etc so that student managers can hone their skills in throwing their voice to their best advantage when they face the listeners.
For stage actors, this skill is extremely valuable for their professional advancement. In modern production methodologies for movies, „acting‟ part is separated from the „dubbing‟ part and actors either learn formally or through repeated experience how to modulate their voice, increase or decrease the pitch, tone and speed of delivery to make the maximum impact on the scene that is being dubbed.
Successful orators spend hours in practicing their speeches. They pre-decide the points of importance and how to modulate the voice so that they can impact the understanding of the listeners most. Every significant stop or pause is well thought of. The positioning of anecdotes, humorous or otherwise, is thought out before hand and executed with finesse.
National and international leaders get their speeches written by reputed persons who know their style of delivery. Even so, these speeches are pre-tested with a select audience of critics, political and other thinkers who listen to the draft speech carefully, give their valuable suggestions on content and delivery and even suggest changing and chopping of critical sentences etc.
Whatever be the level of the speaker, in addition to the suggestions as above, they should also indicate corrections to the draft speech. These usually relate to:

 Pronunciation
 Enunciation
 Speed of delivery
 Pitch of the voice
 Pauses

These are detailed as under:

(1) Pronunciation

Pronunciation imparts life to the words. Leaders who are international travellers, global trainers etc have to spend time learning the way the pronunciation changes among communities and countries. These also change in different parts of the same country as is common in India. If speakers can learn and quickly adapt to the local lingua, the impact of their message goes a long way.

(2) Enunciation

Enunciation and tone of the voice go together. Some sentences, anecdotes play central role in conveying the message and need to be enunciated properly and correctly by varying the tone of the voice to suit the story in the message. Suggestions to improve their rendering in a speech are fetching and speakers should learn to modify the speech from possible listeners‟ point of view.

(3) Speed of delivery

Some speakers deliver their speeches very fast while others are very slow and boring. The correct speed is between 150 to 200 words. Anything above 200 words per minute is fast. The only exception to this rule is the need to enunciate the message. If faster delivery for a few sentences is required to make the right impact, it should be so incorporated in the speech.

(4) Pitch of the voice

Husky voice may be an asset for an actress. Most speakers have to use the mike to deliver the speech. For such persons, ensuring use of the right pitch of the voice is important. That would also be comfortable for the audience who are the customers as the message is intended for them.

(5) Pauses

Pauses are like punctuations in a written message. They should be observed at the right places. It makes the speech more effective. Effective speakers pause just before making an important point and sometimes, even after making an important point to ensure that it has been well received. Absence of pauses distracts listeners.
A few deep breaths at the beginning of a formal speech and correct breathing throughout the delivery embellish a speech.

QUALITY OF VOICE

QUALITY OF VOICE

Everyone should be an honest judge of his voice. Listen to own recorded voice on an audio-cassette. The voice can be corrected by practicing – reading aloud from books, magazines and newspapers. Reciting poems loudly also helps.
Correcting ones‟ voice and regular practice in speaking helps and is very rewarding.
Quality of voice can be judged from the following three aspects:
1. Tone
 Pitch
 Texture

(1) Tone of speech

„Tones of human voice are mightier than the strings of brass in moving the soul‟. We also know that army commanders‟ tone can catapult soldiers in to action at the quick. Tones of voice convey a vast range of emotions – from anger to happiness, from sorrow to command etc.
A mother‟s tone soothes her baby. Film stars are trained to modulate the tone of their voice to suit the demands of the scene they are enacting. They spend many long hours in the dubbing studios to record the correct „tone‟ of their voice.
In speech, it is the vocal sound and covers the choice of words, phrases etc. It stands for intonation of their voice that expresses a particular meaning or feeling of the speaker / writer. It represents a certain attitude on the part of the speaker / writer.
Tone stands for elegance – a distinctive style. It is the rising, falling and other inflections by words that are otherwise pronounced in the same manner that differentiate a speaker. It is that sound which is distinct and identifiable even when it is in harmonic relations with other sounds. It means the sound produced by the vibrations of the vocal cords that has a syllabic stress imparts the desired tone that tunes in with the listeners.

(2) Pitch of the speech

It is the process of setting up or erecting, throwing, casting, flinging or hurting forward the voice. It is intended to fix a particular point, level or degree of speech delivery. It is the quality of sound that is determined by the frequency of vibrations of the sound waves reaching the listeners‟ ears. As a rule, greater the frequency of vibrations, higher is the pitch of speech.

(3) Texture of the speech

Derived from the weaving of the fabrics, it connotes the composition and the structure of the speech. It should be woven like artists do. Speakers or writers are like artists who have at their disposal a set of speech organs and they should weave the magic of their offerings in a systematic and logical manner so that it shows their class.

TYPES OF VOICE

TYPES OF VOICE

Several notable types of voices are:
 Baby voices
 Pleasing voices
 Firm voices
 Unattractive voice

(1) Baby voices

The moment a baby is borne, it starts communicating. A newly born baby expresses itself through „gurgling sounds‟. Mothers can make it out soon. Experienced mothers can guess very accurately from the sounds a baby makes, whether it is hungry or has wetted the bed or is just missing the presence of someone.
Equally, even babies, at very early stage, are able to distinguish between tones of its parents - whether it is endearing, playful or unpleasant.
Pet dogs respond to the tones of their masters very faithfully – they go by the way some thing is said rather than understand the verbal command. It is surprising how accurate they are in their interpretation of their masters‟ commands. For example:
 Pet animals obey promptly the „stern voice‟ of their masters
 Pet dogs start wagging their tails to a „loving voice‟
 Pet dogs can start jumping to a playful tone of their masters‟ voice
At other times, they start licking the master.

(2) Pleasing voice

A pleasing voice is the first requirement of a „charming speech‟. The students must cultivate it assiduously.
It is said that the voice of a perfect lady „ravishes all senses‟. She can wield a great deal of influence on her listeners!

(3) Firm voice

A firm but quiet voice is an asset to a speaker. Cultivating a firm but quiet voice is an art. You have to practise hard to achieve a certain level of expertise. It pays rich dividends to the possessor of such a voice. It makes ones‟ utterances very persuasive. Speakers with this voice quality command greater attention as people like listening to them.

(4) Unattractive voice

Unattractive voice can drive people away from them. Shrill voice gets on people‟s nerves. Swan is beautiful to look at and has a graceful body but it possesses a shrill voice. A loud woman sounds very derogatory – audience would not like her speech either. The unattractive voice can be further classified as below:
(i) Harsh voice
It may arise from the tension in the throat muscles. Practice deep breathing and other exercises to relax throat muscles. Try and practice speaking at a low pitch. Speakers should open mouth just enough for throwing the voice to the audience.
(ii) Shrill voice
If the voice is shrill, it is difficult to overcome the deficiency without the help of a speech therapist.
(iii) Nasal voice
A nasal twang can spoil ones‟ voice and make it unpleasant to listen to. The persons with nasal voice should pay attention to improve quality of their voice. In no case should one become self-conscious. Please remember that a natural flow and smoothness of words is the best.