Starting

Foundations
Voice and Diction
Objectives
To develop a more effective speaking
voice through relaxation, proper breathing,
and good posture
To learn habits of good diction in order to
develop distinctive, effective voices
To use voice quality, pitch, volume, pause,
and rate effectively in interpreting
character, mood, and meaning.
Basics and expectations of
'talent'
Effective communication of intended
message
Delivery style that creates a connection
with the intended target audience
Effective and/or pleasing vocal qualities
(cont.)
Basics and expectations of
'talent'
Delivery style that matches the content
and message intent
Attention-getting style of voice and/or
delivery
Accomplishes goal(s) of talent and/or
client and/or supervisor
Communicator personality,
and ..... ?
Voice and delivery basics
Accent vs. dialect
Correct pronunciation (phonetics?
compare foreign language issues)
Projection, rate, resonance, articulation,
vocal variety, inflection and emphasis,
tone / timbre / pitch, nasality, hoarseness,
breathing through your diaphragm,
optimum pitch
Short discussion
Diction coach
Voice and delivery basics

Singing comparison -- can everyone sing?

Can anyone be talent?

The technology: Correct use of

microphones, addressing the camera in
video productions.
Relaxation
Proper sounds are made through vowel
sounds and vowel sounds are made
through a relaxed and open throat, jaw
and lips.
A tense or tight throat will cause hoarseness
when you try to project your voice in practice
or performance.
Warm Ups
Breath Control
What is the difference between regular breathing
and breathing for speech?
Regular breathing
Theinhalation and exhalation periods are of equal
length.
Breathing for speech
Requires a very brief inhalation period and a slow,
controlled exhalation period.
In breathing for speech, you should inhale through the
mouth since this allows for more rapid intake of breath
than through the nose.
Controlled breathing is more important to a
performer than deep breathing.
Breathe from diaphragm?
What does that mean?
Means that the chest cavity stays relatively
still, while the lower ribs rise and fall
slightly.
Requires less chest breathing
Allows you to breathe more deeply
Provides the control you need to project long
passages without running out of breath.
Practice this daily to be a good performer!
Four characteristics of the Voice
Must be used for effective voice:
Quality
Pitch
Volume
Rate
Quality/Tone
Individual sound of your voice
Depends on the shape and size of your vocal mechanism, which
you will not be able to change
You CAN learn to make the most of what youve got by
keeping your throat open and controlling your breath.
If your voice sounds harsh or raspy, it usually is the result of a
closed throat.
If your voice sounds breathy, you are probably using more
breath than you need.
Voice quality may also be affected by emotion
Tone is the vocal element you use to create different emotional
colors when you speak or sing.
Tone Exercises
Pitch
Relative highness or lowness of the voice at any given
time
Pitch is determined by the rapidity with which the vocal
folds vibrate
Most persons use only four or five notes in ordinary speaking, but a
good speaker can use two octaves or more
Pitch gives meaning to speech.
Excited, interested, enthusiastic = higher pitch on important words to
emphasize them and lower pitch on unimportant words to subordinate
them
Conflict increases, excitement stirs, comedy builds = higher pitch
Variety in pitch is called INFLECTION
Without variety in pitch, speakers are unable to hold the attention
of their audiences.
Overcome this by practice and conscious attention
As a performer, you must learn to control the number, length, and
direction of your pitch changes.
Observe others notice what different emotions do to the pitch of their
voices
Volume
The relative strength, force, or intensity with
which sound is made
NOT loudness!
Depends upon the pressure with which the air from
the lungs strikes the vocal folds.
Explosive and Expulsive
What is the difference?
Explosive sudden sharp breath pressure
commands, shouts, loud laughter, screams
Expulsive pressure held steady, breath released
gradually used for reading long passages without
loss of breath and in building to a dramatic climax
Volume is used in combination with other voice
characteristics to express various feelings
Pause and Rate
Use the punctuation in your speech for help
in determining pauses.
Logical and dramatic pauses demand thought
and feeling on your part or you will not have
your audience thinking and feeling with you.
The speed at which words are spoken is
called RATE
Steadily increasing speed creates a feeling of
tension and excitement
Slow, deliberate delivery impresses the hearer
with their significance.
Diction/Articulation
Diction refers to the selection and pronunciation
of words
Proper breathing technique, great tone, and
perfect pitch will make no difference at all if you
have poor diction
Poor articulation is generally the result of
carelessness and sluggish speech
In performance, every word counts, unlike in everyday
speech
If your speech is to be an asset in your daily usage,
you must use clear, correct, pleasing speech that
carries well.
Practice reading aloud daily
Record and analyze your speech and the speech of others
Vowel Sounds
Spelling is not reliable for pronunciation
Letter A
Father
Cat
Came
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet)
Created to represent the sounds found in all
languages
Helpful when working with dialects
Confusing Vowel Sounds
Each word should sound different!!!
Confusing Vowel Sounds
(each word should sound different!!!)
Say: feel, fell, fail, foil, fill, fall, file,
foul
Emphasize feel and fill
Confusing Vowel Sounds
(each word should sound different!!!)
Say: teen, ten, ton, tune, tin,
tan, turn, torn, town
Emphasize ten and tin

Say: eat, at, ate, it, ought

Confusing Vowel Sounds
(each word should sound different!!!)
Say: peak, peck, puck, park, pork,
pike, pick, pack, perk, pock, poke
Say: bee, been, bin, ban, barn,
born, burn, bow, bone, book, boil
Confusing Vowel Sounds
(each word should sound different!!!)
Say: dill, dell, dale, deal, dial,
doubt, down
Say: me, men, man, mince, mile,
muck, mark, mount, moon
Consonant Sounds
Voiceless consonant no vibration
Voiced consonant vibration
Plosive, Fricative, Nasal
Plosive air is stopped and suddenly
released
Fricative air passage is narrowed
Nasal mouth is completely closed; air
through nose
Avoid these common habits of
sloppy speech:
Didnt you?, Wouldnt you? and Did
you? should be separated to avoid saying
Didncha?, Wouldnja?, and Didja?
Jeet Yet? No, Jew
Mumbling, muttering, or dropping words at the
end of sentences and letters at the end of
words
Using the vocal apparatus, especially the
tongue, in a lazy manner, resulting from
indistinctness
Being too meticulous, artificial, or theatrical
Voice and Diction in
Performance
It is an performers
responsibility to avoid spoiling
lines by blurring pronunciation,
muffling enunciation or speaking
with a nervous rhythm
Five Principles to Guide You:
1. Vowels are the sounds performers can work with
in interpretation. Vowels can be lengthened,
shortened, and inflected.

2. Verbs are the strongest words in the language.

Except for forms of be, verbs should be
stressed.
3. (more)
Five Principles to Guide You:
1. Look for color words in your copy those that
are vividly descriptive. Look especially for those
words whose sounds suggest their meaning
(onomatopoeias) such as crash, stab, grunt,
splash.

2. Rarely stress negative, pronouns, and articles.

3. When a word or phrase is repeated, stress each
repetition more than the preceding repetition.
Tongue Twisters
Rubber baby buggy bumpers

To make the bitter batter better, Betty bought

better butter, beating the better butter into the
batter to make the batter better.

The dedicated doctor diagnosed the dreaded

disease as December dithers.

Fickle fortune framed a fine finale for a fancy

finish.
(more)
Tongue Twisters
Could a creeping cat keep crafty claws clear of
kitchen curtains?

Many mortals miss mighty moments more from

meager minds than major mistakes.

Some people say I lisp when I say soup, soft

soap, or something similar, but I dont perceive
it myself.

Round and round the ragged rock the rugged

rascal ran.
Which is the witch that wished the wicked
wishes? ###