This weekend, I will be attending the 2017 Voice Therapy Conference in Pittsburgh. I am attending for two reasons. First of all, I must get my Continuing Education credits to maintain my license to practice. Secondly, my absolute favorite part of speech pathology when I was in graduate school was in the area of voice. I had a fabulous professor who got me hooked on the capabilities of our tiny instrument, the larynx. I just loved to learn about the anatomy, diagnosing voice problems and helping patients learn to use their voices in better ways.
I still love to learn about our amazingly unique and complex larynx and I want to stay current with trends in techniques, so I am excited to attend! Here are a few amazing facts that I found fascinating….
Your tone of voice says a lot. It indicates your friendliness, confidence, and how authentic you are. People will choose whether they want to do business with you based on the way you sound. There are both positive, uplifting tones that we can feel encouraged by and there are other tones of voice that can demoralize and demotivate. Sometimes, people don’t recognize that their vocal tone is so disheartening. Even if they do, they aren’t sure what it is about their tone that makes them sound that way. Below are three vocal tones that should be avoided in the workplace and an explanation of what is happening through speech, language and voice characteristics.
Maybe you are struggling with a foreign accent and have lost some self-confidence at work because of it. You are repeating yourself frequently (and that’s getting old real fast), other people jump in and explain what you just said or meant, you see blank stares or people responding off-topic to what you just said, or someone at work has told you were not selected to do the presentation because of your accent.
Research shows that your listeners grow tired of having to try to translate the message when you hard to understand. Your listener will stick with you for only so long before shutting down and stop listening. This puts you at a disadvantage. You have a couple of choices: Lose your accent completely or reduce your accent. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of both.
Are you fast talker? If you are, you may be losing the most important person in the room: the listener! A good rate of speech ranges between 140 -160 words per minute (wpm). A rate higher than 160 words per minute can be difficult for the listener to absorb the material. There may be some areas of the country that speak at faster rates but a slower rate is preferable. Too slow of a rate may give the listener the perception of slow thinking, incompetence and being uneducated. If you have a foreign accent though, speaking slowly is crucial since pronunciation may be a challenge for the listener. Use a speed that is closer to 140 words per minute.
I walked into LA Fitness the other day to do my daily exercise and noticed an Assessment Tool for members. Through a series of little tests, you could find out your Strength, Endurance and Stability for men and women based on your age. In other words, at my age I should be able to do 29 or more push-ups to achieve the “Excellent” status. (I’m happy to report, that I can do it!)
It made me think of some quick tests you can do to measure your own respiratory and laryngeal control. It is called the MPT (for Maximum Phonation Time) and it measures the efficiency of your respiratory system and your ability to maintain vocal cord closure. There are two tasks you can do to measure. You will need a stopwatch or a clock with a second hand.
The other day while walking downtown Pittsburgh to one of my clients, the air was thick and smelled…well, let’s just say, interesting. Because it was foggy, the air was thicker and trapping pungent smells. Did you know that the air state affects our nasopharynx (nasal cavity and soft palate), sinuses and respiratory system, and has an effect on our speech and voice as well? Some environmental exposures include pollen, fog, dust and chemicals like pesticides. In California, there have been studies done that link these environmental factors to increased voice problems and respiratory stress.
Imagine the devastating effects of waking up on the day of your big presentation and finding that your voice sounds scratchy, hoarse and weak. Worse yet, it has disappeared completely! Nearly all of us rely on a well-functioning voice at work every day. If we were to lose our voice on any given day, the results could be disastrous.
Great professional speakers deliver speeches that are engaging to listen to and that also draw in their audiences visually. They keep their gestures to a minimum and use them purposefully to emphasize the content of the message. They make eye contact with each audience member as though they are the only people in the room. They express sincerity through a smile and appear to be relaxed.
Even if you aren’t a professional speaker, paying attention to your “visual presentation” in conversation is important! Do you make eye contact with the listener? Do you use your eyes, eyebrows and mouth to express your meaning? Or do you have more of a deadpan expression? Are your hands close to your sides, wide open or constantly moving out of nervous habit?
Have you ever felt frustrated that the conversation you had with a colleague or supervisor fell short of your intentions? Maybe you were trying to communicate something and it was clear that he/she didn’t understand what you said. Here are some ideas that may help you:
bsolute favorite part of speech pathology when I was in graduate school was in the area of voice. I had a fabulous professor who got me hooked on the capabilities of our tiny instrument, the larynx. I just loved to learn about the anatomy, diagnosing voice problems and helping patients learn to use their voices in better ways.
Imagine the devastating effects of waking up on the day of your big presentation and finding that your voice sounds scratchy, hoarse and weak. Worse yet, it has disappeared completely! Nearly all of us rely on a well-functioning voice at work every day. If we were to lose our voice on any given day, the results could be disastrous.
