The voice: tone, pace, volume, silences

The four parameters

Volume. The commonest mistake is speaking too quietly. A quiet voice forces the audience to make an effort, and that effort gets attributed to a lack of assurance. Set the volume for the furthest person away, every time.

Pace. Comfortable sits at about a hundred and forty to a hundred and sixty words a minute. Under stress, most people climb to a hundred and eighty or two hundred, which reads as nerves and degrades comprehension.

Pitch. A voice that rises at the end of a sentence turns a statement into a question and weakens the point. End your sentences on a falling note. It is the most profitable vocal adjustment there is.

Tone. It settles through the breath. A voice supported by the diaphragm is lower, steadier and less tiring than a voice supported by the throat.

The breathing that carries the voice

Abdominal breathing is the only kind that supports a settled voice.

To find it: one hand on the stomach, one on the chest. Breathe in through your nose: only the hand on the stomach should rise. If the chest hand rises, the breathing is thoracic, and the voice will be tight.