Part 3 - Elements of a good voice (with audio examples!) :

Hello friends, we are trying to unlock the magic behind the most often used 5 letter word ‘VOICE'!!! We have already understood Voicing as a profession and the various avenues that are available to a trained voice artist . . . now lets try and understand the various elements that play a very important role in helping you develop a good voice !!

So what is a 'good' voice??!! A voice that's heavy and with a huge baritone ??!! A voice that's very loud ??!! A voice that is very sweet ??!! Well the answer is NO !!! And when I say no. . I mean . . a good voice is not just how your voice is technically, but how you use that voice to communicate effectively !!

Every voice has a character and there is nothing wrong with any voice as long as a person can speak clearly and has a command over the language being spoken. . How your voice will sound is decided by YOU, even before you speak the first word.

How you think is how you speak . . so . . TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU SPEAK . . CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK!!!!

The various elements that help a voice shine out are as follows :

TONE : The tone in the voice is a very important tool in your hands to sound effective. So when you greet somebody and you want to sound warm and friendly. . .you sound like this and when you want to sound arrogant and with a lot of attitude, the tone in your voice should be arrogant like this A change in the tone can make a world of difference in how your voice sounds. . so take care of your tone, when you speak.

PITCH : The pitch in our voice is often confused as yelling out. . . though it is not so. . . When you want to talk to somebody who is sitting close to you, your pitch should usually be low. . .like this ; and when you want to talk to somebody who is sitting very far away and you want your voice to reach out to him, your pitch will change like this .You use your pitch in your voice to project the voice. . not necessarily to shout at someone.

CLARITY: Clarity in your speech is another very important element in your voice . . coz if the words are not clear, the listener will not understand what you are saying. . and your communication effort would be futile.

DICTION-PRONUNCIATION-ACCENT : Know your language !!! We say that to be a voice . . .your should first know the “Bhaasha”(language) and then comes the “Bhaav”(Expression) !! Your accent should be neutral and not regionalized.. there should be minimum influence of your mother tongue, if your talking in a different language. . We work in a global village today and so our language, diction and pronunciation should not be regionalized.

PAUSE : They say, "awaaz mein thehraav hona chaahiye". . . . . ..(you should have a hold on your voice). . . . A pause at the right place in a sentence can keep the listener on the edge about what will follow next. If there is a line which says. . “aaieye aaieye, aa gaye “. . ( please come . . oh, I am so glad you have come ) . . . . . . . . . If I take a pause after “aaieye aaieye”. . . . and then say it like this . It would mean something totally different and negative . . (Come come. . . . .. . . . . . . .you've come back ?!) which would mean I am not happy hat you have returned!

PACE : Pace or speed of talking is a very important element in a cultivated voice. . . talking too slow or too ast all the time is not right. . the pace of your speech is determined by the situation.. the tone and the excitement level.

KEYWORDS : These are important words in every sentence ,which should be emphasized on when ou speak . ..It is important to have the sensibility to understand these key words and lay a little more emphasis on them while speaking.

BODY LANGUAGE: Your Body language is a very effective tool in enhancing the effectiveness of your voice.A shrug, effective use of hands, collar bones, facial expressions. . all go a long way in helping you become a more effective voice. . . .Body language adds on to the power of your voice.

SMILE: They have always said. . a smile is a curve that can set many things straight. . .how true this line is ,can only be understood if we practice it in our day to day speech. . .A smile is the easiest thing to do . . but the most rarely done thing. . . And the only way to have a smile in our oice when ou speak . . is . . .to .. SMILE !!!!

Listen to this audio clip, without a smile in the voice and a line when spoken with a smile, sounds so different. . you can almost see the smile in the voice

ABILITY TO GET INTO THE SKIN OF THE CHARACTER: It is said that there is a very thin difference between performers and mentally unstable people. . . . . When a camera turns on . . or a mike is on, in front of a voice artist. . . .he or she becomes the character that he /she is expected to portray. .and as soon as the camera is of or he mike is away. . .the performer comes back to his normal self. . . .This is called the SWITCH ON and SWITCH OFF technique. . which is used even when speaking. . .to get into a character and get out of it. . .

All in all, like I said earlier . .you voice reflects your personality. . . . . .
so, to CHANGE THE WAY YOU SPEAK . . .CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK. . .

Part 1 | Part 2

Authored by our associate, Darrpan Mehta
Darrpan is a professional voice over artiste. Click here to know more...

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