Using your voice

Is there a real role for ‘uptalk’?

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One of the commonest verbal irritants I encounter in my communication skills training courses is ‘uptalk’ – a rising inflection at the end of sentences that makes statements sound like questions.

I observe this speech pattern most commonly among younger women, and I invariably urge them to try to change a habit that makes them seem – to my mind at least – uncertain, hesitant and lacking in authority.

But am I right? Could it be that uptalk is a much subtler and more strategic linguistic tool than I had recognised – useful for confirming understanding, inviting engagement and forestalling interruptions?…

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Five vocal vices to avoid in presentations

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Vocal technique is one of the three ‘pillars’ of effective presentations, the other two being content and body language. In the best presentations there is a pleasing congruence between the three pillars, with voice and body language supporting and reinforcing the words being uttered. In the worst there is a jarring dissonance between content and delivery, which makes a presentation very hard to follow, understand and remember.…

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Harness the power of the pause

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As a communication skills trainer, the vocal fault I observe more than any other is – failure to pause.

There are plenty of other vocal infelicities I am called on to correct, such as:

  • flat, uninflected voices that utterly fail to engage;
  • voices that rise at the end of sentences in the manner popularised by Australian soaps (usually a female fault, this one);
  • voices that tail away at the end of sentences (usually because in his/her head, the speaker has moved on to the next thought).
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