We suggest proceeding from the fact that your vocal cords are sufficiently developed to make your voice higher or lower without tension, strain the timbre with a steel clatter or add velvet overtones to its color, play intonation from the purring “And what are we going to talk about today?” to the command: «I said!» If this is the case, then voice tuning consists in the fact that you adjust your voice to match your partner, look for a similar timbre and get into intonation, into melody, as well as into the rhythm and breathing of the interlocutor.
This must be worked out so that everything happens by itself, automatically. The phone rings, you raise the to.u.: “Yes!” — and already completely in the ear: what kind of voice sounds there? Noted: tempo, timbre, intonation. Your answer is like a musical response, flowing at the frequency already set by the interlocutor …
And the most important rule:
SPEAK ON YOUR PARTNER’S EXHAUST, INHALE ON THEIR INHALE
This will give you at least two most valuable acquisitions: firstly, automatic breathing adjustment, and secondly, you will become much shorter in speaking …
EXERCISE: Fast-Slow
An exercise to increase the speed range and train the ability to quickly change the pace of speech.
The speaker begins to tell a story at the highest possible speed for him, and after two minutes quickly switches to the slowest pace of speech for him. Such a contrast shower for speech will expand the range of speaking speed.
EXERCISE: Voice modeling
Turn on the TV and try to reproduce the voice and intonations of the presenter as accurately as possible. Or, if you have a partner, ask him to speak in different intonations. Repeat your partner’s phrases, trying to convey their intonation pattern as accurately as possible.
It is advisable to have someone else watch the exercise and comment on how accurately you are able to simulate the voice of another person.
When intonation is harmful
Tuning in speech and voice creates good contact between you and your interlocutor, tuning usually creates support for the interlocutor from you, but sometimes inaccurate intonational tuning can turn out to be not only ineffective, but downright harmful.
In particular, if you are inattentive and, among other things, perhaps non-verbally and unconsciously, make adjustments to erroneous, unnecessary behavior for you, you will, in fact, reinforce it.
Do not allow this: clearly fix what behavior of the partner does not suit you, and clearly build up from this behavior. See →