When asked about the causes of their anxiety, a lot of people respond with public speaking. The idea of getting up in front of a crowd and giving a speech/ presentation is a hard idea for everyone.
Because they are nervous or lack public speaking experience, speakers speak too fast or in a monotone voice. The problem with this is that the audience does not absorb the speaker's message.
If you're planning on speaking in public, you want to make sure your audience gets the message. Read this article for tips on how to fix a monotonous voice!
Why Is Speaking with a Monotonous Voice a Problem?
The reason a monotonous voice prevents processing has to do with how the human brain responds to emotion. When we speak with more emotion in our choice, we activate the listener's amygdala, which is the part of the brain that processes emotions, including behavioral responses and motivation. The amygdala forces the brain to focus and absorb information better.
A monotonous voice tends to be void of emotion. When there is no emotion present, the listener's brain cannot absorb your message because their amygdala isn't responsive to your speech.
The good news is that you can vary your voice pitch and improve your public speaking skills. Read on to find out three tips to prevent a monotonous voice and stay relaxed while speaking.
1. Vary Your Voice Pitch
If you have a monotone voice, your pitch stays stuck between one or two notes. This might be fine for everyday conversation, but it won’t engage listeners. They will be less likely to retain the information in your message - not because of the words you’re using or because you’re a boring person, but because your tone is not engaging them.
By varying your pitch throughout your speech, you will make your message more interesting for your listener. You will find that varying your pitch gives your speech more energy, variety, and a greater response from listeners.
Not sure if your voice is varied enough when you speak? You can have your voice diagnosed when you send in a vocal sample.
2. Move Your Body
A lack of body movement will make your voice monotone. That’s because the mind, body, and voice are all connected.
If your body isn’t expressing your message or conveying the story you’re telling, your voice will fall flat also. However, when your body is energetic and animated, it will encourage the voice to become more dynamic.
You’ll need to train your entire body to work together and express your message. But by moving your body and changing up your facial expression, you will make yourself and your speech much more memorable and engaging.
It can be hard to remember to be active while public speaking, but there are plenty of great videos online that can improve your presence on stage.
3. Connect With Your Message
The most important tip in public speaking and avoiding a monotonous voice is to feel your message. If your topic is not interesting to you, then it will not be interesting for your audience. Even the most mundane topics have interesting points; seek out those interesting facts for you and your audience and present them with conviction.
By connecting your emotions and feeling your words, your stage presence will become more powerful, and you will become a public speaker that people believe in. However, just because you are passionate about your topic doesn’t mean it will be easy to express your feelings in front of others.
Luckily, this article provides key tips and tricks to help you speak from the heart!
Conclusion
You are not alone in your fear of public speaking. Getting on stage is frightening enough for most people, and making your voice as engaging as possible is not something people master in a day. This is a skill that takes time, hard work, and patience.
We recommend integrating these three tips as you prepare to speak in front of an audience if you’re ready to make your public speaking more dynamic. Give yourself lots of time to practice and experiment with different movements and pitches before the event.
If you need more techniques to vary your pitch, watch this brief tutorial and sign up for a public speaking course to avoid a monotonous voice!
To arrange a voice coaching sessions or to arrange a workplace workshop that will help you have a stronger speaking voice please contact me.
You can send me an audio message here or even get the first two chapters of my book, "The Art of Powerful Communication" for free
