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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Ratgeber
- Sprache: Englisch
Find your voice, and communicate with confidence Ever wondered why nobody hears you in meetings, or wished people would take you more seriously? Or maybe you're unhappy with your accent, or you feel insecure about your high-pitched or monotonous voice? Voice and Speaking Skills For Dummies will help you to discover the power of your voice, understand how it works, and use your voice like a professional whether in meetings, addressing an audience, or standing in front of a classroom. Take a deep breath, relax those vocal cords, and make your speech sparkle! We're not all planning to become politicians, or likely to address large audiences on a regular basis, but we all need to be able to communicate well to achieve success. Certain professions require a high level of vocal confidence, notably teachers and business leaders. As well as using body language effectively, we also rely on our voice to convey passion, exude enthusiasm, and command attention--and that's before we've considered the content of our words! A clear understanding of how your voice works, how to maximize its effectiveness, and ways to overcome voice 'gremlins' such as speaking too fast, stuttering, or sounding childish, is pivotal to enabling you to succeed, whatever the situation. * Highlights the importance of your voice, explains how to use it effectively * Gives you confidence in public speaking * Helps you use your voice to make a great first impression in all aspects of your life * Includes a CD with vocal exercises to help you communicate with confidence. Whether you're looking to improve your speaking skills for work or personal gain--or both--Voice and Speaking Skills For Dummies gives you everything you need to find your voice and communicate with confidence. Note: CD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of the e-book file, but are available for download after purchase.
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Seitenzahl: 648
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012
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Voice and Speaking Skills For Dummies®
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Table of Contents
Voice & Speaking Skills For Dummies®
by Judy Apps
Voice & Speaking Skills For Dummies®
Published by John Wiley & Sons, LtdThe Atrium Southern Gate Chichester West Sussex PO19 8SQ England
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Visit our home page on www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex, England
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, England, or emailed to [email protected], or faxed to (44) 1243 770620.
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley logo, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-119-94512-3 (pbk); 978-1-119-94381-5 (ebk); 978-1-119-94382-2 (ebk); 978-1-119-94383-9 (ebk)
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Author
Judy Apps is an international voice specialist, coach, author and inspirational conference speaker. She has spent many years unravelling the secrets of how great leaders inspire and for 20 years has coached people from all walks of life – from leaders in major international corporations to executives, politicians, media people and all who want to understand the voice better and communicate with more influence. Judy is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation and a fully qualified NLP Trainer and member of the NLP University Global Trainers’ and Consultants’ Network. Her popular ‘Voice of Influence’ open programmes in London include workshops on coaching, voice and influence, leadership and communication, and NLP.
Judy is the author of two books: Voice of Influence – How to get people to love to listen to you, a fascinating mind-body approach to finding your authentic voice and expressing yourself with integrity, presence and passion; and Butterflies and Sweaty Palms – 25 Sure-Fire Ways to Speak and Present with Confidence – invaluable reading for anyone who’s ever faced the fear of public speaking.
Judy is passionate about voice, knowing that by changing your voice you grow in confidence and miracles begin to happen in your life. She combines a thorough vocal knowledge with a whole mind-body approach that’s fascinating and highly effective. Her energy and humour are infectious, and her dynamic techniques and highly intuitive way of connecting with people’s inner potential have enabled hundreds of people to achieve great leaps in their speaking, charisma and, above all, personal confidence.
Dedication
To those who speak with a voice of truth – we surely need more of them!
Author’s Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Kerry Laundon at Wiley for her initial belief in the importance and topicality of a book on voice and in commissioning me to write the book. My grateful thanks too to Rachael Chilvers and Brian Kramer for supporting me through the writing, and to all the production team at Wiley. They are a fantastic lot, all highly focused on producing a book that’s the best it possibly can be.
Where does a book come from? So many threads came together to create this one. Long ago, I remember breaking out from the conformity of traditional singing lessons one afternoon and experimenting freely with new ideas with a colleague – very fruitful, thank you Carl! I remember listening to an eloquent speaker with a rich voice at a conference on another occasion and suddenly realising that his opulent voice was boring me – reflecting on that brought important new insights, so thanks, whoever you were. I remember the excitement of beginning to explore mind-body connections through bio-energetics – thank you Alexander Lowen. Such precious threads are too plentiful to enumerate. They include many of my coachees through both their successes and failures. They certainly include many wise voices from the exciting world of books.
Many thanks to the people who shared their voice wisdom with me: Jessica, Mario, Gus and Peter. Many thanks too to those who gave me important insights about communication. They include Robert, Ian, Judy, Stephen, Suzi, Deepak and Jan. Also to friends and colleagues who have given me much in this enterprise. Thank you Kate, Elizabeth, Kit, Jenny, Jackee, Phil, Celia, Gale, Arielle, Richard, Neil, John, Stewart, Alison and Jane.
I would like to thank my friends and family who have been there for me and encouraged me while I’ve been focused on writing. Special thanks to John who has the sensitivity to be there at every turn with whatever is needed, and to Chris and Rosie who always cheer me on. Also Keith, Di, Sue and John who ask for regular updates! Thanks to my father, who taught me early on to be curious and think for myself.
Publisher’s Acknowledgements
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Commissioning, Editorial and Vertical Websites
Project Editor: Rachael Chilvers
Commissioning Editor: Kerry Laundon
Development Editor: Brian Kramer
Assistant Editor: Ben Kemble
Technical Reviewer: Cath Baxter, Head of Voice, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, London
Proofreader: Kim Vernon
Production Manager: Daniel Mersey
Publisher: David Palmer
Cover Photo: © iStock / selimaksan
Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Audio Recording and Production: Heavy Entertainment
Composition Services
Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees
Layout and Graphics: Carrie A. Cesavice, Jennifer Creasey, Joyce Haughey
Proofreaders: Melissa Cossell, Susan Moritz
Indexer: Estalita Slivoskey
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher
Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director
Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher
Composition Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
Introduction
Your voice is so much part of who you are! You can’t leave home without it, and every time you open your mouth it’s your voice that comes out. You’re probably already well aware of this fact because you picked up this book. What if you opened your mouth and people hung on your every word? What if people understood you better – and even appreciated you when you spoke? If you like these ideas, read on!
I’ve worked with literally hundreds of people in one-to-one consultations and in workshops, and had the pleasure of witnessing again and again the positive life changes that come when you successfully develop your voice. Some people come to me in such fear and trepidation, they can scarcely walk through the door; others consult me to prepare for important international presentations or media interviews. In each case, voice improvement is accompanied by a new inner confidence. They find their voice in every sense. That will happen for you too.
When your voice is strong and expressive, doors open for you. Most professions welcome people who sound good and can speak well. People form remarkably fixed and strong opinions based on your voice. I’m sure that you’ve heard remarks from time to time like, ‘she sounds intelligent’ or ‘he sounds friendly’. Promotion often depends on your voice. Relationships blossom or founder on it.
But you also probably know several people who are unaware of just how much their voices are liabilities. You’d like to spend more time with them, but their voices! Maybe you find a certain man negative when his moaning tone is really what puts you off. Or you find that woman too sharp because of her clipped tones. Or the sheer decibels and shrieking pitch of certain people have you running for cover!
Research and personal experience confirms that body language has a strong impact. Your voice is equally powerful and maybe even more so. The tone of a voice affects others physically with its vibrations. A loud unpleasant voice can feel like an assault on your very person. But equally, the impact can be below the level of consciousness, influencing your view of a person without your realising why.
When you discover how to speak well, you find that people treat you differently, and that you attract different connections. Finding your voice is a journey that takes you beyond the world of sound. As you read through these chapters or work with a voice coach, you find that the ability to speak your mind authentically builds your confidence and allows you to know yourself better. In finding your unique voice, you discover your way of being in the world. You realise that you have something to say. What starts as a quest for a good voice, becomes the discovery of the person you were born to be. You become more at ease in your own skin, and more able to connect successfully with other people. This is a great recipe for success.
So, dip into this book; have a look around. Playing with the instrument that is your voice is a fun thing to do, and the results are sure to be awe inspiring. You can start at any place in the book . . . or if you prefer, just turn the page.
About This Book
This book explores how to use your voice more effectively and influentially in every context. Plenty of books on public speaking exist, but they concentrate mostly on tips for creating presentations. This book gives you the practical help to use your voice powerfully in intimate one-to-one conversations, presentations before enormous audiences and everything in between.
The basics of a great voice are the same whether you wish to connect well with one other person or are booked to speak to an audience of thousands. What I want for you is the ability to use your voice freely and authentically with interest and variety, so that it serves you well on all occasions.
This book is for anyone who wishes to improve their voice – you don’t need any previous know-how. You already have all you need, and that’s your vocal instrument. That said, if you’re an actor or professional speaker you can still find plenty of useful nuggets here to enhance your performance and bring added range and subtlety to your sound.
The journey to acquiring a great voice includes many helpful techniques, but you mainly need to think about getting out of your own way to enable your natural full and powerful voice to ring out.
I include audio tracks so that you can hear exactly what I’m describing and understand what you’re aiming for as you practise the exercises.
Conventions Used in This Book
You’ll recognise the terms in this book; I don’t use any medical or other jargon to put you off. I use italic text for titles of films and books and for when I get excited and want to emphasise something for your attention. The key concepts in a list and the headings for numbered steps are in bold. Web and email addresses are in monofont. And that’s about it!
What You’re Not to Read
The great thing about ForDummies books is that you don’t have to wade through loads of uninteresting information to get to what you need. By using the Table of Contents, you can easily turn to the pages that are going to be most useful to you and take it from there.
After years of working with clients, I can’t resist giving you background information or related stories of interest from time to time; these fascinating but not-essential items are marked so that you can skip them whenever you want. They include:
Text in sidebars: The sidebars are shaded boxes that appear here and there. They often contain historical information, background or personal stories.
The Copyright page: Unless you’re determined to read from cover to cover, you can skip this page of legal language and reprint information!
Foolish Assumptions
I’ve yet to meet you personally, so I’ve made a few assumptions about you in writing this book. I’m assuming:
That you have a voice!
That you genuinely want to do something about improving your voice and speaking skills.
That you’re willing to have a go.
That you’ll approach the exercises with a light heart in a spirit of curiosity and experimentation.
That you’re willing to be pleasantly surprised by your efforts.
I wonder if that’s foolish . . . I’m thinking not!
How This Book is Organised
I organised Voice and Speaking Skills For Dummies in six parts. Each part covers a range of subjects to help you find out about voice, with exercises for you to practise. Each part is divided into chapters, which contain all the information you need to build your skill to a high level. The Table of Contents gives you all the headings to find your way around. The Index is also helpful if you don’t see a particular topic in the Table of Contents.
Part I: Introducing the Human Voice
In this part I lay the foundations for exploring voice and speaking skills. You find out about voice coaching, explore the characteristics of successful voices and discover what to listen out for in your own voice and others’ voices. You get the opportunity to really listen to your own voice and decide how you want to develop.
Part II: Beginning with Voice Basics
Here you embark upon the all-important foundation of a good voice – how to breathe well while staying open and relaxed. You discover how your whole body has a part to play in producing the sound. With these skills, you can practise freeing your voice and improving its sound. Get ready to have fun playing with vowels and consonants that bring your language alive. You also discover how to speak with clarity so that nobody ever misunderstands you again. Here’s your opportunity to get good at tongue twisters as well if you wish!
Part III: Playing Your Instrument Well
Now the fun starts! You’re able to turn your volume up and down, surprise people with a loud voice, seduce them with a soft voice – and everything in between. Discover how to sustain a slow authoritative pace or energise your listeners with a faster pace. I introduce you to resonance, the professional speaker’s dream secret for sounding confident, excited, firm, statesmanlike or passionate. As you gain control of your instrument, you discover that you’re beginning to move beyond technique to sound authentic and at ease.
Part IV: Beating the Voice Gremlins
In this part, I name and shame the gremlins that have beset your voice in the past! You discover how to overcome whatever blocks you from speaking well, including fear and other emotions, and you expose your various subterfuges. I guide you through the tricky topic of accents and show you how you can have your cake and eat it – in other words, keep your accent but have others listen and clearly understood you. I offer help for stuttering and hesitation, including information on the latest thinking around tackling the stop reflex and becoming fluent.
Part V: Engaging with a Broader Public
This section is the one to consult if you have to give a presentation or speech, so you can both engage your audience and enter the state of mind where you’re at your best. I show you how to lead and influence with your voice and how to walk your talk – or rather talk your walk! If you use your voice a lot in your work, this part is for you. You find reassuring advice on keeping your voice in good condition as well as useful material on how to use your voice effectively in different professions.
Part VI: The Part of Tens
These short fun chapters are a famous part of every Dummies book. Here you find top tips for sounding as if you mean business, inspirational ideas for increasing your charisma, and invaluable hints for looking after your voice. I also share my ten favourite examples – at the moment! – of great voices for you to enjoy. See whether you agree with my selection.
Icons Used in This Book
Throughout the book you find the following icons to guide you to the important bits and focus your attention:
This icon offers you the opportunity to try certain techniques and ways of speaking and get them ‘in the muscle’. Voice work is highly practical. You’ll get the most out of it by ‘having a go’ at exercises with a curious but not too serious frame of mind. You don’t have to get things right first time!
The icon highlights particular speakers or speeches that you can find on the Internet. Listen to a particular voice or type of voice and then spend time reflecting on the sound you hear and noticing the response it attracts.
This icon indicates exercises that have an accompanying audio track where you can hear me demonstrating how to approach them. Appendix B lists the audio tracks.
Anecdotes are examples of real-life experiences that I include to help you understand better. The stories are all based on real people with names changed to protect the innocent. Occasionally, I’ve combined the stories of more than one client to make a point clearer.
This icon reminds you to watch out for points that you’re sure to find especially valuable. Note these bits with special care.
This icon indicates handy practical tips that help you get the best out of the vocal exercises and voice work in general.
Where to Go from Here
Jump into any part of the book you wish. I wrote it so that you can start at any point and then dip in and out as suits you. If you don’t know where to start, Part I gets you going with an overview of all the voice essentials, and then you can broaden out from there. See what grabs your interest. Rely on the Table of Contents to guide you around.
Voice change happens most easily if you don’t make heavy weather of it. So try out any of the suggestions in this book in a spirit of curiosity and play and you’ll get the most out of it, just as people do in my workshops. Enjoy the book and have fun with your voice!
Part I
Introducing the Human Voice
In this part . . .
You find out what a huge difference your voice makes to your impact when you speak to people, and you realise why so many prominent figures have decided to work on their voice. You explore the many different exciting possibilities of voice, and discover what voice coaching can do for you. I lay the groundwork for developing your voice to become an excellent speaker, and you get to know your own voice to be ready for an exciting voyage of discovery.
Chapter 1
Having a Great Voice
In This Chapter
Discovering what your voice has to offer
Finding out about voice coaching
Identifying the qualities of the best voices
When you imagine a great voice, what springs to mind? A beautifully touching scene in a romantic film? A charismatic leader addressing an enraptured audience? A business leader skilfully persuading the board? A parent reading a bed-time story to a child? What a difference having an inspiring voice makes in all these scenarios!
Maybe you picked up this book because you don’t like your voice. Many people feel this way for different reasons. Perhaps you dislike your accent or your tone, your lack of volume or the fact that speaking causes you physical problems. Maybe you’re curious because currently you take your voice for granted and assume that you’re stuck with what you’ve got, even if you don’t particularly like the way you sound. Maybe you know in your heart of hearts that you can speak confidently and effectively – if you just had some advice from a seasoned professional?
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
