Many
of you have heard the old expression, “It’s not what you say it!”. In
today’s world of International
Communication, we have to add on that saying “It’s not what you say but how
you are heard!”
–
How do you sound when you
speak?
–
Is there rhythm to your speech
and depth to your voice?
–
Do you hear music when you
speak in one tone only?
–
Do you know that English has
three notes, three tones?
–
Have you ever trapped yourself
just to listen to the qualities and tones of your voice?
Elocution
–
Elocution is the art of effective public
speaking, with
particular attention to the clear, distinct, and socially acceptable pronunciation of words. Adjective: elocutionary.
–
"The word elocution means something quite
different to us from what it meant to the classical rhetorician. We associate
the word with the act of speaking ... But for the classical rhetorician, elocutio meant 'style.' ...
"Another subject of consideration was the composition or arrangement
of words in phrases or clauses. Involved here were discussions of
correct syntax or collocation of words; patterns of sentences
(e.g. parallelism, antithesis); proper use of conjunctions and other correlating devices both
within the sentence and between sentences...
The Principal Parts of Elocution
–
Elocution . . . is the proper exposition of the appropriate words and
thoughts suitable to the things invented and arranged .
"Its principal parts are elegance, dignity, and composition . . ..
Elegance is sensed most frequently in words and thoughts; dignity in the
brilliance of the figures of words and thoughts . . .; and
composition in the joining of words, in the period, and in the rhythm."
–
The clear enunciation of separate words and their
elements.
–
The just expression of the sense of words in
connected discourse.
–
Appropriate gesture, comprehending under this head the
attitude, motions, and aspect of countenance most suitable to lend animation
and force to speech."
11 ways of Improving Speech
1.
Why improve speech?
Poor diction, otherwise known as lazy speech can hold
us back in life in many different ways. First impressions are based not just on
the way we look but the way we speak. Rightly or wrongly people judge us and
our intelligence on how we present ourselves. We may look a million dollars but
if, when we open our mouths we speak ungrammatically or have poor diction our
credibility may immediately take a dive.
It universally accepted that being a powerful
communicator is a good quality to cultivate if you want to get on in life and
climb the ladder to success. If we do not put the same effort into our vocal
presentation as we do into our physical presentation, then we are only
enhancing part of our identity.
When we go to interviews for most fields of work, we
tend to dress the part by donning a suit and looking business like and formal
in our dress, according, of course, to what job we are aiming to get, but if we
then open our mouth and say “I really want a noo job – instead of “New” for
example or “I done a course in English.” We immediately lose credibility. If we
add to poor grammar, poor diction, then our potential and value may plummet in
the eyes of others. We may have all the qualifications on paper, but if we
don’t speak powerfully or with authority, then we are limiting our means of
expressing and imparting the knowledge we have.
Sadly poor speech is very common in society today. Less
time is spent in schools in the promotion of good diction and unless people
have private elocution, known now as voice training, they may end up with a
good many certificates or degrees but very poor vocal skills and that may be
the difference between excelling in your chosen career or being overlooked in
preference to someone who has the ability to express themselves powerfully,
clearly and authority.
I realise this is not true in all walks of life. You
may cite many TV stars who have actually traded on their accents as their
unique identity and in the field of show business and the world of television
having a pronounced accent can be an advantage but the majority of us are not
going to work in TV – we are not the next Ant and Dec or Cheryl Cole, we are
people doing ordinary jobs or following more routine paths and if we are senior
management, running our own businesses or have following professions where
intelligence and good presentation are key, then good diction goes hand in hand
with good skills. We don’t tend to consider Ant and Dec or Cheryl Cole to be
the imparters of great wisdom or knowledge, we rate them for their
entertainment skills and their understanding of a particular brand of
communication within the world of Television but if we are looking for a
anything from a receptionist or office manager to a barrister, accountant or consultant,
we do tend to want them to have powerful clear diction, certainly in the field
of law, it is imperative in making points in court.
Strong accents can be very attractive and unique. They
are what one may call a speech problem, but they can make diction hard to
understand. Whether it be a foreign accent or a regional accent, it may be very
appealing, but for those on the receiving end who are not used to that
particular accent or dialect it may make what you are saying difficult to
interpret for the listener. Therefore having good clear received pronunciation,
(RP) or BBC English as it used to be termed, can give you a definite advantage.
But I like my accent, I hear you protest. Of course,
and I stress there is nothing wrong with having it, but I suspect that if you
have purchased this course, you have an interest in reducing your accent or
improving your diction. I will attempt to set out here some of the ways that
you can do this.
