Kate's Voice

I have worked with people’s voices for both public speaking and singing.  The question I want to address today is,  what is the difference between using your voice for singing or public speaking and what kind of training do you need for both?

Singing is an activity that requires training muscles to be agile and strong as in sports.  A well-trained singing voice is flexible, with lots of range and  good timbre or tone.  For singing, one must learn to sustain pitches, create a wide range, and have control over volume.  These three things take a great deal of practice as well as muscle-training, and the more control you want the more training and practice you need.  Then there is the question of style.  There are many styles of singing and many styles of music.  Each one requires study and practice.

Public Speaking requires a knowledge of the voice that is similar to singing, but different.  A public speaker needs to learn about basic resonance and breath control, but not as much about range and control.  A public speaker does not have to sustain pitches but they do have to endurance.  A public speaker has more challenges with vocal health because of the stamina required to speak for hours.  Then there is the awareness of how the sound of their voice affects the listener and the challenge of inflections, and their vocal image, which is similar to interpretation for singers, but not quite as involved.

In truth, I believe that if you want to be a great public speaker with a strong, healthy voice, you will want to study singing.  You don’t have to, as you can just use some of the things singers do to get your voice in better shape and you will get along fine.  But there is no question that someone who sings will have a better speaking voice and more ability to do with it what they want than someone who does not sing.

Besides, singing is good for you.  Stay tuned for more on that topic…

When I did a Google search on Obama’s baritone, I got 19,600,000 results. Clearly, there is a lot of  interest in his voice as part of his success.  His prowess as a speaker is even accepted by the opposition. In fact, the latest research seems to indicate that, if the election results are determined by the two candidates’ oration skills, Obama will win, hands down.  This new study, published by the Vox Institute in Geneva, studied both candidates from the perspective of researchers on speech-communication and emotion-psychology.  The study revealed that even though Senator Obama seems to have a permanent look of anxiety on his face (and who wouldn’t if they were signing up for the job of President of the United States?!), McCain’s lack of emotion in both his face and his voice tell us that McCain is weaker than Obama. Add that to the general consensus that a rich, baritone voice is about the best one to have, and the study seems to suggest that we will be singing hail to Obama the chief!

In another study, researchers at Kent State  discovered in 2002 a component of speech that they said was a guaranteed predictor of success for presidential debates.  The study analyzed the voices of presidential candidates in debates since 1960.  They found an aspect of speech that they called a “hum,” in this case an ability to keep your voice steadfast.  You see, they found that people tend to alter their delivery style when they are unsure of themselves, or when they perceive the other speaker(s) as having more authority.  Those candidates in the debates who kept their voices steadfast always won the most votes.

So what does this mean to the voter?  Clearly, it confirms that the voice is a powerful tool and being a good communicator is important and that a great orator has the ability to sway us just with the sound of his or her voice.  Therefore,  before going to the polls, we have to be sure to look beyond a candidates’ voice and hear what they are actually saying.  What is their intention, besides winning?  Do their words, plans and promises align with their intention?  THEN we can evaluate whether or not both align with the sound of their voice and their delivery style, and with our own values and beliefs.

Now, I have a confession.  I may not pay attention to my own advice, as I am biased.  I think it would be wonderful to be represented on the world stage by someone with a beautiful voice again!!