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- Read the poem slowly. Most adolescents speak rapidly, and a nervous reader will tend to do the same in order to get the reading over with. Reading a poem slowly is the best way to ensure that the poem will be read clearly and understood by its listeners. Learning to read a poem slowly will not just make the poem easier to hear; it will underscore the importance in poetry of each and every word. A poem cannot be read too slowly, and a good way for a reader to set an easy pace is to pause for a few seconds between the title and the poem's first line.

- Read in a normal, relaxed tone of voice. It is not necessary to give any of these poems a dramatic reading as if from a stage. The poems selected are mostly written in a natural, colloquial style and should be read that way. Let the words of the poem do the work. Just speak clearly and slowly.

- Obviously, poems come in lines, but pausing at the end of every line will create a choppy effect and interrupt the flow of the poem's sense. Readers should pause only where there is punctuation, just as you would when reading prose, only more slowly.

- Use a dictionary to look up unfamiliar words and hard-to-pronounce words. To read with conviction, a reader needs to know at least the dictionary sense of every word. In some cases, a reader might want to write out a word phonetically as a reminder of how it should sound. It should be emphasized that learning to read a poem out loud is a way of coming to a full understanding of that poem, perhaps a better way than writing a paper on the subject. (3)

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A high quality recording is useless if your voice sounds boring.

Before you go for your first take, mentally prepare for the voice session. If you’re doing a voice over of a fictional character, remember that you are first and foremost an actor. Become the part. Get into their head. (2)

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Elements of vocal production within voiceover:

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Elements of vocal production within voiceover:

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Great video voice audio over comprises several elements:

Audio clarity and volume

Pacing

Vocal tone and inflection

Pronunciation

Audio clarity and volume:
The clarity of your voice and a comfortable volume may be the most essential parts of great audio. If your voice over recording is fuzzy or muddy sounding, it will be difficult for people to understand. Audiences likely will be distracted and unable to absorb the information or may simply move on. Either way, they miss your message and you miss an opportunity to share what your knowledge.

Similarly, if your audio’s volume is too low, it may be difficult for people to hear. Too loud and you risk annoying distortion. Luckily, there’s a pretty solid sweet spot for volume. See the section on recording your voice over for more information on audio levels.

Pacing:
Ever talk with someone who has a really exciting story to tell, but they’re so excited about it that they rush through it and when they’re done you can’t even remember what they were talking about? Or, someone who drones on and on with no end in sight, threatening to put you to sleep?

This is pacing. Too fast and your audience won’t know what hit them. To slow and they’re likely to get bored. The best voice overs have a natural and deliberate pace. Start with a script and practice it before you record to help you speak at a more natural pace.

And remember, pacing also includes things like pausing occasionally for effect or just to give them listener a break to process important information.

Vocal tone and inflection:
Like pacing, vocal tone and inflection refer to ensuring you speak in a natural and pleasant manner. You want to be friendly and engaging, but not so much that you sound fake. No one wants to sound like a game show host. But, you also want to avoid monotone robot voice which, like pacing that’s too slow, can be boring and off-putting for listeners.

Pronunciation and enunciation:
Part of great voice over work is ensuring that you pronounce each word correctly and that you speak clearly enough to be understood. Avoid mumbling but don’t shout or over-enunciate, either. Don’t worry, though. No one expects you to sound like a professional voice actor. The best thing you can do is speak naturally and clearly and the rest will follow in time. (1)

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How not to hate the sound of your own voice:

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How not to hate the sound of your own voice:

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This is the number-one issue most people bring up when they discover they have to do voice over work for their video. Let’s face it. Most of us rarely have to hear our own voices in audio recordings. We’re used to the rich, warm sound of our own voices in our own ears. There’s no way around the fact that you sound different on recording that you do to yourself.

So how do you stop hating the sound of your own voice? The answer, unfortunately, is that you just have to get used to it. Think of it this way: Your voice on recordings is how you actually sound to everyone around you. When you speak to others, that’s what they hear. So, there’s really nothing to be embarrassed about, is there?

In all seriousness, though, everyone who does voice work has to overcome this hurdle. Luckily, like most things, it gets easier the more you do it. Do enough voice over work and soon your voice on recordings will sound almost as natural to you as the one you hear in your ears.

If you simply can’t get over it, though. You can always enlist the help of another person. You can grab a friend or colleague, or you can even hire a professional to do the work for you. (1)

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Ryan Knott. (Unknown). The Complete Guide to Doing Voice Overs Like a Pro. Available: https://www.techsmith.com/blog/voice-over/. Last accessed 25th October 2019.

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Rob Mayzes. (2018). HOW TO DO VOICE OVERS: A SIMPLE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE. Available: https://www.musicianonamission.com/how-to-do-voice-overs/. Last accessed 25th October 2019.

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Billy Collins. (2001). Poetry 180 / A Poem a Day for American High Schools. Available: https://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/p180-howtoread.html. Last accessed 25th October 2019.

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So how doth thou talketh like Shakespeare?

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So how doth thou talketh like Shakespeare?

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"Instead of saying, 'Hey you,' [it's] 'Hark thee!' or 'Prithee,' " says Barbara Gaines, founder and artistic director of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. "Instead of saying, 'you,' say 'thou.' The men are called 'sirrah,' and the ladies are called 'mistress.' And all of your friends are 'cousins.' Don't ask what this means, but in Shakespeare, everybody's called cousin this and cousin that, when they have no relation."

"And if you can rhyme something, that's brilliant," Gaines adds.

In Elizabethan times, Shakespeare and his fellows didn't curse like people do today, says Gaines. Insults were well-thought-out and designed to torment their targets.
"You can call someone a 'lump,' or a 'foul deformity,' " Gaines said. "Or you can say, 'You're a canker-blossom,' if you can't stand it. Or, if you really want to be demeaning, you can say, 'You're just a fusty-nut with no kernel.' "

Overall, if ever in doubt when trying to talk like Shakespeare, Gaines says just add e-t-h at the end of a verb. (4)

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Instead of "you," say "thou." Instead of "y'all," say "thee." Thy, Thine and Ye are all good pronouns, too.

Rhymed couplets are all the rage.

Men are "sirrah," ladies are "mistress," and your friends are all called "cousin."

Instead of cursing, try calling your tormenters jackanapes or canker-blossoms or poisonous bunch-back'd toads.

Don't waste time saying "it," just use the letter "t" ('tis, t'will, t'would, I'll do't).

Verse for lovers, prose for ruffians, songs for clowns.

When in doubt, add the letters "e-t-h" to the end of verbs (he runneth, he trippeth, he falleth).

To add weight to your opinions, try starting them with methinks, mayhaps, in sooth or wherefore.

When wooing ladies, try comparing her to a summer's day. If that fails, say: "Get thee to a nunnery!"

When wooing lads, try dressing up like a man. If that fails, throw him in the tower, banish his friends and claim the throne. (4)

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David Schaper. (2009). How Now, Wench? Talking Like Shakespeare. Available: https://www.npr.org/2009/04/23/103414533/how-now-wench-talking-like-shakespeare?t=1575998774306. Last accessed 10th December 2019.

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Spoken word is written on a page but performed for an audience. It relies on a heavy use of rhythm, improvisation, rhymes, word play, and slang.

Spoken Word is writing that is meant to be read out loud. Some examples of spoken word you might be familiar with are stories, poems, monologues, slam poetry, rap and even stand-up comedy. When writing a spoken word piece use words and phrases that project onto the minds of the listeners like vivid images, sounds, actions and other sensations. If your poem is rich with imagery, your listeners will see, smell, feel and maybe even taste what you’re telling them. Here are some spoken word poems from our Power Poets.

- Choose a subject and have attitude. No attitude, no poem! Feelings and opinions give poetry its “richness.” Each poet has a unique perspective and view of the world that no one else has. It is important that a spoken word poem embodies the courage necessary to share one’s self with the rest of the world. The key here is to build confidence. We must acknowledge ourselves as writers and understand what we have to say is important. Practice. Practice. Practice.

- Pick your poetic devices. Poems that get attention are ones that incorporate simple, but powerful poetic elements. Repetition is a device that can help a writer generate exciting poems with just repeating a key phrase or image. Rhyming can enrich your diction and performance. (Check out other poetic devices while you’re at it.

- Performance. Spoken word poems are written to be performed. After your poem is written, practice performing the poem with the elements of good stage presence in mind.  It is important to maintain Eye Contact – Don’t stare at the floor, or hide behind a piece of paper/phone. From time to time, look into the eyes of people in the audience to capture their attention. Projection  is also crucial, so remember to speak loudly and clearly so that your voice can be heard from a distance. Enunciation helps the listeners to hear exactly what you say. Don’t mumble. Speak clearly and distinctly so that the audience can understand what you are saying. Facial Expressions  help animate your poem. You’re not a statue: smile if you’re reading something happy. Look angry if your poem is about anger. This might sound silly, but using the appropriate facial expressions help express various emotions in your performance. Gestures such as hand motions and body movements emphasize different elements of your performance. Choose the right gestures for your poem.

- Memorization. Once you’ve memorized your spoken word piece, you can devote more time to your performance. Memorization allows you to be truly in touch with the meaning and the emotional content of your poem, even if you forget a word or a line you can improvise (freestyle), which is one of the most important elements of spoken word.

- Power Poetry. Spoken word must be, well, spoken. To create an online performance (so that you can share it on Power Poetry, of course) check out our multimedia tip guide to bring your work to life. (5)

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Unknown. (Unknown). 5 TIPS ON SPOKEN WORD. Available: https://www.powerpoetry.org/actions/5-tips-spoken-word. Last accessed 10th December 2019.

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There’s no single handbook, and there’s no single actor who will have the exact same sense of what classical acting actually is. It’s a tradition or school of acting in much the same way as rock is a tradition of music with all the complex variations and fluidity of that comparison.

In fact, using music as an analogy is useful. Just as rock music is a reaction against the perceived rigidity of musical predecessors, classical acting became a reaction against what actors and directors saw as the melodramatic and “untruthful” acting of the 19th century.

If you had to characterize rock music, you’d say it was band music driven by rhythm and percussion often featuring distorted guitar and lyrics that deal with anger, sadness, and frustration. Of course, anyone can immediately think of rock musicians who don’t conform to this description.

Once you’ve learned how to characterize classical acting, it’s just as useful to think of actors who break classical acting rules. If you recognize how someone is differing from the classical-acting tradition, you’ll have a solid understanding of the tradition itself.

Classical acting is an umbrella term for different acting techniques used together. It encompasses the use of the whole body, the full range and quality of the voice, the actor’s imagination, the actor’s ability to personalize, improvise, use external stimuli, and analyze scripts.

Two practitioners who helped develop and codify using these techniques together are Constantin Stanislavski and Michel Saint-Denis. Both Stanislavski and Saint-Denis were actors, directors, and theorists. Stanislavski lived until 1938, long enough to see his book, “An Actor Prepares,” translated into English and published. Saint-Denis moved to London in 1935 and set up a drama school where he taught Alec Guinness, Peter Ustinov, Michael Redgrave, John Gielgud, and Laurence Olivier. Saint-Denis was also, at one time, co-director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Partly because of the wholehearted acceptance of Stanislavski’s and Saint-Denis’ methods, classical acting is also confusingly sometimes referred to as British, English, or Shakespearean acting.

At the very core of classical acting is Stanislavski’s concept that, for the audience to identify with the actor, the actor must identify with the character. He or she can do this in any number of ways by using his or her own memory and experience, utilizing research or analysis of the play, breaking the play into units, and focusing on the objective of the character, or even by relying on what Stanislavski referred to as the “Creative If”—the idea that an actor can transport him- or herself from the real world into an imaginary one. (6)

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What does it mean to be a classically trained actor?

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What does it mean to be a classically trained actor?

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The focus of most physical training at drama school is to harness and control the body in order to use it for expression. This means exercises and stretches that result in an increased awareness and ability. Classical acting teaches that the body can be used to express character and action. There are no better examples of this than in dance and combat. This is why dance, especially period dance, is often taught alongside stage combat, two practices that require heightened awareness and control to achieve storytelling without words.

In the same way, the understanding of vocal ability, quality, and expressiveness is key to drama schools. Voice teachers use exercises to strengthen and increase the range of voice for clarity and to give actors a full range to draw upon for an engaging vocal performance. They also focus on how to use the voice to express emotion clearly and truthfully rather than to “signal” as in the case of melodrama and pantomime.

Today, Laurence Olivier’s Othello looks and is both vulgar and racist. It is, however, still a performance we can learn from and a useful reference point for how a classical actor changes every aspect of his or her body and voice in performance, informed by and successfully communicating the character. Skip through a version of it and note how Olivier walks with stillness in his upper body through the first acts. Later in the bedchamber, he moves with his shoulders rolling and flings his arms. His voice alters from a commanding shout to a beast-like roar. It’s a great example of how the voice and body are powerful storytelling devices. (6)

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Stanislavski and his followers have influenced drama theory so much that their terms have ended up as part of the acting vocabulary. Words like “unit,” “objective,” and “motivation” hadn’t been used by British or American directors before the 20th century. Now, they’re part of most rehearsal-room discussion.

Classical acting reveres the script by locating and playing a character’s objective. There’s no right answer to what this is, so it’s often decided by the actor and director together. An objective might stretch over the length of the play, or it may only exist for a moment. Shorter objectives might serve one super objective.

The unit describes a period of action within a script. Again, there’s no right or wrong answer, and so this is always open to debate in rehearsals. A writer won’t necessarily compose a scene in units; Shakespeare certainly didn’t. It’s up to the actor and director to chop the scene into smaller segments, which are often then named and rehearsed individually. Whatever you think of this process, it allows for closer examination and easier management of a character as he or she moves through the play’s action. (6)

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Though there are some schools of acting that take this practice and put it at the center of actor training, most classical actors advocate drawing on memory and personal experience with care and precision. Identifying with a character is an important part of comprehending the range of experience within a story. Searching for how events might be similar to those in your own life means you can identify with their response to or understanding of an action.

Personalization is the process by which an actor might find shared feelings or sensations with a character and draw on them in the acting process. This should mean that the actor is drawing on real experience to create the reality onstage or on set, however, it’s a very individual form of acting that, if not used well, alienates other actors and can “unbalance” a scene. (6)

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There’s no room for improvisation during a performance of a classical play. Improvisation is, however, a key technique for testing the preparedness of your character and your understanding of his or her behavior. Exercises might involve games in which you must play “in character” as well as putting characters under more extreme versions of events in the play.

External stimuli reference the way in which characters can be influenced by external objects as well as their own internal world of emotional and intellectual response. Stanislavski was interested in “external” and “internal” attention—how characters flit between navigating the world around them and their own inner struggles. (6)

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Drama schools use Shakespeare and a strict system of approaching dialogue in his plays to teach the awareness of language that classical acting demands. Actors learn to understand the structure of verse and prose in Early Modern plays, and generally, the iambic pattern of Shakespearean lines reinforces the need for exactness in memorizing and performing text.

This process carries into modern classical plays where lines are treated with the same reference as if they were poetry. Plays from the modern classical repertoire tend to include late-19th and early 20th-century European naturalism like Ibsen and Chekhov. (6)

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What's the difference between method and classical?

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What's the difference between method and classical?

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Remember when I said that once you have a solid understanding of the classical acting tradition you’d be able to see how other actors differ? Well, we’ve arrived at the point where we can now compare the theories and practices of classical acting with method. Here are some main points:

Method is often said to be self-indulgent, whereas classical acting can be criticized for not going deep enough when it comes to heightened situations. Generally, it might be said that method acting suits the flavors of the American theater and film from the 1930s to the ‘50s when the fashion in writing was extreme characters in extreme circumstances.

Classical actors focus on precision and action, whereas method actors focus on emotional response and verisimilitude or realism. (Classical acting is often referred to as being “too respectful.”) Method acting was once characterized by the veteran actor Christopher Plummer as “Italian street acting,” partly because adherents included Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro.

Classical actors bring a character to life through analysis of the writer’s words, never deviating from the script in performance. Method actors are much more likely to bring a character to life through improvisation or “living” the character.

If you want an even more extreme comparison to classical acting, read a play by Bertolt Brecht. His style of theater defies much of the classical tradition and his plays require a completely different skill set than what’s required in naturalistic drama. (6)

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The strength and variety of skill sets in classical training mean that actors can make an impression on an audience no matter the size of their role. It also means they’ll likely have the ability to perform in a wide range of projects and play roles well beyond their traditional casting. (6)

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Is classical acting specific to a certain medium?

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Is classical acting specific to a certain medium?

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Classical actors tend to work mostly onstage with much longer rehearsal times and with extensive discussion about their part and the circumstances of the play. It might seem that classical actors are limited to Shakespeare, “the classics,” and “the ancients,” like Roman or Greek plays, but this isn’t true. James Graham’s marvelous play “This House,” and even the verbatim musical “London Road,” featured many classically trained actors. These actors likely have the training to perform well under any circumstances—in a new play just as well as an old one.

When it comes to film and TV, scripts are often edited on the fly if an actor is having trouble with a line or phrase. Classical actors, on the other hand, will just make the line work, however complex, because that’s what they have been trained to do. (6)

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We’ve already seen Laurence Olivier, so here’s a clip of his lifelong competitor John Gielgud.

Here’s Patrick Stewart in “Macbeth” showing wonderful voice control.

For two superb classical actors performing together, take a look at this “Macbeth” with Judi Dench and Ian McKellen.

For an example of broad, expressive voice, listen to Kenneth Branagh as Henry. Then compare how Mark Rylance interprets the speech differently.

Here’s the always-superb Cate Blanchett in “Carol,” “Blue Jasmine,” and “Elizabeth.”

For the master of voice and body, look to Orson Welles in “The Third Man.” (6)

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As with any acting technique, you will likely need professional training to truly master classical. Whether it’s short-term classes, long-term drama programs, private training, or another route, consider your educational plan. Below are some of the best-known, long-term options for classical training if you really want to sink your teeth into the endeavor:

Drama Centre in London focuses on the work of Michael Saint-Denis and also works with Russian drama schools, including a term abroad.

The Bristol Old Vic drama school in Bristol was established by Laurence Olivier and is founded on the principles of classical acting.

The CNSAD (Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique) in Paris is one of the most selective schools in the world and is also regarded as one of the best.

The Juilliard School in New York has two programs designed to reflect the teachings of classical practitioners.

The National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal was, in part, created to teach the work of Saint-Denis but also includes elements of mask.

Yale School of Drama in Connecticut has an MFA focusing on classical acting techniques. (6)

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Laurence Cook. (2017). The Complete Guide to Classical Acting. Available: https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/complete-guide-classical-acting-3727/. Last accessed 10th December 2019.

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Technically, contemporary theatre is any performance/play, devised after the year of 1956. It is the umbrella term for post modernism, dadaism etc.

It explores the freedom of speech and cultural/ethical climate as well as current political trends and popular subjects.

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The use of the term 'performance' has now spread to a wide variety of disciplines, from the arts to literature and the social sciences. At the same time the possible range of activities, which may be under-stood under the banner of the word, are similarly broad and multi-disciplinary in their outcomes. For example it became clear as we moved towards the end of the twentieth-century that under the influence of television and new media performance itself in its physical manifestations alone was a contested field.

A dance or theatre performance might consist of a performer playing a role on stage, or standing motionless in a cage, or demonstrating in a domestic kitchen. The fact that theatre buildings began finding it difficult to fill large numbers of seats was not simply a reflection of pricing but of repertoire and the fact that whole new generations of spectators were as interested in the possibilities of site-specific performances in a variety of adapted and adaptable spaces as they were in sitting in darkened theatres in upholstered seats. At the same time the idea of the play - that form where specially trained actors speak a playwright's words for approximately two hours on stage - had also become contested by performances which utilise the spoken word as only one element in a total array of live possibilities. Performance had indeed become 'a constellation of practices.

Parallel to this, the notion of writing for performance has become more than the writing of a text for actors to perform. Tim Etchells of Forced Entertainment talks about writing texts for certain purposes rather than texts about things; the American theatre-maker Richard Foreman long ago talked about plays as improvisational structures; and the theorists Judith Butler and Susan Foster talk about 'performative' writing.

The international success of 'physically' based performance companies such as the UK's Theatre de Complicite, as well as the cult status of the work of Robert Wilson from America or Pina Bausch from Germany, tells us something about the range of performance possibilities now seen as important in mainstream theatre and performance contexts. In fact it could be claimed that, over the last 10 years, much performance work previously of the margins has moved to the centre, so that former avant-garde companies such as the Wooster Group from New York, or DV8 from London, now attract large followings to a variety of large venues. But a retreat from theatre buildings as performance spaces also includes a contestation of the architecture that we associated for so long with performance, and Europe is now full of flexible spaces for performance that have been converted from other - usually industrial - uses to form exciting and provocative venues, and in the process attracting younger audiences. (7)

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Michael Huxley and Noel Witts (2002). The Twentieth-Century PERFORMANCE Reader. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. 1-2.

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Barthes, R. (1957, 1972) Mythologies, trans. A. Lavers, London: Jonathan Cape. - (1972, 1977) Image-Music-Text, trans. S. Heath, London: Fontana.

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With the ancient Greeks, for whom it was the musical language (and not the contingent work) in its denotative structure which was immediately adjectival, each mode being linked to a coded expression (rude, austere, proud, virile, solemn, majestic, warlike, educative, noble, sumptuous, doleful, modest, dissolute, voluptuous); thus with the Romantics, from Schumann to Debussy, who substitute for, or add to, the simple indication of tempo (allegro, presto, andante) poetic, emotive predicates which are increasingly re-fined and which are given in the national language so as to diminish the mark of the code and develop the 'free' character of the predication (sehr kraftig, sehr practs, spirituel et discret, etc.). (8 and 9)

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Using Grotowski's terminology, we called the different tones of voice 'resonators'. In oriental theatre training, the young actor learns entire roles mechanically with all their vocal nuances, timbres, intonations, exclamations - a complete fabric of sounds perfected through tradition and which the actor must repeat precisely in order to gain the appreciation of a critical audience. We too began coldly to find a series of timbres, tones, intonations, and exercised them daily. This period of calculated work, of pure 'technicity', seemed to confirm that the hypothesis of the actor-virtuoso was right. The effects produced were interesting. But during their work a few actors managed to reach the territory of their own 'vocal flora'. this opened up to stimuli that were striking in their suggestiveness, in their emotional charge, and were not based on logic or a certain intellectuality: enter the ghost of your father and you, Hamlet, cry out because you are afraid or because you are glad. And out comes a strangled, flat, impersonal, cliche of a cry.

So we discovered the value of personal images for engaging the voice, in order to attain one's individual sound universe. No more calculated effects or mechanically placed voice. Simply reactions, responses to the image which served as a stimulus. We began to talk of vocal actions. That which for us had once been a postulate - the voice as a psychological process - now became a tangible reality which engaged the entire organism and projected it in space. The voice was a prolongation of the body which, through space, hit, touched, caressed, encircled, pushed, searched far away or close by; an invisible hand which stretched out from the body to act in space or renounce action. And even this renunciation was spoken by the invisible hand. But in order that the voice might act, it must know where the point was toward which it was directed, who that point was and why it was addressing him.

From that moment I ceased to speak of resonators. The whole body of the actor resounded, the room resounded, as well as something inside me as I listened, provided the actor really addressed this point in space which, although invisible to my eyes, was concrete to him, perceptible to all his senses, present with physical features. (10 and 11)

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Michael Huxley and Noel Witts (2002). The Twentieth-Century PERFORMANCE Reader. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. 50.

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Michael Huxley and Noel Witts (2002). The Twentieth-Century PERFORMANCE Reader. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. 45-46.

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Barba, E. (1979) The Floating Islands: Reflections with Odin Teatret, trans. J. Barba, F. Pardeilhan, J.C. Rodesch, S. Shapiro, J. Varley, Denmark: Thomsens Bogtrykheri.

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An art.
Not a process, method, or technique. Storytelling is described as an art … the “art” of storytelling.

And — like art — it requires creativity, vision, skill, and practice. Storytelling isn’t something you can grasp in one sitting, after one course. It’s a trial-and-error process of mastery.

Sounds like a lot of work, right? It is, and rightfully so because storytelling has become a crucial component of the most successful marketing campaigns. It sets apart vibrant brands from simple businesses and loyal consumers from one-time, stop-in shoppers.

It’s also the heart of inbound marketing.

Storytelling is an incredibly valuable tool for you to add to your proverbial marketing tool belt. That’s why we’ve compiled this guide, to help you discover and master storytelling and weave gorgeous, compelling tales for your audience.

Storytelling is an art form as old as time and has a place in every culture and society. Why? Because stories are a universal language that everyone — regardless of dialect, hometown, or heritage — can understand. Stories stimulate imagination and passion and create a sense of community among listeners and tellers alike.

Telling a story is like painting a picture with words. While everyone can tell a story, certain people fine-tune their storytelling skills and become a storyteller on behalf of their organization, brand, or business. You might’ve heard of these folks — we typically refer to them as marketers, content writers, or PR professionals.

Every member of an organization can tell a story. But before we get into the how, let’s talk about why we tell stories — as a society, culture, and economy. (12)

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Storytelling is the process of using fact and narrative to communicate something to your audience. Some stories are factual, and some are embellished or improvised in order to better explain the core message. (12)

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There are a variety of reasons to tell stories — to sell, entertain, educate or brag. We’ll talk about that below. Right now, I want to discuss why we choose storytelling over, say, a data-driven powerpoint or bulleted list. Why are stories our go-to way of sharing, explaining, and selling information?

We’ve all experienced confusion when trying to understand a new idea. Stories provide a way around that. Think about times when stories have helped you better understand a concept … perhaps a teacher used a real-life example to explain a math problem, a preacher illustrated a situation during a sermon, or a speaker used a case study to convey complex data.

Stories help solidify abstract concepts and simplify complex messages. Taking a lofty, non-tangible concept and relating it using concrete ideas is one of the biggest strengths of storytelling in business.

Take Apple, for example. Computers and smartphones are a pretty complicated topic to describe to your typical consumer. Using real-life stories, they’ve been able to describe exactly how their products benefit users … instead of relying on technical jargon that very few customers would understand.

Like I said above, stories are a universal language of sorts. We all understand the story of the hero, of the underdog, or of heartbreak. We all process emotions and can share feelings of elation, hope, despair, and anger. Sharing in a story gives even the most diverse people a sense of commonality and community.

In a world divided by a multitude of things, stories bring people together and create a sense of community. Despite our language, religion, political preferences, or ethnicity, stories connect us through the way we feel and respond to them … Stories make us human.

TOMS is a great example of this. By sharing stories of both customers and the people they serve through customer purchases, TOMS has effectively created a movement that has not only increased sales but also built a community.
Stories make us human, and the same goes for brands. When brands get transparent and authentic, it brings them down-to-earth and helps consumers connect with them and the people behind them.

Tapping into people’s emotions and baring both the good and bad is how stories inspire and motivate … and eventually, drive action. Stories also foster brand loyalty. Creating a narrative around your brand or product not only humanizes it but also inherently markets your business.

Few brands use inspiration as a selling tactic, but ModCloth does it well. By sharing the real story of their founder, ModCloth not only makes the brand relatable and worth purchasing, but it also inspires other founders and business owners. (12)

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Allie Decker. (2018). The Ultimate Guide to Storytelling. Available: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/storytelling. Last accessed 10th December 2019.

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Almost all the world leaders are great storytellers. It’s one of the most important skills you can ever pick up, and for introverts like me, one of the hardest.

Introverts have a hard time telling epic stories. By nature, introverts don’t like to attract too much attention, therefore lack the practice in telling their story, or any story really.

Before we jump into the tips, think about people you met or know who are good at story telling.

What do they have in common?

How do they behave?

What kinds of stories do they tell?

How do they tell the story?

What is their body language?

Do and Observe:

Think about a recent (good) story you were told by someone else.

What was it about?

Chances are it was something the storyteller experienced at one point in time.

Was the experience great?

Probably not. In fact, most of the best stories are bad experiences, because they tend to be more eventful. “Event” being the key here. A story is all about unexpected events and how the “actors” react to them.

Now on the point of doing. Have you noticed how when you asked someone who’s doing the same routine every day, they always answers “same old, same old”? Doesn’t make for great stories now does it?

You don’t have to be doing epic things either. The best stories are not fabricated, they are experienced. The more you do, whatever it is, the more things you experience, and the more likely you are going to encounter unexpected events.

Even, a lot of times, a great story is about something you witnessed. By seeing the event unfold, you have a clearer picture of what happened and can recall it with greater detail and accuracy.

In short: do and be inspired by unforeseen events happening around you.

You can’t be a great storyteller if you don’t practice telling your story. It’s true for everyone, introvert or not.

Have you noticed how people tell really compelling stories that happened in their no-so-recent past? Their stories are awesome. There are no useless details.

The reason it’s so good is because it’s not their first time telling it.

They told it hundreds of times. They observed people’s interest when telling it and refined the story over the years, cutting things out and adding juicy details here and there.

Storytelling is a skill. The more you do it, the better you get at it. Most of my good stories come from a distant past, simply because I wrote more about them. I told them repeatedly. (13)

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Danny Forest. (2018). An Introvert’s Top Tips On How To Be A Great Storyteller. Available: https://medium.com/@danny_forest/an-introverts-top-tips-on-how-to-be-a-great-storyteller-c6c85ee51364. Last accessed 10th December 2019.

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People are wired to respond to stories.

There's a reason why so many people flock to the movies or spend hours reading novels – it's because we love to get lost in a good story. And if you ever listen to a good conversation, you'll notice that a lot of connection happens when people share stories with each other.

Unfortunately, there are good ways and bad ways to tell stories – and if you tell stories poorly, you'll lose your audience's interest. So how do you tell a good story during conversations?

Well first we need to define – what makes a story a good story? I'd argue the definition of a good story is very simple:

A good story holds the listeners' interest, builds feelings of connection between narrator and audience, and provides a satisfying conclusion

In other words, these are the three ingredients to a good story:

1) Holding Interest

2) Building Connection

3) Providing a Satisfying Conclusion. (14)

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Daniel Wendler. (2019). How to be a Good Storyteller. Available: https://www.improveyoursocialskills.com/how-to-be-a-good-storyteller. Last accessed 10th December 2019.

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In order to hold your audience's interest, you have to get their interest in the first place. That's why you start with the hook.

A hook is a statement that catches your audience's attention, and also clues them in to what's coming up in the story. Let me illustrate with a story that shows how powerful hooks can be (and yes, I just used a hook on you!)

Years ago, psychologists ran an experiment. They asked people to read the following paragraphs:

“The procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange things into different groups. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities that is the next step, otherwise you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first the whole procedure will seem complicated.

Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but then one never can tell, After the procedure is completed one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more and the whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, that is part of life.”

If you're scratching your head after reading this paragraph, you're not alone – the study participants thought it was goobleygook.

Or well, most of them did. One group of participants was told “You're about to read some instructions for doing laundry.” For those participants, it was a snap to follow along with the paragraphs (and indeed, if you re-read it now, you'll probably understand what you're hearing much better.)

What does this have to do with storytelling? Simple. If you launch right into a story without giving some context, then people won't know what to do with the details you're giving them. It's kind of like giving someone driving directions before they know the starting address. But if you help them understand what your story is about before it beings, they will follow along with no problem.

So offer a hook. Begin a story with something like “That reminds me of my worst date ever” or “Did I ever tell you about the time I went on a date with a professional wrestler?” Give people a sense of what the story is about so they don't get lost. This is especially important for longer stories – if your story is only a few sentences long a hook may not be necessary, but if you're asking people to pay attention to you for 30 seconds or more, you'd better give them a hook.

The other benefit of the hook – if your audience doesn't “bite”, then you know not to bore them with the story. If you share a hook and nobody seems interested, you may want to consider telling an abbreviated version of the story, or sharing a different story instead. (14)

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Before you tell a story, ask yourself “Why would my audience want to hear this story?”

Is it because the story is funny? Exciting? Touching? Interesting? What emotional response is your story likely to elicit from your listeners?   (If you can't come up with an answer to this question, that might be a sign you should find a better topic for your story!)

The reason you ask this question is so that you can choose your details carefully, to make sure they support this goal. If you're at the grocery store preparing to bake a cake, you don't load your shopping cart with fish and jalapenos, because those ingredients don't help you bake a cake. Similarly, you want to pack your story with only details that support the goal of the story.

In other words, if you are telling a funny story, get to the funny stuff as soon as possible – don't waste time giving boring details. If you are telling a touching story, your goal is to tug on your audience's heartstrings, so be more careful when using humorous details. If you're trying to make an exciting story, then your goal should be to build momentum and suspense, so you shouldn't include details that sacrifice momentum.

For example: Let's say I want to tell a funny story about an experience in Mexico. Here are two versions – see which one you like better.

Version one:

“When I was in Mexico, I decided to go to a club with some friends. We first met up at someone's house, and we spent some time sitting around and talking. Then, we walked to the club, but decided we were hungry, so we stopped on the way at a Mexico 7-11 and bought some Cheetos. Except in Mexico, they call them “Chetos” for some reason. After we ate our Cheetos, we went into the club. It was really loud but everyone seemed like they were having fun. We danced for awhile, and then I noticed that a guy in a bear costume came onto the dance floor. He started a conga line, and a bunch of people went on the conga line after him. They congaed right off the dance floor and into another room and I never saw any of them again. To this day, I wonder if the bear costume guy was secretly a kidnapper, and he lured the group away to abduct them!”

Version two:

“When I was in Mexico, I decided to go to a club with some friends. I was dancing, and then I looked up and I saw a guy in a bear costume! He started a conga line, and a bunch of people joined up and congaed right off the dance floor with him, into another room. I never saw any of them again, and to this day I wonder if the bear costume guy was secretly a kidnapper, who lured the dancers away to abduct them.”

Most likely, you liked version two better. Why? Because it got to the punchline – the dancing kidnapper bear – much faster! All of the details about meeting at the friends house, the Cheetos, etc were all true – but they were irrelevant.

The point was to get to the punchline, so any details that did not support that punchline should be removed. In the first story, by the time I actually got to the punchline, you were probably skimming and wondering “What's the point?” So when the punchline actually arrived, you were not very invested in my story and you didn't find it very funny.

If you do this right, your conclusion will feel very satisfying to your audience, because everything in the story was building to that conclusion. Not only do you maintain their interest as you're telling the story, but you also create the possibility for a really powerful conclusion. (14)

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A great story at the wrong time is a terrible story. If you don't believe me,  try telling a funny story in the middle of a funeral.

How do you know that it's the right time to tell the story? There's no perfect rule (it's more of an art than a science) but here are a few things to look for:

Don't interrupt another person's story.

People will often introduce their stories with a short statement to get your interest. You are supposed to ask a question in response to this opening statement to launch their story. You are not supposed to tell a story of your own.

For instance, if your friend says “So the other day I went to the movie theater” he probably wants you to ask him about his trip to the movie theater. He does not want you to jump in and say “Oh yeah, I was just there last week! I saw the coolest movie, let me tell you all about it...

Avoid interrupting their story before it reaches the “punchline.”

If it doesn't seem like the story is finished, wait before you jump in with a story of your own. Instead, ask questions to show interest in the other person's story.

Make sure your story fits the mood of the conversation.

If people are sharing light, funny stories and you share a chilling ghost story, you'll bring down the mood. Conversely, if people are somberly discussing a recent tragedy, it's not the time to tell the story of your zany Uncle Bob.

Try to make your story relate to something in the conversation.

If everyone is telling travel stories, tell a travel story. If everyone is telling funny stories, share something humorous. The connection doesn't need to be very strong, but other people should be able to tell how your story is connected to the previous conversation.

Make sure your audience has the necessary context to understand the story.

If I tell a story about my friend Greg to an audience that knows Greg, they will probably appreciate the story. But if the audience has never heard of Greg, then I might want to choose another story to tell (or at least, make sure I begin the story by giving a little background on Greg.)

Observe the rest of the group to see when others share stories.

Observing others is a great option, especially if you feel very uncomfortable about sharing. If you spend a little time noticing when other share stories, you will develop an intutition for when it's appropriate to share your own story. Don't stay on the sidelines forever, but it's okay to wait and observe sometimes if needed. (14)

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"Show, don't tell" is the cardinal rule of writing, and it's true for telling stories too.

Telling is when you say something like, “And then, he did the funniest dance – it was so hilarious.” It's telling because I can't  imagine what you're describing, so your words don't inspire an emotional response in me. You told me the dance was funny, but it doesn't feel funny to me as the listener.

But if you say something like “And then he waved his hands above his heads, and gave these short, stiff jumps like he was popcorn being popped” now you're showing – and that means that I'm much more likely to be able to tap into the humor of what you're describing. I can imagine the scene in my head and that imagined scene is almost as funny as being there in person.

In other words, showing is when you give me everything I need to imagine the scene.

Unfortunately, this creates a problem. Showing takes time, and if you show every little thing that happens in your story, the story will quickly get long-winded. So what's the solution?

Simple. Show the scenes or details that matter to your story.

If you are telling the story of how you survived a shark attack, you don't need to “show” how relaxing the water was before the shark attacked – but you had better show how you dramatically fought off the shark!

Also, make sure you don't repeat details. If you're telling the story about how you talked with a super cute girl, it's natural to mention how good she looked over and over – but it's not interesting for your audience. Your audience will be tempted to tune you out unless you keep serving them interesting new details.

The bottom line: share a detail once (twice, tops) and then move on to something new. If you repeat details, you'll easily stray from showing into telling. (14)

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If you're a witness talking to the police, then it's great for you to offer facts on everything that you remember.

If you're telling a story, not so much. Adding too many details and descriptions is a surefire way to bore your audience.

However, you still need to add some details (without details Hamlet ends up like this) So how do you add enough details to keep the story interesting, without overloading your audience? The answer is to use vivid details. Vivid details stand out in your listeners' minds, and really help your audience imagine the scene.

What makes a detail vivid? A few things:

Vivid details are surprising.

If I tell you that a lawyer in court is wearing a suit, that's not surprising – since most people in court wear suits. However, if someone shows to the beach wearing a suit, now that detail becomes vivid and interesting.

Vivid details relate to the story.

If I'm telling you a story about spilling a soda on my date in the movie theater, I don't really need to give details about the movie itself – since the story is about my embarrassing spill, not the movie.

Vivid details help the reader imagine the scene.

If you tell me the train was “very fast” I can't really imagine that. If you tell me “The train was going so fast everything outside was a blur”, now you've given me something to imagine.

Vivid details are important.

If I'm telling a story about meeting the president, it doesn't really matter what color tie the president was wearing – since the important thing is the meeting, not the shirt! However, if you met the president and you happened to be wearing the exact same tie as him, that would perhaps be an important detail.

Also, remember the earlier rule: make sure everything supports the “point” of the story. If your detail doesn't support the point of the story, it probably doesn't need to be included. (14)

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Of course, the best way to practice storytelling is to tell stories in conversation.

But there are other great ways that you can build your storytelling skills.

Improv Theater is a great option. Improv theater can help you improve all kinds of social skills, but it's especially great for storytelling because it forces you to trust your instinct, and it gives you a great perception for what makes a good story. If you live in a major city, there is probably an improv theater class near you (and even if you're in a small town, it's worth checking.)

Toastmasters is another good option. Although Toastmasters focuses on public speaking, not storytelling, most good speeches have a few stories in them. Do a few months of Toastmasters and you'll feel much more comfortable having an audience's attention, and your storytelling skills will sharpen as well.

Finally, try writing stories! Find some sites that offer writing prompts, and try to write them. A good rule of thumb is to try to write “flash fiction”, which is a story that has 500 words or less.

Writing a story in 500 words or less is great practice for conversational storytelling, since most of your stories that you tell in conversation won't be longer than 500 words. Although flash fiction has "fiction" in the name, you don't need to write made-up stories -- it's fine to practice by writing down stories from your life.

Got writer's block? This is a great list of flash fiction prompts, and you can easily Google for more.

As you write, don't worry too much about good writing – worry about good storytelling. (You may even want to give yourself a time limit for each story so you practice telling the story, not editing it.) There's no need to try for symbolism or fancy wordplay – instead, just write a story that people would want to read.

Whew! This the end of the "Hold Their Interest" section. Hopefully by this point you're feeling much more confident in your ability to tell an interesting story. (14)

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I asked students to project their voices very loudly while making their mouths smaller (narrower) than usual. This released a lot of laughter and they became extremely bossy. There are mouths in everyday life that are so contracted that one wonders what they are refusing. Then I tried for the rebound effect by asking them to make their mouths slightly wider than usual. Positive behaviour was released (a sort of Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon dogginess). Widen your mouth just a little (perhaps parting your lips slightly). Look at the objects and people around you and you'll probably feel bolder (Some people feel as if they could 'eat the world'). Fear of the audience lessens, just as in the Wide Eye Procedure.

I'm not referring to grinning or smiling, but to the widening of the mouth a quarter of an inch or so. It's the intention to widen that creates the effect.

High-status people expose the bottom teeth (people like ex-President Jimmy Carter can do this even when looking friendly and good natured) whereas low-status people expose the top teeth. Try biting the bottom lip, raising the upper lip and giving a stupid giggle (notice how the back of the neck wants to shorten).

If you expose both sets of teeth and breathe audibly you may want to smash things (don't), and the space to the sides may become more important. Elbows tend to move sideways and the body tends to rotate left and right a little. Use the effect for thugs, or executioners. (15)

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Keith Johnstone (1999). Impro for Storytellers. London: Faber and Faber Limited. 207.

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Projecting the voice when reading a poem aloud:

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Projecting the voice when reading a poem aloud:

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Projecting is an old-fashioned way of looking at the problem of being heard. We all use the term; it's so pervasive in the theater. But bear with me here; there are some serious draw-backs to this concept.

Ideas like "Throw your voice to the balcony," or "Remember the little old lady in the last row!" must disconnect the actor from the inner emotion. That is, exertion, or pushing sound, seperates the voice from the actor's internal emotional life. The projecting "stage voice" is usually too loud, too slow, and too impersonal. With an overemphasis on articulation, it is controlled and usually includes an exaggerated, artificial speech pattern or rhythm. Because the actor's speech is manipulated into certain preplanned inflections, the stage voice becomes a distancing voice not at all useful for a contemporary actor. It is not honest, and certainly not what my voice work is all about. For instance, speak this line slowly, loudly, and with exaggerated speech (that is, with all the cliches of a "stage voice"):

Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this son of York

It probably will sound theatrical, but it cannot possibly sound honest. Such an approach does not serve the actor's artistry.

Projecting your voice is crucial when reading a poem aloud as your audience will need to hear and comprehend every word that you speak and create their own perspective of the piece. Paying as well as an audience who have not payed will not appreciate watching a performance that they cannot hear.

Articulation comes hand in hand with this too, every word needing to be understood clearly and not misheard. Articulating your words within a poem will also sound more professional and rehearsed. In addition to this, emphasis is used with certain words/phrases within a poem and this will draw the spectators attention to a point/message that you are highlighting within the performance and add depth to the performance.

Moreover, controlled breath will allow you to fluently perform without pauses or the loss of breath, which may have dictated to or taken away the effect of performance or connection from the piece and/or actor to the audience. (16)

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Chuck Jones (1996). MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. United States: Back Stage Books. 62-63.

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"Pitching Up" is another solution involving exertion of the voice: It simply means talking in a higher, less intimate part of the voice. Usually pitching up results in an impersonal performance and sounds elevated and "actorish". Some people like this, but, again, the voice is usually more connected to the idea of being heard, rather than being heard and being honest vocally (meaning that the voice is expressive of the actor's inner life). This voice is very limiting.

I believe that this is a technique involved within advertisement and especially radio advertisement. Referring to the performance being connected to the idea of being heard, with the use of technology such as microphones and equipment to alter volume on software, the actor does not necessarily need to amplify their voice unless to portray character. In addition to this, adverts are usually impersonal and unrelated to anything other than the product/event at hand. (17)

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Chuck Jones (1996). MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. United States: Back Stage Books. 63.

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(In very large theaters, spaces with impossible acoustics, and most outdoor spaces, there is a need for amplification.

In some cases, the existence of the sound technology has prompted the theater's architects to design a hall that can accommodate a very large audience. Actors are then equipped with body microphones ("miked"), and even if they have the vocal capacity to be heard in the last row of the balcony in a normal theater. In other cases, theaters have proven to have poor acoustics; they are perhaps too barn-like or cavernous for the actors to be heard well and are, of necessity, "amped" to the rafters - microphones all about the stage and speakers throughout the auditorium (actors are often individually miked as well).

Amplification tends to flatten out the voice and make it less expressive. It also tends to distort the voice and separate the actor from the audience, largely because the sound emanates from a speaker that is positioned somewhere else. There is something unnatural about seeing live actors open their mouths and hearing their voices come from a place where they are not. (18)

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Chuck Jones (1996). MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. United States: Back Stage Books. 64-65

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Actors may tell you that paying attention to breathing comes across as phony in sound recording. They are right - if they define breathing as a mechanism disconnected from their emotions and thoughts. However, as long as your breath is linked to your thought and motivation, it helps your acting. When your breathing is connected, you cannot sound phony. (19)

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Chuck Jones (1996). MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. United States: Back Stage Books. 66.

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The actor must have a well-developed vocal instrument which is able to produce sound with little physical effort. A resonator is an area where the voice becomes larger. The mask area of your face - the sinus, nose, and the cheeks - is a major resonating area. There, vibrations produce an overtone in your entire voice that allows the voice to be clear and to carry more easily. American actors tend to underutilize this crucial area. When the nose and cheek area are insufficiently developed, the voice usually has a colloquial sound that seems unrefined. It works for some contemporary roles, but is inadequate for many others.

These sound vibrations are not to be confused with the sound you make by pitching up, for the overtone is present throughout most of your vocal range. It does not interfere with any expression or with the freedom of your vocal instrument. On the contrary, developing the overtone contributes to expression.

Your voice's overtone can be developed through exercises, which focus on the sinus and nasal resonators. When you have done this, the overtones will naturally come into the voice. Development and liberating exercises are the keys. You will be heard.

The benefit of using resonance within spoken word performance is that the less physical effort focused on producing sound can be focused on character and the context of performance. Resonance contributes to expression and this is needed to entertain an audience.

Moreover, as the majority of spoken word is performed within a small environment/theater, the exercises to improve your resonance means that your vocal instrument will develop and projecting should not be a struggle. (20)

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Chuck Jones (1996). MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. United States: Back Stage Books. 67.

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If your voice is responsive to the character's inner life and you are playing a very depressed person, your voice will probably have little energy and perhaps be deeper. If you are playing a joyful person, your voice will respond to that emotion and sound quite different. This will happen without manipulation if the instrument is open, not manipulated, and the acting is honest. People, after all, have particular voices because of certain emotional and physical realities. This being true in real life, it is also true of any character you are going to play.

When you play a character part, think about allowing your voice to respond to the character's physical reality. For example, in playing a person much older than yourself, you need to deal with the physical aspects of aging. How does aging affect the spine and the breathing? How do those changes then affect the voice? Avoid playing a vocal cliche, a particular sound that you assume an older person would have. If you approach the character from a physical point of view, and your instrument responds to the changes in the body, the result will be real.

As we have already established, you also want your voice to be affected by the character's emotional reality. Manipulating the voice to sound as if you are feeling something you do not really feel will scarcely ring true. (21)

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Chuck Jones (1996). MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. United States: Back Stage Books. 70-71

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Although voice work presents itself as a neutral set of tools that can help actors in performing a text, an analysis of the cultural biases behind voice training reveals that both the underlying ideology and the methods of reading and acting it produces limit the possibilities for feminist performances of Shakespeare.

By naturalizing the language and rhythms of the text, by focusing attention on the characters' need for the words as opposed to the dramatist's, voice training denies actors ways of questioning the politics of the playscripts.By naturalizing the language and rhythms of the text, by focusing attention on the characters' need for the words as opposed to the dramatist's, voice training denies actors ways of questioning the politics of the playscripts. (22)

In order to focus on your voice within a performance of Shakespeare, you must first understand the character first.

When eventually thinking about voice, refer to the idea of how low-status/high-status people use their mouths and teeth to speak and remember the context of the piece and the characters background. As well as this, you must understand the words which you are saying. If you do not understand the words that you are communicating with then this will show within your character and voice. You could be angry with someone but due to you not knowing what the text means, you may say this in a happy tone and thus, the performance not making sense to any knowing audience.

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Sarah Werner. (1996). New Theatre Quarterly. Performing Shakespeare: Voice Training and the Feminist Actor. 12 (47), 249-258.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncv-YOEYWMs (23)

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John Windsor-Cunningham (2013)

HOW TO SPEAK VERSE IN SHAKESPEARE (Acting Coaches NYC). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncv-YOEYWMs (Accessed: 12th December 2019).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4ahiYX1Yck (24)

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Salvatore Sorce (2016)

Shakespeare's physical voice workshop. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4ahiYX1Yck (Accessed: 12th December 2019).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvS5K-YsANo  (25)

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robertfish1000 (2013)

Storytelling by Dr Robert Fish Storytelling The Voice. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvS5K-YsANo (Accessed: 12th December 2019).

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How to tell a story - using your voice and body:

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How to tell a story - using your voice and body:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn6sVi5kfzA (26)

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Kaizen Teaching (2017)

How to Tell a Story - Using Your Voice and Body. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn6sVi5kfzA (Accessed: 5th December 2019).

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Structure of stories and creating character voices:

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Structure of stories and creating character voices:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi18qwbwzQI (27)

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Well Planned Gal (2014)

Structure of Stories & Creating Character Voices. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi18qwbwzQI (Accessed: 2nd December 2019).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5To9morjmA (28)

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JelloApocalypse (2017)

Tip of the Tongue - VOICE ACTING | Exploring Your Voice. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5To9morjmA (Accessed: 28th November 2019).

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Acting secrets for a strong, dynamic voice:

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Acting secrets for a strong, dynamic voice:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a42axivi5Og (29)

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Learn English with Benjamin (engVid) (2018)

Acting secrets for a strong, dynamic voice. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a42axivi5Og (Accessed: 25th November 2019).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmVIBCkwNx8 (30)

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eHow (2012)

Why Is Voice so Important to Actors? : Theatre 101. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmVIBCkwNx8 (Accessed: 21st November 2019).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k73-Z5F3F3w (31)

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GUANTE (2014)

Guante: Spoken Word Performance Tips and a Note on "Poet Voice" Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k73-Z5F3F3w (Accessed: 28th October 2019).

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Hugh Sweeney (2017)

10 VOICEOVER TIPS - I've learned from doing radio and recording ads Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N85qiZdtUKE (Accessed: 26th October 2019).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N85qiZdtUKE (32)

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VO Buzz Weekly (2016)

Recording A Commercial Voiceover Demo with Bob Bergen - How To Do Voice Over, Voice Actors Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG4i7faeZBA (Accessed: 18th November 2019).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG4i7faeZBA (33)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3M1POwfwS8 (34)

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Erin Anastasia (2016)

POET TALK #7: Finding Your Voice as a Poet Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3M1POwfwS8 (Accessed: 18th November 2019).

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When using your voice within spoken word, you should perform as you do with poetry (refer to 'Poems' column). Alongside these aspects of voice, if you haven't written the piece yourself, you will need to read and understand the text and what it is conveying to its audience; doing this will allow you to create a meaningful performance. If you do not portray the character and emotions that the text consists of, then your performance will seem lifeless and also boring for an audience to watch.

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Speakers control the production of sound either using their own voice or a microphone so that amplified sound is loud enough to be heard.

Volume is the loudness of the speaker. It is the psychological characteristic of physical strength (amplitude). It is perceived as auditory sensation by the listener which can be ordered on a scale from quiet to loud. Loudness is then a subjective measure of the listener, which is often confused with objective measures of sound strength such as sound pressure level (in decibels), sound intensity, or sound power. Amplitude is the strength or power of the wave signal. Higher amplitudes on the wave graph are interpreted as a higher volume, hence the name ” amplifier ” for a device that increases amplitude.

hen speaking naturally without any amplification you need to keep in mind the distance to be covered by your voice. You might compare speaking with the act of throwing a ball. Consider how much more muscular effort is needed to throw the ball a long distance than is required to throw it a short one. As you speak, think of your words as balls and mentally watch them covering the space between you and your audience. Notice how you unconsciously lengthen the voice. If speaking in a face-to-face group without a microphone ask yourself if you are loud enough to be heard by audience members in the last row. Speaking to a large group will require more energy to breathe and control your sound production.

To become a better speaker with your “naked” speaking voice, try the following techniques:

Practice speaking in a large room with a friend who moves farther and farther away from you until the friend reaches the rear of the room and can still hear you.

Make sure that you are standing straight and not cramped so you have the maximum capacity for breathing and forcing air out of the lungs for sound production.

Practice speaking by thinking of people at different distances to you such as at your elbow, across the room, or in the back of a large hall.

(35)

Volume is necessary within all aspects of vocal production in order to be heard by a live audience and/or your peers.

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Changing the pitch while speaking can convey shades of meaning such as emphasis or surprise, or distinguish a statement from a question.

Pitch is the auditory attribute of sound ordered on a scale from low to high. You can think about the notes on a musical score with pitch getting higher as you move up the scale. Pitch is closely related to frequency of sound waves; it is almost entirely determined by how quickly the sound wave is making the air vibrate and has almost nothing to do with the intensity, or amplitude, of the wave, which relates to loudness. That is, “high” pitch means very rapid oscillation, and “low” pitch corresponds to slower oscillation.

As a speaker you want to find a pitch that is suitable for speaking. Generally, you want to use a pitch range that would normally be comfortable for your natural conversation. For men and women the size difference of the vocal folds, reflecting male-female differences in larynx size, will influence available pitch range. Adult male voices are usually lower-pitched and have larger folds. The male vocal folds are between 17mm and 25mm in length. The female vocal folds are between 12.5mm and 17.5mm in length.

The pitch or pitch contour in which a syllable is pronounced conveys shades of meaning such as emphasis or surprise, or distinguishes a statement from a question. All languages use pitch pragmatically as intonation (or inflection as is used in some texts) to communicate different meanings—for emphasis, to convey surprise or irony, or to pose a question. Generally speaking, there are four types of pitch changes you can make, as follows:

Rising intonation means the pitch of the voice rises over time

Falling intonation means that the pitch falls with time

Dipping intonation falls and then rises

Peaking intonation rises and then falls.

Consciously or unconsciously the speaker will use the different patterns of pitch to convey different meanings to the listener. Consider the uses of pitch change and the associated meanings in the different categories as follows:

Informational: for example, “I saw a man in the garden” answers “Whom did you see? ” or “What happened? “, while “I saw a man in the garden” answers “Did you hear a man in the garden? “

Grammatical: for example, a rising pitch turns a statement into a yes-no question, as in “He’s going home? “

Illocution: the intentional meaning is signalled by the pitch pattern, for example, “Why don’t you move to California? ” (a question) versus “Why don’t you move to California? ” (a suggestion).

Attitudinal: high declining pitch signals more excitement than does low declining pitch, as in “Good morning” versus “Good morning. “

Textual: information not in the sentence is signaled by the absence of a statement-ending decline in pitch, as in “The lecture was canceled” (high pitch on both syllables of “cancelled”, indicating continuation); versus “The lecture was canceled. ” (high pitch on first syllable of “canceled”, but declining pitch on the second syllable, indicating the end of the first thought).

In public speaking you can apply changes in pitch not only to a single word such as an exclamation, “Oh! ” but to any group of syllables, words, and even sentences to convey different meanings. You can change pitch of successive syllables in a word, word groups, or successive sentences. You want to make sure that you use pitch to convey the intended meaning so that you do not drop the pitch, for example, until you have completed an idea.

Additionally, in natural conversation pitch changes make some words stand out more than others, you can do the same in your public speaking for emphasis. You can use pitch to draw the listeners’ attention to words or phrases that are more important than others. When speaking you will naturally use a range of pitches to convey different meanings.

- Avoid monotony, speaking with one pitch tone or little variety in pitch. Make sure to vary the speech as you speak to show emphasis and change in meaning

- Practice saying sentences with different intonation patterns to change the meaning. For example, if you make a statement with falling intonation at the end, you can turn it into a question by raising the intonation at the end. Try for example, “See what I mean,” and “See what I mean? “ (35)

Pitch is also needed within all elements of vocal production. Pitch can create character, portray emotion and also prevent the performance from becoming one-note. More specifically, this is used in storytelling and Shakespeare.

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Speaking too quickly is one of the most common speech problems—perhaps because almost all of us tend to speed up our speech when we’re stressed or excited. And when are we not stressed when we’re working? Making a cold call, meeting a new contact, working on a project with a deadline—all of these situations are stressful and cause all kinds of physiological responses, including speeding up our speech.

Some people, however, are genuine “motormouths”—people who always speak rapidly. Speaking too slowly is much less common, but believe it or not, there are people who tend to speak naturally with a rate of speed that leaves gaps between words and draws out syllables to extremes.​

The trick to speaking at an appropriate pace is remembering that you need to speak at a rate that allows your listener to understand what you’re saying. Listening is not a one-step process; we have to physically hear what is said and then translate language into meaning.

If we speak too quickly, this vital second step of the process is lost. Like expression, the natural rate at which you speak is part of your speech signature. The problem with speaking at a pace that’s either too fast or too slow is that it interferes with communication.

When you speak too quickly, you literally “blow away” your listener. He can’t mentally keep up with you and will quickly stop trying. While a small part of your message may get through, most won’t. When you speak too slowly, your listener has too much time for processing, and the mind either locks on how irritatingly slowly you’re speaking or wanders off to more interesting things.

If you hear phrases such as “Could you repeat that?” often, or often encounter glazed looks, you’re probably a person who usually speaks too quickly or too slowly.

Focusing on our enunciation when we speak is one good way to slow down our speech. When we focus on enunciating clearly, we force ourselves to stop slurring and eliding syllables when we speak.

Another way to slow down our speech is to concentrate on phrasing. Oral speech, just like written speech, is composed of phrases and sentences. In fact, the punctuation of written speech is simply a set of sign posts to tell us how the written information should be phrased.

For instance, when I wrote: “If you hear phrases such as “Could you repeat that?” often, or often encounter glazed looks, you’re probably a person who usually speaks too quickly or too slowly,” the punctuation dictates that when you read or say this sentence, you are going to pause briefly after the question mark, pause again after the word "often" because of the comma, and again after "looks." The sentence should be read the same way, whether you read it silently or read it out loud.

But people who speak too quickly tend to ignore phrasing entirely. They don’t pause for commas, hyphens, question marks, or even periods, jamming all the phrases together. Therefore, concentrating on the phrasing can really help slow down speedy speakers. (36)

Although pace is used within every column of voice within performance, more specifically it is used within advertisement. An example of this is a 'hard sell', this is an advertisement which is bold and fast, conveying information in a quick and loud manner in order to grab the listeners attention.

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A speaker may use pauses to enhance the message delivery; a speaker may also user filler words and pauses that distract from the message.

Pauses can enhance delivery or be filled needlessly and distract the audience.

A pause may refer to a rest, hesitation, or temporary stop. It is an interval of silence and may vary in length. The speaker may use pauses to enhance the message delivery or fill the pauses needlessly and distract the audience from the message.

You may use a pause to emphasize that the information coming next is important, or to give the audience time to process what you have just said. Consider some of the ways that you might use pauses effectively in your delivery.

Pause enables the speaker to gather thoughts before delivering the final appeal: pause just before the utterance, think about what you want to say, and then deliver your final appeal with renewed strength.

Pause prepares the listener to receive your message: pause and give the attention powers of your audience a rest. The thought that follows a pause is much more dynamic than if no pause had occurred.

Pause creates effective suspense: suspense can create interest. The audience will want to find out the conclusion or what happened if you pause before the punch line or conclusion.

Pause after an important idea: pausing gives the audience time to process what you have just said before you continue with your delivery.

Pause at the end of a unit: you may pause to signal the close of a unit of thought, such as a sentence or main point.

Different types of pauses that could present problems for the speaker:

Speech Disfluencies:

Speech disfluencies are breaks, irregularities, or non-lexical vocables that occur within the flow of otherwise fluent speech, including false starts (words and sentences that are cut off in the middle), phrases that are restarted and repeated, grunts, or fillers like uh, erm, and well.

Filled Pauses:

Filled pauses are repetitions of syllables and words; reformulations; or false starts, where the speaker rephrases to fit the representation of grammatical repairs, partial repeats, or searching for words to carry the meaning.

Filler Words:

Filler words are spoken in conversation by one participant to signal to others that he or she has paused to think, but is not yet finished speaking. Different languages have different characteristic filler sounds. The most common filler sounds in English are: uh /ə/, er /ɚ/, and um /əm/.

Today’s youth uses other fillers. The following are among the more prevalent:

y’know,

so,

actually,

literally,

basically,

right,

I’m tellin’ ya,

you know what I mean.

Placeholder Names:

Placeholder names are filler words like thingamajig, which refer to objects or people whose names are temporarily forgotten, irrelevant, or unknown. (35)

Again, pauses are used throughout every vocal production but some last longer than others. A prime example of this is spoken word. Spoken word is usually performed in one spot without the use of many props, scenery or any additional performance elements and so the use of pauses can incorporate emotion into a piece or even scene/time/location alterations without the use of these additional elements.

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Resonance refers to the amplification, richness and quality of your voice. Metaphorically, think of your mouth and throat as the speakers of your stereo system. Are you projecting a voice with poor resonance or one that is fully resonant?

Exploiting your natural resonance spaces is a wonderful skill for teachers to develop. By using the nooks and crannies of your unique vocal structure for resonance, you will find that your voice carries well without increasing your volume. This takes the load off your vocal folds.

Resonant voice might be described as sounding "buzzy."

How you can add resonance: We all have three sound-resonating areas: the nose, throat and mouth. Not surprisingly, these are the places where you feel vibration when you speak. Practically speaking, you can do little to alter the nasal cavity, but go for optimal resonance with your throat and mouth. Alleviate tension in the throat, keeping the airspace open for your voice to pass seamlessly through. Open your lower jaw during speech to expand the mouth. (37)

Resonance is needed within most performance but especially Shakespeare. This is due to the common use of high-class characters and the use of resonance to create these rich tones.

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The actor’s job is to tell the story of the play to the audience. Proper enunciation is essential for the audience to have any idea of what the actor is saying or singing during a production.

Enunciation is the act of pronouncing words. Good enunciation means your words are clear and distinct. Listeners can understand what you’re saying. Remember that scene in the film version of My Fair Lady where Professor Higgins and Eliza Doolittle worked on “The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain?” Without proper enunciation, that sentence can be a garbled mess! But by enunciating your words, your audience will easily understand even the most difficult, tongue-twisty lines. (38)

Enunciation is mandatory within all aspects of voice as an audience and/or your peers will always need to hear and understand clearly what you are saying otherwise the performance will be meaningless and even if they can hear you, they may have misheard a word or phrase or not understand it at all if it is not correctly enunciated upon.

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Articulation focuses on making individual sounds and pronunciation focuses on stress, rhythm, and intonation of the syllables in the word.

e as humans are unique in our use of tongue, lips, and other movable parts of the speech mechanism. The first act of speech is breathing, in which you get air into a storage chamber; second is phonation, the process by which you force air into vibration by the action of the vocal folds; third, resonation, in which your mouth,nose and throat cavities amplify the sound so you can hear it; and finally there is articulation, in which you modify the sound by movement of the teeth, tongue, and lips into recognizable patterns. There are only forty-four sounds to master, and as young child you started making them by mastering simple sounds which you later articulated into repetitive sound combinations and then words.

Here you are concerned with intelligibility. Can the audience comprehend what you are saying? If you produce the basic sounds of the language in a manner which is different from the language users in the audience, at the most basic level your speech will not be understood. You might substitute one sound for another at the beginning of a word such as ‘dis for this and “w” for “r” so you would say “wabbit” rather than “rabbit. ” Or you might leave a sound off the end of a word, such as in goin’ for going, in casual speech. But, the real challenge is whether or not you can produce the “correct” sound when it is required. If you can not physically produce the sound, then you may want to consult with a professional speech therapist to help you with articulation.

Practice to make sure you are not substituting or omitting sounds when you say a word, or adding sounds such as needcessity for necessity.

Pay particular attention to common sound substitutions such as t for th so that you don’t say ‘tin for thin and d for th so that you dont say ‘den for then.

Practice reading and recording passages with the problem sounds. Listen to the practice recording with a learning partner or tutor.

Pronunciation refers to the ability to use the correct stress, rhythm, and intonation of a word in a spoken language. A word may be spoken in different ways by various individuals or groups, depending on many factors. These factors include the area in which you grew up, the area in which you now live, whether you have a speech or voice disorder, your ethnic group, your socio-economic class, or your education.

When we talk about pronunciation, we focus on the word rather than the individual sound, as with articulation. The syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with consonants around it at the beginning and end. Syllables are often considered the phonological “building blocks” of words. A word that consists of a single syllable (like English dog) is called a monosyllable, and is said to be monosyllabic. Similar terms include disyllable and disyllabic, for a word of two syllables; trisyllable and trisyllabic for a word of three syllables; and polysyllable and polysyllabic, which may refer either to a word of more than three syllables or to any word of more than one syllable. Your job in pronunciation involves recognizing the different syllables that make up a word, applying the stress to the right syllable and using the right up and down pitch pattern for intonation.

Intonation is also used in English to add function to words such as to to differentiate between wh-questions, yes-no questions, declarative statements, commands, requests, etc. You can change the meaning by varying the intonation pattern.

Listen to recordings of different people you admire, to check the pronunciation.

You can connect to one of the online dictionaries which has an audio of the preferred pronunciations if you are unsure.

You can download an app for your cellphone or tablet so you have it readily available to check pronunciation and meaning of words.

If you are using a non-English word, you can also use Google’s translate function with audio pronunciation guide with the translation.

If you spell a word differently than other language users, you may also pronounce the word differently. Check to determine if the word is pronounced as it is spelled. There are fourty-four sounds in English, but over five hundred spellings for the different sounds.

You may want to practice reading a story or article aloud with a learning partner or tutor to check your pronunciation. (35)

Like enunciation, there would be no point in a performance taking place if you could not understand the performers dialogue, unless this was the intention. As well as this, for example, you are playing the role of a high-class lady, but your words are slurred and not correctly pronounced; if this happened, then the audience would question the effectiveness of the acting as a high-class lady would most likely have been raised to speak in a tidy manner and now be well spoken.

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Unknown. (Unknown). Effective Vocal Delivery. Available: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-communications/chapter/effective-vocal-delivery/. Last accessed 10th December 2019.

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Susan Ward. (2019). How Speaking Slower Could Improve Your Sales. Available: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/speak-for-success-speech-lesson-the-problem-of-pace-2948546. Last accessed 18th November 2019.

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The University Of Lowa . (Unknown). Your natural resonance. Available: https://uiowa.edu/voice-academy/your-natural-resonance. Last accessed 10th December 2019.

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Kerry Hishon. (2016). 6 Tips to Improve Enunciation. Available: https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/6-tips-to-improve-enunciation/. Last accessed 18th November 2019.