Do You Suffer from “Voice Immodulation”?
By Susan Berkley
Some years ago on TV’s Saturday Night Live, actor Will Ferrell played Jacob Silj, a newscaster who suffers from “Voice Immodulation Syndrome” or the inability to modulate his voice. Unfortunately for Jacob, his voice got on people’s nerves, and he had to enlighten the hosts and the audience about his disease. Now I don’t know if voice immodulation is a real disease (if it is, please let me know) but some people (especially men) speak more loudly than they should and this can get on the nerves of their family and co-workers, especially in today’s cubicle based work environments. If people are telling you to “keep it down,” first, get your hearing checked. Speaking too loudly can be the first sign of a hearing loss. Once your doctor gives you a clean bill of health, keep the following in mind.
Your voice is like a radio with 5 volume settings.
1-Whisper
2-Soft
3-Conversation
4-Loud
5-Yelling
For your best voice, aim to speak slightly above the ambient noise level in the room. This is setting #3, your “conversational” volume. But beware. One size does not fit all. Your conversational volume will vary depending on the environment. Loudest in a noisy bar, softest in a quiet conference room. Loud speakers should learn to modulate their voice by listening to the ambient noise level BEFORE they speak and then adjusting their volume accordingly.”
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Susan Berkley is a top voice over artist and founder of The Great Voice Company, a company devoted to teaching great voices around the world how to become successful voice over actors. The Great Voice Company is an international leader in voice over training and in providing top quality voice over recordings in all languages to discerning businesses and marketers. For additional information visit www.greatvoice.com.
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