The human voice is the instrument we all play. Invest in how you play your instrument and the lyrics you speak, the tone you use, your pitch, the meter and your timbre so that people will like the sound of your voice. Have you ever noticed how some people are easy to listen to and others make us bristle? I was thinking the other day about my youth when I played the flute and how many hours I spent practicing. If I wanted to be first chair I had to practice so that the sound was appealing, that my ability to read and play notes at the right time with the right intensity or gentleness would compliment the other instruments and collectively we made music together.
I have been privileged to be invited to give speeches where others give their time to hear me and I realize that I need to spend time practicing giving the speech and perfecting the notes; the words and I need to study and practice my delivery getting the cadence, tone, volume and pregnant pause just right. I need to use my vocal range to stir a question in my audiences mind and I need to use my body and cover the physical space. I use my eyes to make contact with the audience and my hands to emphasize my points. If you want to be someone worthy to be listened to then you need to practice the verbal and non-verbal delivery of your message. The human voice is used everyday and is worth developing.
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