Management Communication is one of the courses in my MBA program that I have come to develop a deep interest in. One of the things that endeared me to the course is the fact that its focus is on what pertains to day to day life of every human being- communication. Communication is a distinctive human activity. Even though communication is not uniquely human (lower animals also communicate) but the human mode communication is strikingly unique. As future leaders of businesses and organizations, one of the essential tools that we need is the tool of communication (public speaking). This is because our task and position as leaders and managers will always require us to communicate both with those within and outside our organizations. As such, we need to be better equipped in the art of communication public speaking. In this blog post therefore, I will be sharing with you the 4Ps of vocal variety.
Human beings communicate in different ways through signs, gestures but the most common way of communicating is through the use of words. In verbal communication, voice is very essential. Our voice greatly affects the quality of our delivery during communication and our voice also communicates something about us. The 4Ps of vocal variety help us to control our voice which is one of the essential tools in a verbal communication. The 4Ps stand for power, pace, pitch and pause. Power in communication refers to how loud or soft we speak. For us to communicate effectively, we need to learn to project our voice so that the audience can hear us clearly. Also, projecting our voice makes our speech distinct enough, enhances our credibility, competence, confidence, and persuasiveness. A good public speaker is not meant to speak in whispers. Nonetheless, a good speaker should also keep in mind that a voice that is too loud becomes a torture to the ears. Today, many speakers rely on the help of microphone for projection but microphone should not make us lose sight of the need to give power to our voice during presentations.
Secondly, pace refers to how fast or slow we speak. We have people who are naturally fast speakers while there are others who are naturally slow speakers. My opinion on this is that in communication, it is advisable not to be too fast or too slow. Being too slow will make our speech boring to the audience while being too fast will make it difficult for our listeners to grasp the message we are communicating to them. Therefore, we should learn to maintain a balance. The third which is pitch refers to how we communicate feelings and emotions during speeches. The pitch or tone of our voice can communicate our emotions to the audience. High pitch communicates high emotions such as anger or excitement while low pitch portrays low emotions such as somber mood.
Lastly, just as the name suggests, the last P which stands for pause refers to how we use a quiet moment either for emphasis, suspense, attention or to allow the audience internalize the message. Pauses are good during speeches but it becomes awkward when it lingers for too long. Practicing occasional moments of pauses in between our speeches will help us dictate the pace of the speech and make us controlled and composed while delivering speeches. In all, keep in mind that the human voice is one of the best tools in communication and message delivery. We must therefore learn to use the voice effectively to enhance our presentation and in order to do that, the 4Ps of vocal delivery are very essential.
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