WATERLOGG PRODUCTIONS: Voice-Training - The Importance Of Speech To Self-Esteem

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Voice-Training - The Importance Of Speech To Self-Esteem

VOICE TRAINING
The Importance Of Speech
To Self-Esteem

Freelance article from Gemma Digby

Humans are unusual among mammals for the vast breadth, depth, and scope of our vocal communications. Our use of words to convey meaning gives our communications a degree of subtlety which the communications of many other animals lack. Indeed, we are even able to use our verbal dexterity to communicate meaning to animals of different species - quite a feat in the mammalian world. However, there is a lot more to speaking than simply delivering words.

Done properly, with due attention paid to things like non-verbal signals, intonation, volume, and pacing, the impact of one’s voice can alter dramatically. Indeed, so important is the way in which we use our voice to human interaction that having a well-trained vocal manner can make an enormous amount of difference not only to one’s impact upon others, but to the way in which one feels about oneself. Having a voice which projects confidence can actually instil you with confidence.

USE THE
DAWS BUTLER TECHNIQUE

Non-Verbal Speech

What the Butler Wrote: Scenes from the Daws Butler Worskhop

You’ll probably have heard the old chestnut that 70% of human interaction consists of nonverbal communication. This is both true and false. Nonverbal communication certainly is used in a significant way by humans to convey meaning – but it rarely stands alone. More often, it serves as an accompaniment to verbal communication, where it helps to convey subtleties of mood, desire, social status and so forth. This is not to denigrate the role of nonverbal communication by any means – an effective communicator absolutely must master nonverbal cues in order to speak with a confidence that they truly feel. Studies have shown that the way in which you stand, hold your back, and move while speaking make a huge amount of difference to your self-image. Simply doing things like speaking with an authoritative posture really can make a nervous person feel more confident, and lend self-esteem to someone with poor self-image. Learning nonverbal tricks really can, therefore, give you a degree of confidence and build your self-esteem from the inside.

Being Listened To

If someone’s thoughts and opinions are never listened to, it is perhaps hardly surprising that they should begin to lack self-esteem. We draw a lot of our opinions of ourselves from the ways in which others react to and interact with us. Unfortunately, in the case of speech, something of a vicious cycle can occur. Someone who feels that their opinions are worthless will not make much of an effort to deliver them in an engaging and confident manner, which in turn makes them less likely to be appreciated (or even properly heard) by their peers, which erodes self-confidence further. A lack of self-esteem and self-compassion is a very dangerous thing. Psychologists warn that poor self-esteem and a lack of self-compassion are major

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triggers for the development of all kinds of mental health issues. Physical health can be affected, too. Those working with recovering substance abusers frequently promote self-love techniques as a way to combat unhealthy urges towards drink and drugs, for they know that poor self-esteem is ultimately at the heart of many addiction issues. However, something as simple as training the voice and vocal technique can ensure that one is listened to by one’s peers and friends. It’s often not what you say, but the way you say it which makes all the difference. The most interesting, witty speech in the world delivered poorly will make very little impact, while something tremendously dull delivered in an engaging manner will get people stopping and listening in very short order. The mere act of training one’s communicative techniques can ensure that one is listened to, which will in turn make one feel more valued and therefore build self-esteem.

Doing Yourself Justice

Joe Bev had voice
and acting training
with Daws Butler,
the voice of Yogi Bear

It’s not just about being listened to, of course (although that helps!). Learning how to properly project and deliver your words can also instil a degree of confidence from the inside. It’s a reciprocal process, too. The more that you believe in and appreciate what you’re saying, the better what you’re saying will sound. And the better it sounds, the more you’ll believe in and appreciate it. A good speech, delivered well, goes from strength to strength in a self-renewing process. A good speech delivered poorly frequently founders as one loses faith in one’s delivery and therefore oneself. All in all, undergoing a bit of voice training really can alter your life for the better!